Consul of Latium
| Consul of Latium | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms His Majesty's Government | |
| Government of Latium | |
| Style | The Most Renowned His Excellency (in international correspondence) |
| Member of |
|
| Reports to | The Monarch and The Senate |
| Residence |
|
| Appointer | The Monarch |
| Term length | At the Emperor's pleasure |
| Inaugural holder | Gaius Vitellius Tricostus & Appius Cloelius Siculus (traditional) Thomas Anicius 1st, Duke of Beroea (modern) |
| Formation | 6th century BC (traditional) 1866 (modern) |
| Salary | $222,451 |
The Consul of Latium (Latin: Consul Latii) is one of the oldest positions in the Senate and the entire government of the Latium. The Consul is the highest ranked elected representative in Latium, who is the de facto head of government. The position was first created as the leader of the ancient government of Castellum before the transition to the monarchy and Latin Kings of Alba. From the position's inception until the 6th century BC, consuls were elected or appointed to act as the primary magistrates the city and its subordinate territories, in most instances acting as the primary military commanders and head of state. While the creation of the consulship remains lost to history, the earliest verifiable Consuls of Castellum were Gaius Vitellius Tricostus and Appius Cloelius Siculus, holding the consulship of 593 BC. With the creation of the Latin monarchy in the form of the Alban kingdom of Castellum, the position of consul became more ceremonial in nature, though remained one of high importance and prestige.
Today the office exists only by long-established convention and later legislation, which typically results in the appointment the person most likely to command the confidence of the Senate as as Consul. This individual is typically the leader, or a high ranking member, of the political faction or coalition that holds the largest number of seats in the legislative body; however, this is not always the case. In concert with its quasi-head of government duties on the College of Praetors, the Consul is the presiding officer of the Senate in the Emperor's absence.
The current Consul is Alexander Pompilius of the United Latium.
History
Prior to 1866, the consul closely resembled its ancient and medieval counterpart; two consuls were selected from the Senate to serve a term of one year, with no individual allowed to serve twice as Consul within a span of five years. While holding no more power than that of a regular senator, the consulship was still a position of prestige. During the reign of Theophylactus I Augustus, the Emperor appointed his younger brother and prominent general, Thomas Anicius, Duke of Beroea, to serve his second Consulship for the year 1866. Upon his appointment, the Duke refused to allow his counterpart, Michael Sulpicius, a seat at the head of the Senate next to the Theophylactus, which the Emperor assented. Over the course of the year, the Duke and Emperor Theophylactus instituted a number of modern reforms to the constitution, most important of which relegated the junior co-consul counterpart to a deputy role and replaced the ancient role of the Consul with one similar to the Consul we see in Latium today.
The consul, in its current form, dates from the reforms of Theophylactus, and later the Acts of Constitutional Reform.
Role
The Consul is appointed by the Monarch, serving at the Monarch's pleasure, so long as he or she maintains confidence, resulting in the Consul being primarily responsible only to the Monarch. In practice, however, a Consul must maintain support from the Senate, or else face a possible resignation (though the Senate may not appoint a replacement). The Consul is the first among equals of Magisterial Offices. Unlike some parliamentary systems, the consul serves as the presiding officer, or speaker, of the Senate, where he or she will supervise the conduct of its business. This role provides a consul the ability to directly control what does and doesn't reach the floor for reading, debate, and vote.
Praetorial Office
The consul is is the first among equals of College of Praetors, and nominally one of the most significant offices among the entirety of the Emperor's Council. A convention of the constitution, the modern College of Praetors is a group of ministers who formulate policies – under Monarch's supervision. As the political heads of government departments, these praetors ensure that policies of the government are carried out by permanent civil servants. All Praetors appointments are made by the Emperor, most often among sitting senators.
The growth of the College met with widespread complaint and opposition because its meetings were often held in secret and it excluded the Senate at-large, focusing on the Emperor and his court. While the College has grown in significance since it's 1860s changes, it remains secondary to the Sacred Assembly.
Magisterial positions
An individual may also serve as Consul while concurrently serving as the head of a College of Praetors bureau. Most often this occurs when a vacancy arises in either the Consulship or a praetorship on an interim basis.
Deputy Consul
The Deputy Consul originates from one of the two positions in ancient Castellum, and even Alban tribal, yearly consul posts. The position began to evolve into a deputy's role when Thomas Anicius, Duke of Beroea, one of the co-consul's for the year 1866, refused to allow his counterpart to ascend to the second consul's chair in the senate, initiating the constitutional reforms of his brother Theophylactus I Augustus. Since that day the Deputy Consul serves a deputy role to the Consul, taking the position of acting consul when the consul is temporarily absent. Since 11 March 2016, the office of Deputy Consul has remained vacant.
Selection
Appointment of Consul is left to the sole discretion of the Monarch, to whom the Consul is solely responsible. In practice, a Consul is appointed from a member of a leading political faction in the Senate of Latium, as a result the Senate may be able to force a Consul to resign.
Eligibility
As a practical matter, the Consul is often the leader of a faction whose members form a majority, or a very large plurality, of Senators – though this is not required with the most recent non-party leader consul, Constantine Otacilius from 2001 until 2014. Legally, the Consul may be any citizen of Latium of voting age (17 years and over) — the requirements to gain election to the Senate. It is not clear whether there are age or citizenship restrictions on the position of the consul itself, as it is not necessary for the incumbent to be a sitting Senator. However, this is more of an unlikely question since the conventions involved in selecting the consul make the appointment of anyone ineligible for election to the Senate difficult.
Should a new consul be appointed without holding a seat, it typically follows that a junior senator of the Consul's faction resigns to allow the consul to assume the vacant seat. However, if the governing party selects a new leader shortly before an election is due, and that new leader is not a member of the legislature, he or she will normally await the upcoming election before being added to the faction list.
Compensation
Since 2001, the consul has earned a $222,451 annual salary, along with a $50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account, and $20,000 for entertainment, but does not include the $140,316 salary for Senators. The most recent raise in salary was approved by the Senate and Emperor Jason VI Augustus in 1998 and went into effect in 2000.
20 Via Julia in Castellum, serves as the official place of residence for the consul. As well as access to the Consular staff, facilities available to the consul include medical care, recreation, housekeeping, and security services. The government pays for state dinners and other official functions, but the consul pays for personal, family and guest dry cleaning and food; the high food bill often amazes new residents. Abula Hill is used as a country retreat and for high alert protection of the consul and guests. Palatine House, located near the base of the Palatine Hill, is a complex of seven connected townhouses exceeding 100,000 square feet of floor space which serves as the consul's official office, a secondary residence for the consul if needed, and occasionally serves as a guest house for state visitors due to it's proximity to the Palace.
The Praetorian Guard is charged with protecting the consul and their family for the duration of their Consulship, and even after. Before 1993, post-Consulship security was handled by private security firms of the former consul's choice, paid for via state pension funds of the Consul. Consul's may receive a pension after their time in office that is apportioned based on need; this type of pension has only been collected on one time by Consul Valentinian Poppaeus, who was diagnosed with cancer prior to the 1985 general election, prompting him to step down.
See Also
| ||
| Pre-reform consuls | ||
Latium articles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History |
|  | ||||
| Geography | ||||||
| Politics | ||||||
| Economy | ||||||
| Society |
| |||||