List of heads of state of Meridon

Meridon has had an elected head of state resembling a modern executive since 1717, when the Confederal Meridonian Union established two-year terms for the Chairman of the Union Council- prior to this, the Chairman acted primarily as a supervisory body for the Union Council and a primus inter pares, as well as overseeing the confederal agencies. The current role of President was codified in the Articles of Federation of 1749 and has been modified multiple times, with the last modification to their role coming during the 1986 Adjustment to the Articles of Federation.

(blob about presidential statistics- 2 vs 1 terms, died, assasinated, resigned, no confidence(?), etc.)- two resigned due to health, two assassinated,

The incumbent president of Meridon, since 2023, is Yui Townley of the Federal Party.

List

Political Parties:
Current
  Federal Party   Liberal Party   Tangaran Unity Party   Agrarian Party of Meridon   Green Party   Worker's Party   Meridon Union Party   New Meridon Party
Defunct
  Sovereigntist Party   Territorial Party   Whitelily Party   Conservative Union Party

Note- chairmans from 1640-1717, prior to the enactment of strong legislative powers and a two-year term, are not included in this list due to a lack of significant data.

№	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Days	Election	Political party
Confederal Meridonian Union (1717-1749)
1		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1717	May 1st, 1719	2 years	1717	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
2		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1719	May 1st, 1721	2 years	1719	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
3		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1721	May 1st, 1723	2 years	1721	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
4		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1723	May 1st, 1725	2 years	1723	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
5		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1725	May 1st, 1727	2 years	1725	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
6		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1727	May 1st, 1729	2 years	1727	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
7		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1729	May 1st, 1731	2 years	1729	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
8		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1731	May 1st, 1733	2 years	1731	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
9		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1733	May 1st, 1735	2 years	1733	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
10		FIRST LAST (1###-1###)	May 1st, 1735	May 1st, 1737	2 years	1735	None
			Necessary writeup information here.
11		Jackson Marriott, (1###-1749)	May 1st, 1737	August 10th, 1749	11 years, 3 months and 9 days	1717	None
			The longest-serving Chairman, Marriot lead the Confederal Union through Second Meridonian Civil War with two emergency 5-year extension to his term.
Federal Republic of Meridon (1749-present)
1		Henry Miller (1749-1810)	August 10th, 1749	May 10th, 1759	9 years and 9 months	1749, 1754	None
			First President of the Federal Republic. Was a vocal proponent in the establishment of the planned city of Cordelia becoming the nation's capital, which came about shortly after his term ended in 1759.
2		Percival Rigenall (1710-1786)	May 1st, 1759	May 1st, 1769	10 years	1759, 1764	None
			Known as a staunch Federalist, he contributed to establishing the first standardized system of taxation and personally lead military forces in the stamping out of some still-lingering dissent, notably in far-flung Tangaran communities, and in the 1759 civil disturbance in Cossetton against their family, establishing an agreement that would allow them to maintain their economic, but not political, influence over Bairoi and Valle du Roi districts. While he was well-liked in his time, the consequences of his contributions have seen him ranked low historically.
3		Charles Whittenmoth (1717-1788)	May 1st, 1769	May 1st, 1779	10 years	1769, 1774,	None
			Whittenmoth is primarily known for his encouragement for the establishment of additional settlements and colonies on the eastern groups of islands. His Presidency also saw the re-forming on a provisional basis of the Navy to deter piracy.
4		Pierre Caumont (1721-1800)	May 1st, 1779	May 1st, 1789	10 years	1779, 1784	Territorial Party
			Caumont limited the expansion of the Federal government in an aim to limit its power and funding and was one of the pioneers of what would evolve to become the Meridonian political party system, of which elements remain to this day.
5		Mitchell Stewardly (1727-1808)	May 1st, 1789	June 10th, 1796	7 years, 1 month and 9 days	1789, 1794	None
			Presided over a period of an undeclared naval war with Anagonia and other naval powers in Meridon's vicinity, and the success of which made him particularly popular. He died of heart disease in 1796, leaving his vice president to run the remainder of his term.
6		Howard Purleon (1736-1830)	June 10th, 1796	May 1st, 1799	2 years, 10 months and 21 days		None
			While an effective middle-of-the-road president and an effective bureaucrat, he proved initially unpopular due to his past association with aristocratic interests and was defeated decisively in the 1799 election.
7		Chelsea Brando (1750-1808)	June 10th, 1799	May 1st, 1804	5 years	1799	Territorial Party
			Unusually vigorous, charismatic, and young for the post, Brando was largely ineffective as an administrator, restricting funding to areas considered key to Federal operations and refused to intervene in a series of territorial demarcation disputes, believing in the overall reduction of the footprint of the Federal government. His attempts proved ineffective and harmful and he was defeated in a landslide.
8		Howard Purleon (1736-1830)	May 1st, 1804	May 1st, 1814	10 years	1804, 1809	None
			Purleon, having spent Brando's presidency working agricultural jobs, returned virtually as a new 'man of the people', having sold many of his own assets beyond a small farm. He proved immensely popular as a President and reversed Brando's prior actions. He also served as the founder for what would later become the Agrarian Party of Meridon, although his focus on agricultural ventures is cited to have delayed Meridonian industrial ventures somewhat.
9		Claude Bittencourt (1769-1835)	May 10th, 1814	May 10th, 1824	10 years	1814, 1819	None
			Bittencourt, a mercantalist, helped to advance Meridonian industralization, becoming the first Meridonian president to take a direct interest in doing such. He also commissioned Whiteriver Manor.
10		Richard Atkinson (1775-1841)	May 10th, 1824	May 10th, 1829	5 years	1824	None
			Serving as the Vice President of Bittencourt, Atkinson largely followed his predecessor's policies, establishing a regulatory organization for intraterritorial transport and trade. He was also the first president to occupy Whiteriver.
11		Lewis Hawkerly (1780-1850)	May 10th, 1829	May 10th, 1839	10 years	1829, 1834	Federal Party
			The founder of the Federal Party, Hawkerly presided over a period of significant domestic troubles. He was crucial in promoting and implementing Adjustments 4 and 5, repealing indentured servitude and slavery in Meridon, into law despite the protests of mercantilists. He counteracted backlashes by industries by providing subsidies and campaigned strongly for the right to citizenship in Meridon, which would become enshrined in Amendment ##, passed in 1852, two years after he was assassinated. He ranks highly among Meridon's presidents.
12		Edward Moras (1783-1863)	May 10th, 1839	May 10th, 1849	10 years	1839, 1844	Agrarian Party of Meridon
			Elected as the first Agrarian president after its inception in 1812, he participated in agricultural subsidies in the face of increasing industrialization. Summerhall Presidential Reserve was gifted to him during his presidency.
13		John Williamson (1800-1871)	May 10th, 1849	May 10th, 1859	10 years	1849, 1854	Federal Party
			Williamson, the protege of Hawkerly, intervened in the Integration Acts crises and championed the outlaw of indentured servitude as a form of taxation in Meridon. He also helped implement protections for Tangaran people and tribal entities under Federal laws. His marriage to a Tangaran woman was highly controversial.
14		Lambert Gérald (1802-1888)	May 10th, 1859	May 10th, 1869	10 years	1859, 1864	None
			A moderate, Gérald reduced government subsidies for industries in order to limit expenditures, but was generally ineffective at managing growing political and economical unrest as politics and wealth distribution became more polarized.
15		Howard Hughley (1814-1900)	May 10th, 1869	May 10th, 1874	5 years	1869	Conservative Union Party
			The first president from the Conservative Union Party, Hughley attempted to stem the tide of growing political discord but was actively stifled by a divided federal government and corrupted institutions. He was driven out of office following an adultery scandal.
16		Louis Cossetton (1805-1884)	May 10th, 1874	December 3rd, 1883	9 years, 6 months and 23 days	1874, 1879	Whitelily Party
			Formed the Whitelily Party to consolidate capitalist and mercantile interests and spent his term creating injunctions against labor rights, repealing the prohibition of child labor and certain forms of indentured servitude; however was responsible for government subsidies of intra-territorial rail infrastructure and and philanthropic ventures to fund the creation of libraries and water wells. Died of asphyxiation during a state dinner.
17		Leonard Sealey (1829-1912)	December 3rd, 1883	May 10th, 1889	5 years, 5 months and 7 days	1884	Whitelily Party
			Vice President of Louis Cossetton, he was elected to a full term in 1884 and continued minor philanthropic ventures and restricted the rights of organized labor in Meridon, but was defeated in a landslide 1890 election.
18		Josué Almeida (1829-1912)	May 10th, 1889	May 10th, 1899	10 years	1889,1894	Worker's Party
			Elected in a landslide against the Whitelily-backed Johnathan Rigenall, Almeida vigorously overturned labor setbacks made by the past two presidents. His presidency inflamed sectarian tensions in Meridon to the point that Whitelily-supporting companies and organizations created a market boycott that ground the nation to a halt. He was defeated by Phillipe Cossetton Sr. in 1889, and remains the only President from the Worker's Party to this day.
19		Phillippe Cossetton, Sr. (1835-1908)	May 10th, 1899	November 30th, 1908	8 years, 6 months and 20 days	1889, 1904	Whitelily Party
			Second of two Cossetton presidents, Phillipe Cossetton reversed much of the policies of his predecessor and is remembered as an agitator against labor rights. Philippe was impeached and acquitted at least five times for nepotism before he was assassinated in 1908.
20		Jean-Jacques Moreau (1843-1909)	November 30th, 1908	January 3rd, 1909	1 month and 4 days	None	Whitelily Party
			The Vice President of Philippe Cossetton, his was the shortest tenure of any President of Meridon, and he was the only president to never be elected to any office prior. His short term was marred by his ineffective response to widening political violence. He died of a heart attack, although some historians believe he committed suicide. His death caused the 1909 constitutional crisis, which lead into the culmination of the Takerehāia.
21		Admiral Daniel McBriar (1845-1920)	January 3rd, 1909	May 10th, 1910	1 year, 4 months and 7 days	None	Meridonian Navy
			At the behest of the Federal Council in the midst of the constitutional crisis and the Takerehāia, Admiral Daniel McBriar took the reins of the country as Provisional President during a period of martial law across Meridon and oversaw the peaceable conduct of the 1910 election, which was delayed by a year due to Phillipe Cossetton's death. Although his tenure saw the widespread use of emergency authority powers, he stepped down peaceably after Theodore Whitmond was elected and is commonly regarded highly among Meridon's presidents. He would later serve as Vice President to Whitmond during the second half of his term.
22		Theodore Whitmond (1874-1950)	May 10th, 1910	May 10th, 1915	5 years	1910	None
			Although only a one-term president, Theodore Whitmond was one of its most influential. Mediating and preventing the Takerehāia from escalating to a full-blown civil war, his implementation of the Whitmond System made it federal policy to intervene directly in political or economic trusts. He greatly expanded the authority of the Federal government, especially the Defense, State, and Interior Departments. Immensely unpopular in political circles and ousted from politics in the 1915 election by a combined coalition, he was the last nonpartisan president of Meridon to this date. His election contributed to the later disintegration of the Whitelily Party. Whitmond is also the only Meridonian president to disappear, being presumed killed during the Battle of Pandora during the Great War, although his body was never found. Alongside Reginald Lancaster, he is considered one of Meridon's best presidents.
23		Romero Licali (1860-1932)	May 10th, 1915	May 10th, 1920	5 years	1915	Conservative Union Party
			Served as a stabilizing force following Whitmond and encouraged the development of infrastructure to help dampen the post-Takerehāia economic slump- however was deemed ineffective in his response and voted out by Herrera in 1920.
24		Augustin Herrera (1877-1949)	May 10th, 1920	May 10th, 1930	10 years	1915	Federal Party
			Served as a stabilizing force following Whitmond and encouraged the development of infrastructure to help dampen the post-Takerehāia economic slump. Herrera took advantage of the Chamorro War and supplied both sides of the conflict while expanding government programs and agencies such as the Defense Forces.
25		Elliot Niessen (1872-1963)	May 10th, 1930	May 10th, 1940	10 years	1930, 1935	Federal Party
			Niessen continued Herrera's economic policies and attempted to steer Meridon clear of the then-raging Great War. His insistence on preventing any sort of meaningful military buildup handicapped Meridon during it's entry to the Great War, although he reversed course on this matter in his second term.
26		Reginald Lancaster (1892-1987)	May 10th, 1940	May 10th, 1955	15 years	1940, 1945, 1950	Conservative Union Party
			President during the Great War, Lancaster was elected for an unmatched three terms, making him the longest-serving head of state. Lancaster introduced strong state controls of production, served as a unifying figure domestically, and helped lead an effective war effort abroad. He later lead the effort to reconcile ties with Marquesan and solidifed the Defense Forces post-war as a permanent 'force in readiness'. His breaking of precedent to serve a third term was highly controversial and later resulted in the ## Adjustment to the Articles of Federation imposing two-term limits on Meridonian presidents. He is generally cited as one of Meridon's best presidents.
27		Louis van der Hilt (1905-1963)	May 10th, 1955	December 23rd, 1963	8 years, 7 months and 13 days	1955, 1960	Liberal Party
			Van der Hilt was instrumental in the establishment of term limits- initially for the Presidency but also campaigned for term limits on members of the Federal Council. Hilt was also a major proponent of the Meridonian switch to nuclear energy. Hilt was assassinated when a plane impacted the home of a family friend while he and his wife were having dinner.
28		Vincenzo Sacrimoni (1910-1989)	December 23rd, 1963	May 10th, 1970	6 years, 4 months and 17 days	1965	Liberal Party
			Sacrimoni was Van der Hilt's vice president, who finished the remainder of his term and won re-election in 1965. Sacrimoni cut federal spending and abolished war-time taxes on certain items such as cigarettes and alcohol, and aimed to de-regulate a number of industries.
29		Michael Rindley (1916-1993)	May 10th, 1970	May 10th, 1980	10 years	1970, 1975	Federal Party
			Established Summerhall as a game reserve and presided over the start of the 1980s economic slump. His policies are largely attributed to the Federal Party's defeat in the 1980 election.
30		Stewart Migidelle (1912-1985)	May 10th, 1980	May 10th, 1985	5 years	1980	Liberal Party
			Elected to manage the 1980s market slump, Migidelle enacted a number of severely unpopular austerity reforms and was criticized as ineffective delivering relief after a tsunami hit the Eastern Islands Territory and Taikorea Territory in 1984. The nail in his coffin came when plans to cancel the Navy's upcoming Sistine-class aircraft carriers were made public, causing widespread dissent in both popular and military circles, and lead to his landslide defeat in the 1985 election. Migidelle committed suicide six months after he was replaced in office by Tulin.
31		Franklin Tulin (1934-2012)	May 10th, 1985	May 10th, 1995	10 years	1985, 1990	Federal Party
			Elected in a landslide during the 1985 elections, Tulin is credited with helping to end the 1980s financial crisis. He maintained a relatively popular public opinion until he was connected to the Apex Initiative after his death, a program responsible for the death of over 1,000 Meridonians.
32		William Wendies (1945-2001)	May 10th, 1995	March 29th, 2001	5 years, 10 months and 19 days	1995, 2000	Agrarian Party of Meridon
			Presided over the intervention in Maltika in 2000 shortly after his re-election. Wendies was also responsible for maintaining Meridonian neutrality during the Jungg'o War. He was assassinated in 2001 and is the most recent Meridonian president to be assassinated.
33		Maximillian Bardly (1950-2020)	March 29th, 2001	May 10th, 2010	9 years, 1 month and 11 days	2005	Federal Party
			Initially the Vice President of William Wendies, he assumed office in the wake of his assasination. Created the Homeland Department and strengthened federal security agencies in the wake of the assassination.
34		Leonardo Verdugo (1958-)	May 10th, 2010	May 10th, 2020	10 years	2010, 2015	Liberal Party
			Regarded as a middle ground president. Verdugo presided over the Meridonian intervention in Marquesan in 2015 and enacted a number of domestic policies. His hands-off initial approach to the Marquesan crisis shortly after his election saw the Liberal party lose decisively in the 2020 elections coupled with relatively ineffectual domestic policies.
35		William Acton (1970-)	May 10th, 2020	October 5th, 2023	3 years, 4 months and 25 days	2020	Federal Party
			Presided over a number of significant Meridonian foreign policy events, including its entry into ICON and participation in and victory during the New England War. His domestic policy drives included the passing of MeriHealth, a universal care program, but its release was delayed. Resigned as a result of the outcome of the Advent Island crisis, with his vice president Yui Townley taking office upon his resignation. He is the first and only Meridonian president to resign from a non-health related issue.
36		Yui Townley (1977-)	October 5th, 2023	Present	1 year, 1 month and 16 days	None	Federal Party
			The current president of the Federal Republic, she is credited with the ending of the Advent crisis and the establishment of the Pan-Regional Multilateral Partnership in its wake. Townley has also spearheaded the full implementation of MeriHealth, a universal healthcare program. Townley is the first female, first Hiakemirian-Meridonian, and the youngest president in Meridonian history at time of taking office.