President of Belhavia
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| President of the Belhavian Empire | |
|---|---|
| Style | His Excellency (formal) Mr. President (informal) |
| Residence | Presidential Palace, Provisa |
| Appointer | His Imperial Majesty Emperor Aaron III |
| Term length | Four years Renewable once |
| Formation | Established by the ratification of the Imperial Constitution in 1812 |
| Salary | $450,000 |
The President of Belhavia, also referred to less commonly as the Imperial President of Belhavia, is the elected head of government of Belhavia and its Empire. The president leads the executive branch of the Imperial government and is the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Armed Forces.
The President of Belhavia is considered one of the world's most powerful people. The role includes being the commander-in-chief of one of the world's 6th largest, 2nd most expensive, and technologically-advanced military with the largest nuclear arsenal, and the 3rd largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of the president holds significant hard and soft power in world geopolitics as well as at home.
The Imperial Constitution initially vested limited executive power in the president and reserved more chief executive functions to the monarch. However, after the 1945 post-Galarian constitutional reforms, most executive power was transferred to, or enlarged for, the president. The power includes execution of Imperial law, alongside the responsibility of appointing Imperial executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Imperial Senate. The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn the Imperial Senate under extraordinary circumstances.
By the late 1940s, the president has become largely responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party of which the president belongs. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the Empire. Since the post-Galarian reforms, the power of the president has grown substantially.
The president is directly elected by registered voters through the regularly-scheduled first-past-the-post plurality voting system to a four-year term, and is one of only two nationally elected Imperial officers, the other being the Vice President of Belhavia. On January 21st, 2009, Eli Goldman became the XXth and current president. On November 6th, 2012, he was re-elected and is currently serving the XXth term, which ends on January 19th, 2017.
Historical Overview
19th century
Early 20th century
Post-Galarian
Qualifications and election
Eligibility
The requirements to hold the office of the presidency are:
- Be a natural-born citizen of Belhavia;
- Be at least thirty-two years old by the date of inauguration;
- Be a permanent resident of Belhavia for at least fifteen years.
A person who meets the above qualifications is still disqualified from holding the office of president under any of the following conditions:
- No person can be elected president more than twice. The article specifies that if any eligible person serves as president or acting president for more than two years of a term for which some other eligible person was elected president, the former can only be elected president once.
- Upon conviction in impeachment cases, the Imperial Senate has the option of disqualifying convicted individuals from holding Imperial office, including that of president.
- No person who swore an oath to support the Constitution, and later rebelled against the Empire, can become president.
Campaigns and nominations
The modern presidential campaign begins before the primary elections, which the major political parties use to clear the field of candidates before their national nominating conventions, where the most successful candidate is made the party's nominee for president. Typically, the party's presidential candidate chooses a vice presidential nominee, and this choice is rubber-stamped by the convention. The most common previous profession by Belhavian presidents are that of lawyers.
Nominees participate in nationally televised debates, and while the debates are usually restricted to the Conservative and Liberal Democratic nominees, third party candidates may be invited. Nominees campaign across the country to explain their views, convince voters and solicit contributions. Much of the modern electoral process is concerned with winning swing provinces through frequent visits and mass media advertising drives.
Oath
The president's term of office begins at noon on the third Tuesday of the month of January of the year following the election. This date, known as "Inauguration Day," marks the beginning of the four-year terms of both the president and the vice president. Before executing the powers of the office, a president is constitutionally required to take the presidential oath:
I do solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the Belhavian Empire; I will to the best of my Ability, protect and defend the Imperial Constitution, His Majesty the Emperor, our most august Empire, and all Imperial citizenry and G-d-given laws; lastly, I pray that Moshiach will come, speedily in our days.
Presidents have traditionally palmed a Chumash while affirming the oath. Furthermore, although the oath may be administered by any person authorized by law to administer oaths, presidents are traditionally sworn in by the Chief Justice of Belhavia, a practice started in 1837.
Tenure and term limits
The term of office for president and vice president is four years. Although given a set, fixed term, the presidency was viewed by the framers in the 1811 Constitutional Convention as a high post nonetheless "serving at His Majesty's pleasure" and thus capped at a possible two terms, totaling eight years, believed by the framers to be the longest-length of service desirable, influenced by 18th and early 19th century customs of a monarch's senior minister serving no more than 7-9 years.
Vacancy or disability
Vacancies in the office of President may arise under several possible circumstances: death, resignation and removal from office.
The Constitution allows the Senate to impeach high Imperial officials, including the president, for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Furthermore, it gives the Senate the power to remove impeached officials from office, given a two-thirds vote to convict.
The president may transfer the presidential powers and duties to the vice president, who then becomes acting president, by transmitting a statement to the President of the Imperial Senate stating the reasons for the transfer. The president resumes the discharge of the presidential powers and duties upon transmitting, to that official and an eligible witness, a written declaration stating that resumption. This transfer of power may occur for any reason the president considers appropriate.
The vice president, in conjunction with a majority of the Cabinet, may transfer the presidential powers and duties from the president to the vice president by transmitting a written declaration to the President of the Senate that the president is unable to discharge the presidential powers and duties. If this occurs, then the vice president will assume the presidential powers and duties as acting president; however, the president can declare that no such inability exists and resume the discharge of the presidential powers and duties. If the vice president and Cabinet contest this claim, it is up to the Senate, which must meet within two days if not already in session, to decide the merit of the claim. This has occurred only once, to President Elazar Schneerson during the run-up to the failed Revolution of 1854. In this case, Schneerson's Vice-President and Cabinet won, with the Senate voting 45-25 in their favor.
The Imperial Constitution mentions the resignation of the president, but does not regulate its form or the conditions for its validity. Pursuant to Imperial law, the only valid evidence of the president's resignation is a written instrument to that effect, signed by the president and delivered to the office of the Minister for Interior.
The vice president becomes president upon the removal from office, death or resignation of the preceding president. The Presidential Succession Act of 1946 provides that if the offices of President and Vice President are each either vacant or are held by a disabled person, the next officer in the presidential line of succession, the President of the Imperial Senate, followed by every member of the Cabinet. These persons must fulfill all eligibility requirements of the office of President to be eligible to become acting president; ineligible individuals are skipped. There has only been one special election for the office of President, in July 1945 during the acting presidency of Matthew Rabin in the early Provisional Government era. The Presidential Succession Act a year later prohibited such special elections in future crises.