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101-424: A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law . In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution . Veto powers are also found at other levels of government, such as in state, provincial or local government, and in international bodies. Some vetoes can be overcome, often by

202-503: A representative democracy can be elusive with the diversity and variety of opinions in a participatory democracy . Unanimity is often a political endeavor. Although governments and international organizations may occasionally achieve unanimous decisions, popular consent is most often a more achievable aspiration for elected officials. The legitimacy supposedly established by unanimity has been used by dictatorial regimes in an attempt to gain support for their position. Participants in

303-725: A republic can be traced directly to the United States Constitution of 1787, which created the office of President of the United States . Previous American governments had included "presidents" (such as the president of the Continental Congress or the president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress ), but these were presiding officers in the older sense, with no executive authority. It has been suggested that

404-677: A republic . The first usage of the word president to denote the highest official in a government was during the Commonwealth of England . Thomas Hungerford , who became the first speaker of the English House of Commons in 1376, used the title, "Mr. Speaker", a precedent followed by subsequent speakers of the House of Commons. After the abolition of the monarchy the English Council of State , whose members were elected by

505-689: A supermajority vote: in the United States , a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate can override a presidential veto. Some vetoes, however, are absolute and cannot be overridden. For example, in the United Nations Security Council , the five permanent members ( China , France , Russia , the United Kingdom , and the United States ) have an absolute veto over any Security Council resolution . In many cases,

606-407: A "block veto" or "full veto", vetoes a legislative act as a whole. A partial veto, also called a line item veto , allows the executive to object only to some specific part of the law while allowing the rest to stand. An executive with a partial veto has a stronger negotiating position than an executive with only a package veto power. An amendatory veto or amendatory observation returns legislation to

707-400: A "policy veto" can be used wherever the executive disagrees with the bill on policy grounds. Presidents with constitutional vetoes include those of Benin and South Africa. A legislative veto is a veto power exercised by a legislative body. It may be a veto exercised by the legislature against an action of the executive branch, as in the case of the legislative veto in the United States , which

808-518: A "white veto" to protect the interests of white South Africans was proposed but not adopted. More recently, Indigenous vetoes over industrial projects on Indigenous land have been proposed following the 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples , which requires the "free, prior and informed consent" of Indigenous communities to development or resource extraction projects on their land. However, many governments have been reluctant to allow such

909-735: A 100% turnout and a 100% vote for the Workers' Party of Korea . 100% votes have also been claimed by Ahmed Sékou Touré in Guinea in 1975 and 1982, Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Côte d'Ivoire in 1985, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2002. In criminal law jury trials , many jurisdictions require a guilty verdict by a jury to be unanimous. This is not so in civil law jury trials. The United States Supreme Court ruled in Ramos v. Louisiana (2020) that

1010-620: A change in government policy . Veto points are the institutional opportunities that give these actors the ability to veto. The theory of veto points was first developed by Ellen M. Immergut in 1990, in a comparative case study of healthcare reform in different political systems. Breaking with earlier scholarship, Immergut argued that "we have veto points within political systems and not veto groups within societies." Veto player analysis draws on game theory . George Tsebelis first developed it in 1995 and set it forth in detail in 2002 Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work . A veto player

1111-405: A check on the power of the government, or a branch of government , most commonly the legislative branch. Thus, in governments with a separation of powers , vetoes may be classified by the branch of government that enacts them: an executive veto, legislative veto , or judicial veto . Other types of veto power, however, have safeguarded other interests. The denial of royal assent by governors in

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1212-563: A finding of guilty; for example, article 21 of the Maryland Constitution 's Declaration of Rights states: That in all criminal prosecutions, every man hath a right to be informed of the accusation against him; to have a copy of the Indictment, or charge, in due time (if required) to prepare for his defence; to be allowed counsel; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have process for his witnesses; to examine

1313-408: A full-sized university so much as one of its constituent colleges. A number of colleges at Cambridge University featured an official called the "president". The head, for instance, of Magdalene College, Cambridge was called the master and his second the president . The first president of Harvard, Henry Dunster , had been educated at Magdalene. Some have speculated that he borrowed the term out of

1414-667: A law that gave the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee , appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong , the power to veto candidates for the Hong Kong Legislative Council . In presidential and semi-presidential systems, the veto is a legislative power of the presidency, because it involves the president in the process of making law. In contrast to proactive powers such as the ability to introduce legislation ,

1515-561: A legislative majority. Some republican thinkers such as Thomas Jefferson , however, argued for eliminating the veto power entirely as a relic of monarchy. To avoid giving the president too much power, most early presidential vetoes, such as the veto power in the United States , were qualified vetoes that the legislature could override. But this was not always the case: the Chilean constitution of 1833, for example, gave that country's president an absolute veto. Most modern vetoes are intended as

1616-405: A legislature may be coerced or intimidated into supporting the position of a dictator, with the legislature becoming little more than a rubber stamp for a more powerful authority. One-party states can restrict nominees to one per seat in elections and use compulsory voting or electoral fraud to create an impression of popular unanimity. The 1962 North Korean parliamentary election reported

1717-613: A period of internal political violence in Rome. In the constitution of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th and 18th centuries, all bills had to pass the Sejm or "Seimas" (parliament) by unanimous consent, and if any legislator invoked the liberum veto , this not only vetoed that bill but also all previous legislation passed during the session, and dissolved the legislative session itself. The concept originated in

1818-770: A president is not only head of state, but also head of government, this is known in Europe as a President of the Council (from the French Président du Conseil ), used 1871–1940 and 1944–1958 in the Third and Fourth French Republics . In the United States the president has always been both Head of State and Head of Government and has always had the title of President. Presidents in this system are either directly elected by popular vote or indirectly elected by an electoral college or some other democratically elected body. In

1919-417: A prestigious residence, often a lavish mansion or palace, sometimes more than one (e.g. summer and winter residences, or a country retreat) Customary symbols of office may include an official uniform, decorations, a presidential seal, coat of arms, flag and other visible accessories, as well as military honours such as gun salutes , ruffles and flourishes , and a presidential guard. A common presidential symbol

2020-514: A proposition suggested by the president of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and later made law by the Parliament of Russia and President Dmitriy Medvedev in 2010. Despite this, however, presidents of Tatarstan resisted the move, before 2023, where it was switched to the Head or Rais , the latter of which could be translated from Tatar as "President" . The lord president of the Council is one of

2121-465: A sense of humility, considering himself only a temporary place-holder. The presiding official of Yale College , originally a " rector " (after the usage of continental European universities), became "president" in 1745. A common style of address for presidents, "Mr/Mrs. President", is borrowed from British Parliamentary tradition, in which the presiding Speaker of the House of Commons is referred to as "Mr/Mrs. Speaker". Coincidentally, this usage resembles

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2222-426: A specified period of time and in some cases may be re-elected by the same process by which they are appointed, i.e. in many nations, periodic popular elections. The powers vested in such presidents vary considerably. Some presidencies, such as that of Ireland , are largely ceremonial, whereas other systems vest the president with substantive powers such as the appointment and dismissal of prime ministers or cabinets ,

2323-565: A veto originated with the Roman offices of consul and tribune of the plebs . There were two consuls every year; either consul could block military or civil action by the other. The tribunes had the power to unilaterally block any action by a Roman magistrate or the decrees passed by the Roman Senate . The institution of the veto, known to the Romans as the intercessio , was adopted by

2424-423: A veto power include Slovenia and Luxembourg , where the power to withhold royal assent was abolished in 2008. Countries that have some form of veto power include the following: In political science, the broader power of people and groups to prevent change is sometimes analyzed through the frameworks of veto points and veto players . Veto players are actors who can potentially exercise some sort of veto over

2525-417: A veto. Vetoes may be classified by whether the vetoed body can override them, and if so, how. An absolute veto cannot be overridden at all. A qualified veto can be overridden by a supermajority , such as two-thirds or three-fifths. A suspensory veto, also called a suspensive veto, can be overridden by a simple majority, and thus serves only to delay the law from coming into force. A package veto, also called

2626-492: A way of comparing very different political systems, such as presidential and parliamentary systems. Veto player analyses can also incorporate people and groups that have de facto power to prevent policy change, even if they do not have the legal power to do so. Some literature distinguishes cooperative veto points (within institutions) and competitive veto points (between institutions), theorizing competitive veto points contribute to obstructionism . Some literature disagrees with

2727-466: Is a political actor who has the ability to stop a change from the status quo. There are institutional veto players, whose consent is required by constitution or statute; for example, in US federal legislation, the veto players are the House, Senate and presidency. There are also partisan veto players, which are groups that can block policy change from inside an institutional veto player. In a coalition government

2828-483: Is a title assumed by some dictators to try to ensure their authority or legitimacy is never questioned. Presidents like Alexandre Pétion , Rafael Carrera , Josip Broz Tito and François Duvalier died in office. Kim Il Sung was named Eternal President of the Republic after his death. Only a tiny minority of modern republics do not have a single head of state. Some examples of this are: The president of China

2929-454: Is allowed to serve only one term. In Brazil , the president is directly elected for a four-year term by popular vote. A candidate has to have more than 50% of the valid votes. If no candidates achieve a majority of the votes, there is a runoff election between the two candidates with most votes. Again, a candidate needs a majority of the vote to be elected. In Brazil, a president cannot be elected to more than two consecutive terms, but there

3030-492: Is conducted according to the rules of order ( see also chairman and speaker ), but today it most commonly refers to an executive official in any social organization. Early examples are from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge (from 1464) and the founding president of the Royal Society William Brouncker in 1660. This usage survives today in the title of such offices as " President of

3131-583: Is derived from the Latin prae- "before" + sedere "to sit". The word "presidents" is also used in the King James Bible at Daniel 6:2 to translate the Aramaic term סָרְכִ֣ין (sā·rə·ḵîn) , a word of likely Persian origin, meaning "officials", "commissioners", "overseers" or "chiefs". As such, it originally designated the officer who presides over or "sits before" a gathering and ensures that debate

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3232-686: Is found in 28 US states. It may also be a veto power exercised by one chamber of a bicameral legislature against another, such as was formerly held by members of the Senate of Fiji appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs . In certain political systems, a particular body is able to exercise a veto over candidates for an elected office. This type of veto may also be referred to by the broader term " vetting ". Historically, certain European Catholic monarchs were able to veto candidates for

3333-441: Is most commonly found in presidential and semi-presidential systems . In parliamentary systems , the head of state often has either a weak veto power or none at all. But while some political systems do not contain a formal veto power, all political systems contain veto players , people or groups who can use social and political power to prevent policy change. The word "veto" comes from the Latin for "I forbid". The concept of

3434-597: Is no limit on the number of terms a president can serve. Many South American , Central American , African and some Asian nations follow the presidential model. A second system is the semi-presidential system , also known as the French model. In this system, as in the parliamentary system, there are both a president and a prime minister; but unlike the parliamentary system, the president may have significant day-to-day power. For example, in France, when their party controls

3535-563: Is not considered to be head of state. Since 1998, however, presidential officeholders in Laos often occupy their position as General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party concurrently, and thus exercise political power via that role. In accordance with the current Laotian Constitution (rev. in 2015) , the president may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms, and elections are to take place every 5 years. The President of Laos

3636-404: Is not specifically defined, although an abstention is not counted as a vote regardless of the voting threshold. Also in this book, action could be taken by " unanimous consent ", or "general consent", if there are no objections raised. However, unanimous consent may not necessarily be the same as a unanimous vote (see Not the same as unanimous vote ). In either case, it does not take into account

3737-523: Is the commander-in-chief of the Lao People's Armed Forces . They also possess the authority (with the consent of the national assembly) to appoint the prime minister and vice president , as well as other roles. The current President of Laos, elected in March 2021, is Thongloun Sisoulith . As the country's head of state, in most countries the president is entitled to certain perquisites, and may have

3838-677: Is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . Under the country's constitution , the presidency is a largely ceremonial office with limited power. However, since 1993, as a matter of convention, the presidency has been held simultaneously by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party , the top leader in the single-party system . Between 1982 and 2019, the Chinese constitution stipulated that

3939-483: Is the presidential sash worn most often by presidents in Latin America and Africa as a symbol of the continuity of the office. United Nations member countries in columns, other entities at the beginning: Some countries with parliamentary systems use a term meaning/translating as "president" (in some languages indistinguishable from chairman) for the head of parliamentary government, often as President of

4040-758: Is the case in many states: Idi Amin in Uganda , Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire , Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines , Suharto in Indonesia , and Saddam Hussein in Iraq are some examples. Other presidents in authoritarian states have wielded only symbolic or no power such as Craveiro Lopes in Portugal and Joaquín Balaguer under the "Trujillo Era" of the Dominican Republic . President for Life

4141-584: Is the conventional translation of non- English titles such as Monsieur le Président for the president of the French Republic . It also has a long history of usage as the title of the presiding officers of legislative and judicial bodies. The speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is addressed as président de la Chambre des communes in French and as Mr. Speaker in English. The title president

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4242-511: Is typically weak or nonexistent. In particular, in Westminster systems and most constitutional monarchies , the power to veto legislation by withholding royal assent is a rarely used reserve power of the monarch. In practice, the Crown follows the convention of exercising its prerogative on the advice of parliament. European countries in which the executive or head of state does not have

4343-709: The ASSRs , used to enjoy more privileges than the ordinary krais and oblasts of the RSFSR (such as greater representation in the Soviet of Nationalities ). Thus, the ASSRs and their eventual successors would have more in common with nation-states than with ordinary administrative divisions, at least in spirit, and would choose titles accordingly. Over the course of the 2010s the presidents of Russian republics would progressively change their title to that of Head ( Russian : глава ),

4444-586: The Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom who presides over meetings of British Privy Council ; the Cabinet headed by the prime minister is technically a committee of the Council, and all decisions of the Cabinet are formally approved through Orders in Council . Although the lord president is a member of the Cabinet, the position is largely a ceremonial one and is traditionally given to either

4545-517: The Roman Republic in the 6th century BC to enable the tribunes to protect the mandamus interests of the plebeians (common citizenry) from the encroachments of the patricians , who dominated the Senate. A tribune's veto did not prevent the senate from passing a bill but meant that it was denied the force of law. The tribunes could also use the veto to prevent a bill from being brought before

4646-764: The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution mandates unanimity in all federal and state criminal jury trials. This overturned Apodaca v. Oregon , which held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not require jury unanimity in state courts , with a concurring opinion that the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution mandates unanimity for a guilty verdict in a federal court jury trial. Many U.S. state constitutions have their own provisions requiring jury unanimity for

4747-481: The United States , the president is indirectly elected by the Electoral College made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. In most states of the United States, each elector is committed to voting for a specified candidate determined by the popular vote in each state, so that the people, in voting for each elector, are in effect voting for the candidate. However, for various reasons

4848-555: The United States House of Representatives that the title be altered to "Mr. President". Nonetheless, later "The Honorable" became the standard title of the President in formal address, and "His/Her Excellency" became the title of the President when addressed formally internationally. Historically, the title was reserved for the incumbent president only, and was not to be used for former presidents, holding that it

4949-519: The leader of the House of Commons or the leader of the House of Lords . Historically the president of the Board of Trade was a cabinet member. In Alderney , the elected head of government is called the president of the States of Alderney . Unanimous Practice varies as to whether a vote can be considered unanimous if some voter abstains . In Robert's Rules of Order , a "unanimous vote"

5050-532: The papacy , a power known as the jus exclusivae . This power was used for the last time in 1903 by Franz Joseph I of Austria . In Iran, the Guardian Council has the power to approve or disapprove candidates, in addition to its veto power over legislation. In China, following a pro-democracy landslide in the 2019 Hong Kong local elections , in 2021 the National People's Congress approved

5151-483: The parlement in which the magistrate sits, but rather, in imitation of an aristocratic title, to his private estate. This influenced parliamentary usage in France. When the Second French Republic was established in 1848, "Monsieur le Président" became the title of the president of the French Republic. The modern usage of the term president to designate a single person who is the head of state of

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5252-438: The parliamentary republic is a system with an executive president in which the president is the head of state and the government but unlike a presidential system , is elected by and accountable to a parliament, and referred to as president. Countries using this system include Botswana , Nauru and South Africa . In dictatorships , the title of president is frequently taken by self-appointed or military-backed leaders. Such

5353-675: The president of Austria ) or de jure no significant executive power (such as the president of Ireland ), and the executive powers rests with the prime minister who automatically assumes the post as head of a majority party or coalition, but takes oath of office administered by the president. However, the president is head of the civil service, commander in chief of the armed forces and in some cases can dissolve parliament. Countries using this system include Austria , Armenia , Albania , Bangladesh , Czech Republic , Germany , Greece , Hungary , Iceland , India , Ireland , Israel , Italy , Malta , Pakistan , and Singapore . A variation of

5454-604: The 17th and 18th centuries, seats in the Parlements , including presidencies, became effectively hereditary, since the holder of the office could ensure that it would pass to an heir by paying the crown a special tax known as the paulette . The post of "first president" ( premier président ), however, could be held by only the King 's nominees. The Parlements were abolished by the French Revolution . In modern France

5555-460: The Board of Trade " and " Lord President of the Council " in the United Kingdom , as well as "President of the Senate" in the United States (one of the roles constitutionally assigned to the vice president ). The officiating priest at certain Anglican religious services, too, is sometimes called the "president" in this sense. The most common modern usage is as the title of a head of state in

5656-527: The British colonies, which continued well after the practice had ended in Britain itself, served as a check by one level of government against another. Vetoes may also be used to safeguard the interests of particular groups within a country. The veto power of the ancient Roman tribunes protected the interests of one social class (the plebeians) against another (the patricians). In the transition from apartheid ,

5757-513: The European institution of royal assent , in which the monarch's consent was required for bills to become law. This in turn had evolved from earlier royal systems in which laws were simply issued by the monarch, as was the case for example in England until the reign of Edward III in the 14th century. In England itself, the power of the monarch to deny royal assent was not used after 1708, but it

5858-409: The French model. In Finland, although the 2000 constitution moved towards a ceremonial presidency, the system is still formally semi-presidential, with the president of Finland retaining e.g. foreign policy and appointment powers. The parliamentary republic , is a parliamentary system in which the presidency is largely ceremonial with either de facto or no significant executive authority (such as

5959-545: The Government, President of the Council of Ministers or President of the Executive Council . However, such an official is explicitly not the president of the country . These officials are called "president" using an older sense of the word, to denote the fact that the official heads the cabinet . A separate head of state generally exists in their country who instead serves as the president or monarch of

6060-523: The House of Commons, became the executive government of the Commonwealth. The Council of State was the successor of the Privy Council , which had previously been headed by the lord president ; its successor the Council of State was also headed by a lord president, the first of which was John Bradshaw . However, the lord president alone was not head of state, because that office was vested in

6161-401: The Roman veto occurred in the Gracchan land reform , which was initially spearheaded by the tribune Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BC. When Gracchus' fellow tribune Marcus Octavius vetoed the reform, the Assembly voted to remove him on the theory that a tribune must represent the interests of the plebeians. Later, senators outraged by the reform murdered Gracchus and several supporters, setting off

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6262-416: The United States, the pocket veto can only be exercised near the end of a legislative session; if the deadline for presidential action passes during the legislative session, the bill will simply become law. The legislature cannot override a pocket veto. Some veto powers are limited in their subject matter. A constitutional veto only allows the executive to veto bills that are unconstitutional ; in contrast,

6363-504: The administering of the oath of office ended with the proclamation: "Long live George Washington, President of the United States ." No title other than the name of the office of the executive was officially used at the inauguration. The question of a presidential title was being debated in Congress at the time, however, having become official legislative business with Richard Henry Lee 's motion of April 23, 1789. Lee's motion asked Congress to consider "what titles it will be proper to annex to

6464-444: The chief judge of a court is known as its president ( président de la cour ). By the 18th century, the president of a French parlement was addressed as "Monsieur le Président". In Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 's 1782 novel Les Liaisons dangereuses ("Dangerous Liaisons"), the wife of a magistrate in a parlement is referred to as Madame la Présidente de Tourvel ("Madam President of Tourvel"). The fictional name Tourvel refers not to

6565-400: The claim of veto player theory that multiparty governments are likely to be gridlocked . President (government title) President is a common title for the head of state in most republics . Depending on the country, a president could be head of government , a ceremonial figurehead, or something between these two extremes. The functions exercised by a president vary according to

6666-506: The council as a whole. The speaker of the House of Commons of Canada , established in 1867, is also addressed as "Monsieur le Président" or "Madame la Présidente" in French. In pre-revolutionary France , the president of a Parlement evolved into a powerful magistrate , a member of the so-called noblesse de robe (" nobility of the gown"), with considerable judicial as well as administrative authority. The name referred to his primary role of presiding over trials and other hearings. In

6767-402: The country. Thus, such officials are really premiers , and to avoid confusion are often described simply as 'prime minister' when being mentioned internationally. There are several examples for this kind of presidency: President can also be the title of the chief executive at a lower administrative level, such as the parish presidents of the parishes of the U.S. state of Louisiana ,

6868-521: The equivalent of the mayor . The Office of the President (Mayor) is also found in Germany and Switzerland. Governors of ethnic republics in the Russian Federation used to have the title of President, occasionally alongside other, secondary titles such as Chairman of the Government (also used by Prime Minister of Russia ). This likely reflects the origin of Russian republics as homelands for various ethnic groups: while all federal subjects of Russia are currently de jure equal , their predecessors,

6969-400: The executive than deletional vetoes, because they give the executive the power to move policy closer to its own preferred state than would otherwise be possible. But even a suspensory package veto that can be overridden by a simple majority can be effective in stopping or modifying legislation. For example, in Estonia in 1993, president Lennart Meri was able to successfully obtain amendments to

7070-432: The executive use of the term was borrowed from early American colleges and universities, which were usually headed by a president . British universities were headed by an official called the " Chancellor " (typically a ceremonial position) while the chief administrator held the title of " Vice-Chancellor ". But America's first institutions of higher learning (such as Harvard University and Yale University ) did not resemble

7171-427: The executive, both the president and the vice president (i.e., himself), be styled Majesty to prevent the "great danger" of an executive with insufficient dignity. Adams' efforts were met with widespread derision; Thomas Jefferson called them "the most superlatively ridiculous thing I ever heard of", while Benjamin Franklin considered it "absolutely mad". Washington consented to the demands of James Madison and

7272-591: The financial veto in New Zealand). Other veto powers (such as in Finland) apply only to non-budgetary matters; some (such as in South Africa) apply only to constitutional matters. A veto power that is not limited in this way is known as a "policy veto". One type of budgetary veto, the reduction veto, which is found in several US states, gives the executive the authority to reduce budgetary appropriations that

7373-632: The first presidential republic in the Caribbean when Henri Christophe assumed the title in 1807. Almost all the Pan-American nations that became independent from Spain in the early 1810s and 1820s chose a US-style president as their chief executive. The first European president was the president of the Italian Republic of 1802 , a client state of revolutionary France, in the person of Napoleon Bonaparte . The first African president

7474-476: The form of government . In parliamentary republics , they are usually, but not always, limited to those of the head of state and are thus largely ceremonial. In presidential and selected parliamentary (e.g. Botswana and South Africa ) republics the role of the president is more prominent, encompassing the functions of the head of government . In semi-presidential republics , the president has some discretionary powers like over foreign affairs, appointment of

7575-458: The head of government and defence, but they are not themselves head of government. A leader of a one-party state may also hold the position of president for ceremonial purposes or to maintain an official state position. The title " Mr. President " may apply to a person holding the title of president or presiding over certain other governmental bodies. "Mr. President" has subsequently been used by governments to refer to their heads of state. It

7676-498: The idea of "Polish democracy" as any Pole of noble extraction was considered as good as any other, no matter how low or high his material condition might be. The more and more frequent use of this veto power paralyzed the power of the legislature and, combined with a string of weak figurehead kings, led ultimately to the partitioning and the dissolution of the Polish state in the late 18th century. The modern executive veto derives from

7777-450: The legislature has made. When an executive is given multiple different veto powers, the procedures for overriding them may differ. For example, in the US state of Illinois, if the legislature takes no action on a reduction veto, the reduction simply becomes law, while if the legislature takes no action on an amendatory veto, the bill dies. A pocket veto is a veto that takes effect simply by the executive or head of state taking no action. In

7878-515: The legislature with proposed amendments, which the legislature may either adopt or override. The effect of legislative inaction may vary: in some systems, if the legislature does nothing, the vetoed bill fails, while in others, the vetoed bill becomes law. Because the amendatory veto gives the executive a stronger role in the legislative process, it is often seen as a marker of a particularly strong veto power. Some veto powers are limited to budgetary matters (as with line-item vetoes in some US states, or

7979-534: The majority of seats in the National Assembly , the president can operate closely with the parliament and prime minister , and work towards a common agenda. When the National Assembly is controlled by their opponents, however, the president can find themselves marginalized with the opposition party prime minister exercising most of the power. Though the prime minister remains an appointee of

8080-620: The members who were not present. In contrast, a United Nations Security Council resolution is not considered "unanimous" if a member abstains. In the European Union , the Treaty of Amsterdam introduced the concept of "constructive abstention", where a member can abstain in a vote where unanimity is required without thereby blocking the success of the vote. This is intended to allow states to symbolically withhold support while not paralysing decision-making. The occurrence of unanimity in

8181-457: The numbers of electors in favour of each candidate are unlikely to be proportional to the popular vote. Thus, in five close United States elections ( 1824 , 1876 , 1888 , 2000 , and 2016 ), the candidate with the most popular votes still lost the election. In Mexico , the president is directly elected for a six-year term by popular vote. The candidate who wins the most votes is elected president even without an absolute majority. The president

8282-545: The offices of President and Vice President of the United States ;– if any other than those given in the Constitution". Vice President John Adams , in his role as President of the United States Senate , organized a congressional committee . There Adams agitated for the adoption of the style of Highness (as well as the title of Protector of Their [the United States'] Liberties ) for

8383-424: The older French custom of referring to the president of a parlement as " Monsieur/Madame le Président ", a form of address that in modern France applies to both the president of the Republic and to chief judges. In the United States, the title "Mr. President" is used in a number of formal instances as well: for example anyone presiding over the United States Senate is addressed as "Mr./Madam President", especially

8484-546: The partisan veto players are typically the members of the governing coalition. According to Tsebelis' veto player theorem, policy change becomes harder the more veto players there are, the greater the ideological distance between them, and the greater their internal coherence. For example, Italy and the United States have stable policies because they have many veto players, while Greece and the United Kingdom have unstable policies because they have few veto players. While

8585-493: The plebeian assembly. The consuls also had the power of veto, as decision-making generally required the assent of both consuls. If they disagreed, either could invoke the intercessio to block the action of the other. The veto was an essential component of the Roman conception of power being wielded not only to manage state affairs but to moderate and restrict the power of the state's high officials and institutions. A notable use of

8686-426: The power to declare war , and powers of veto on legislation. In many nations the president is also the commander-in-chief of the nation's armed forces, though this varies significantly around the world. In almost all states with a presidential system of government, the president exercises the functions of head of state and head of government , i.e. the president directs the executive branch of government. When

8787-482: The power to issue a suspensive veto that could be overridden by a majority vote in two successive sessions of the Legislative Assembly, which would take four to six years. With the abolition of the monarchy in 1792, the question of the French royal veto became moot. The presidential veto was conceived in by republicans in the 18th and 19th centuries as a counter-majoritarian tool, limiting the power of

8888-561: The president could not serve more than two consecutive terms. During the Mao era , as well as since March 2018, there were no term limits attached to this office. Under President Xi Jinping , the term limits of the presidency were abolished, but its powers and ceremonial role remained unchanged. In Laos , which is a one-party state similar to that of China, the president is elected by the Laotian National Assembly , and

8989-619: The president, the president must obey the rules of parliament, and select a leader from the house's majority holding party. Thus, sometimes the president and prime minister can be allies, sometimes rivals; the latter situation is known in France as cohabitation . Variants of the French semi-presidential system, developed at the beginning of the Fifth Republic by Charles de Gaulle , are used in France , Portugal , Romania , Sri Lanka and several post-colonial countries which have emulated

9090-448: The president. Adams and Lee were among the most outspoken proponents of an exalted presidential title. Others favored the variant of Electoral Highness or the lesser Excellency , the latter of which was vociferously opposed by Adams, who contended that it was far beneath the presidential dignity, as the executives of the states, some of which were also titled "President" (e.g. the president of Pennsylvania ), at that time often enjoyed

9191-415: The presiding member of city council for villages in the U.S. state of Illinois , or the municipal presidents of Mexico 's municipalities . Perhaps the best known sub-national presidents are the borough presidents of the five boroughs of New York City . In Poland, the president of the city ( Polish : Prezydent miasta ) is the executive authority of the municipality elected in direct elections,

9292-415: The proposed Law on Aliens after issuing a suspensory veto of the bill and proposing amendments based on expert opinions on European law. Globally, the executive veto over legislation is characteristic of presidential and semi-presidential systems , with stronger veto powers generally being associated with stronger presidential powers overall. In parliamentary systems , the veto power of the head of state

9393-442: The stronger the veto. Partial vetoes are less vulnerable to override than package vetoes, and political scientists who have studied the matter have generally considered partial vetoes to give the executive greater power than package vetoes. However, empirical studies of the line-item veto in US state government have not found any consistent effect on the executive's ability to advance its agenda. Amendatory vetoes give greater power to

9494-460: The style of Excellency ; Adams said the president "would be leveled with colonial governors or with functionaries from German princedoms" if he were to use the style of Excellency . Adams and Richard Henry Lee both feared that cabals of powerful senators would unduly influence a weak executive, and saw an exalted title as a way of strengthening the presidency. On further consideration, Adams deemed even Highness insufficient and instead proposed that

9595-409: The veto is a reactive power, because the president cannot veto a bill until the legislature has passed it. Executive veto powers are often ranked as comparatively "strong" or "weak". A veto power may be considered stronger or weaker depending on its scope, the time limits for exercising it and requirements for the vetoed body to override it. In general, the greater the majority required for an override,

9696-410: The veto player and veto point approaches complement one another, the veto players framework has become dominant in the study of policy change. Scholarship on rational choice theory has favored the veto player approach because the veto point framework does not address why political actors decide to use a veto point. In addition, because veto player analysis can apply to any political system, it provides

9797-453: The veto power can only be used to prevent changes to the status quo. But some veto powers also include the ability to make or propose changes. For example, the Indian president can use an amendatory veto to propose amendments to vetoed bills. The executive power to veto legislation is one of the main tools that the executive has in the legislative process , along with the proposal power . It

9898-440: The vice president, who is the president of the Senate . Other uses of the title include presidents of state and local legislatures, however only the president of the United States uses the title outside of formal sessions. The 1787 Constitution of the United States did not specify the manner of address for the president. When George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States on April 30, 1789, however,

9999-415: Was not proper to use the title as a courtesy title when addressing a former president. According to the official website of the United States of America, the correct way to address a letter is to use "The Honorable John Doe" and the correct salutation is "Mr. Doe". Once the United States adopted the title of "president" for its republican head of state, many other nations followed suit. Haiti became

10100-466: Was the president of Liberia (1848), while the first Asian president was the president of the Republic of China (1912). In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the powers of presidencies have varied from country to country. The spectrum of power has included presidents-for-life and hereditary presidencies to ceremonial heads of state . Presidents in the countries with a democratic or representative form of government are usually elected for

10201-529: Was used extensively in the British colonies. The heavy use of this power was mentioned in the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776. Following the French Revolution in 1789, the royal veto was hotly debated, and hundreds of proposals were put forward for different versions of the royal veto, as either absolute, suspensive, or nonexistent. With the adoption of the French Constitution of 1791 , King Louis XVI lost his absolute veto and acquired

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