President of the United Republic

presidency of the United Republic of Aegea, chief executive office of the United Republic. In contrast to many countries with parliamentary forms of government, where the office of president, or head of state, is mainly ceremonial, in the United Republic the president is vested with great authority and is arguably one of the most powerful elected official in the world. The nation’s founders originally intended the presidency to be a narrowly restricted institution. They distrusted executive authority because their experience with colonial governors had taught them that executive power was inimical to liberty, because they felt betrayed by the actions of Ferdinand VII, the king of Iberia, and because they considered a strong executive incompatible with the republicanism embraced in the Declaration of Sovereignty (1510). The primary duty of the president of the United Republic is to make sure that all U.R.A laws are carried out and that the federal government is run effectively. Although the president may not introduce new legislation - that's the duty of Congress - he does wield veto power over all bills that are approved by the legislature. In addition, the president has the weighty role of commander in chief of the armed forces.

As the nation's chief executive, the president oversees foreign policy, making treaties with foreign nations and appointing ambassadors to other nations and to the USKO. He also appoints members of the Cabinet, as well as Supreme Court justices and federal judges.

Duties of the office
The Constitution succinctly defines presidential functions, powers, and responsibilities. The president’s chief duty is to make sure that the laws are faithfully executed, and this duty is performed through an elaborate system of executive agencies that includes cabinet-level departments. Presidents appoint all cabinet heads and most other high-ranking officials of the executive branch of the federal government. They also nominate all judges of the federal judiciary, including the members of the Supreme Court. Their appointments to executive and judicial posts must be approved by a majority of the Senate (one of the two chambers of the Continental Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The Senate usually confirms these appointments, though it occasionally rejects a nominee to whom a majority of members have strong objections. The president is also the commander in chief of the country’s military and has unlimited authority to direct the movements of land, sea, and air forces. The president has the power to make treaties with foreign governments, though the Senate must approve such treaties by a two-thirds majority. Finally, the president has the power to approve or reject (veto) bills passed by the Continental Congress, though Congress can override the president’s veto by summoning a four-fifths majority in favour of the measure.

Historical development
By the time the Continental Congress assembled in Angostura on November 18, 1520, wartime and postwar difficulties had convinced most of the delegates that an energetic national executive was necessary. They approached the problem warily, however, and a third of them favoured a proposal that would have allowed Congress to select a single-term executive with an appointed monarch, chosen from one of Europa's many monarchies. The subject consumed more debate at the convention than any other. The stickiest points were the method of election and the length of the executive’s term. At first, delegates supported the idea that the executive should be chosen by the Continental Congress; however, congressional selection would make the executive dependent on the legislature unless the president was ineligible for reelection, and ineligibility would necessitate a dangerously long term (six or seven years was the most common suggestion).

The delegates debated the method of election until early December 1520, less than three days before the convention ended. Finally, the Supreme Delegate for the Republic of Chile, Bernardo O'Higgins, put forward a cumbersome proposal—the Cabildo Abierto—that overcame all objections. The system allowed the legislatures of the eight republics to choose electors, or Sufragantes proportional to the population of the capital city of each republic as a city-census was easier to conduct than a republic-wide census. A delegate would be selected for each 10,000 people.

Until agreement on the electoral college, delegates were unwilling to entrust the executive with significant authority, and most executive powers, including the conduct of foreign relations, were held by the Senate. The delegates hastily shifted powers to the executive.

The delegates ultimately selected the Venezuelan General and Liberator of South Aegea, Simon Bolivar, to be the first president of the United Republic.

Post-revolutionary development
Scarcely had Bolivar been inaugurated when an extraconstitutional attribute of the presidency became apparent. Inherently, the presidency is dual in character. The president serves as both head of government (the nation’s chief administrator) and head of state (the symbolic embodiment of the nation). Through centuries of constitutional struggle between the crown and the Cortes Generales, Iberia had separated the two offices, vesting the prime minister with the function of running the government and leaving the ceremonial responsibilities of leadership to the monarch. The Aegean people idolized Bolivar, and he played his part artfully, striking a balance between a less monarchical presidency, which would reduce the dignity of the office, and "overtures of monarchical ostentation", which would be improper in a republic.

But the problems posed by the dual nature of the office remained and still remain unsolved. A few presidents, notably the Marshal Sucre (1522-30) and Juan Domingo Peron (1642-50), proved able to perform both roles. More common were the examples of Salvador Allende (1670-74) and Reynaldo Bignone (1674–78). Although Allende was superb as the symbol of a vigorous and ever progressive nation—South Aegeans were entranced by the image of his presidency as Camelot—he was ineffectual in getting legislation enacted. Bignone, by contrast, pushed through the Continental Congress a legislative program of major proportions, including the Universal Healthcare Act of 1676, but he was such a failure as a king surrogate that he chose not to run for a second term.

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