President of the Californian Empire
| President of the Californian Empire | |
| |
| The 5th President of the Californian Empire. | |
| Incumbent Selena H. DeWinter since November 1, 2275 | |
| | |
| Style | "Mr./Madam President" (informal) "The Honourable" (formal)" "His/Her Excellency" (outside of the Californian Empire) |
| Member of | Cabinet Domestic Policy Council National Economic Council National Security Council |
| Residence | The Presidential Palace |
| Seat | Los Angeles, N.C.D. |
| Appointer | Electoral College |
| Term length | Five years, unlimited renewals |
| Constituting instrument | Californian Empire Constitution |
| Formation | June 1, 1999 |
| First Holder | Selene Dévnostraéva August 1, 1999 |
| Salary | Ð325,000 annually |
Contents
Overview
The President of the Californian Empire is the head of government of Californian Empire. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Californian Empire Armed Forces.
Article II of the 2267 Californian Empire Constitution vests the executive power in the president and charges him/her with the execution of federal law, alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial officers and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Parliament. The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves and to convene and adjourn the Parliament under extraordinary circumstances. The power of the president and the federal government has grown substantially. The President, despite possessing no formal legislative powers beyond signing or vetoing Parliament passed bills, is largely responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of his/her party and the foreign and domestic policy of Californian Empire.
Powers and Roles
Article 5: Executive Power
The first power the Constitution confers upon the president is the veto. The Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by the Parliament to be presented to the president before it can become law. Once the legislation has been presented, the president has three options:
- Sign the legislation; the bill then becomes law.
- Veto the legislation and return it to Parliament, expressing any objections; the bill does not become law, unless the Parliament votes to override the veto by a super-majority.
- Take no action. In this instance, the president neither signs nor vetoes the legislation. After 10 days, not counting Sundays, two possible outcomes emerge:
- If the Parliament is still convened, the bill becomes law.
- If the Parliament has adjourned, thus preventing the return of the legislation, the bill does not become law.
The President cannot, however, veto portions of laws.
War and foreign affairs powers
The President is responsible for conducting war, approved by the Parliament for operations lasting longer than 60 days. The President is the commander-in-chief of the Californian Empire Armed Forces, which is one of the most important duties of the Office of the President of the Californian Empire. The President is the ultimate authority on how the military is used, however the Parliament controls its budget, so Presidents cannot simply act unilaterally when it comes to conducting war.
Along with the armed forces, the president also directs C.E. foreign policy. Through the Department of State and the Department of Defense, the president is responsible for the protection of Californians abroad and of foreign nationals in the Californian Empire. The president decides whether to recognize new nations and new governments, and negotiates treaties with other nations, which become binding on the Californian Empire when approved by two-thirds vote of the Senate.
Although not constitutionally provided, presidents also sometimes employ "executive agreements" in foreign relations. These agreements frequently regard administrative policy choices germane to executive power; for example, the extent to which either country presents an armed presence in a given area, how each country will enforce copyright treaties, or how each country will process foreign mail. However, the 23th century witnessed a vast expansion of the use of executive agreements, and critics have challenged the extent of that use as supplanting the treaty process and removing constitutionally prescribed checks and balances over the executive in foreign relations. Supporters counter that the agreements offer a pragmatic solution when the need for swift, secret, and/or concerted action arises.
Administrative powers
The president is the head of the executive branch of the federal government and is constitutionally obligated to enforce legislation. The executive branch has over four million employees, including members of the military. Presidents make numerous executive branch appointments Ambassadors, members of the Cabinet, and other federal officers, are all appointed by a president. All appointments must be approved by the Parliament when made during a legislative session.
The power of a president to fire executive officials has become a contentious political issue. Generally, a president may remove purely executive officials at his discretion. However, the Parliament can curtail and constrain a president's authority to fire commissioners of independent regulatory agencies and certain inferior executive officers by statute.
The president additionally possesses the ability to direct much of the executive branch through executive orders that are grounded in federal law or constitutionally granted executive power. Executive orders are reviewable by federal courts and can be superseded by federal legislation.
To manage the growing federal bureaucracy, Presidents have gradually surrounded themselves with many layers of staff, organized into the Executive Office of the President of the Californian Empire. Within the Executive Office, the President's innermost layer of aides (and their assistants) are located in the Presidential Palace, Los Angeles, N.C.D..
Juridical powers
The president also has the power to nominate federal judges, including members of the Californian Empire courts of appeals and the Supreme Court of Californian Empire. However, these nominations do require Parliament confirmation. Securing their approval can provide a major obstacle for presidents who wish to orient the federal judiciary toward a particular ideological stance. Presidents may also grant pardons and reprieves.
Two doctrines concerning executive power have developed that enable the president to exercise executive power with a degree of autonomy. The first is executive privilege, which allows the president to withhold from disclosure any communications made directly to the president in the performance of executive duties. The state secrets privilege allows the president and the executive branch to withhold information or documents from discovery in legal proceedings if such release would harm national security.
Legislative Role
The Constitution's Ineligibility Clause prevents the President (and all other executive officers) from simultaneously being a member of the Parliament. Therefore, the president cannot directly introduce legislative proposals for consideration in the Parliament. However, the president can take an indirect role in shaping legislation, especially if the president's political party has a majority. For example, the president or other officials of the executive branch may draft legislation and then ask senators or representatives to introduce these drafts into the Parliament. The president can further influence the legislative branch through constitutionally mandated, periodic reports to Congress. These reports may be either written or oral, but are known as the State of the Empire address, which often outlines the president's legislative proposals for the coming year.
The president may convene the Parliament. If members cannot agree on a date of adjournment, the president may appoint a date for the Parliament to adjourn.
Ceremonial Roles
The presidency holds the president as one of the nation's premier celebrities. Some argue that images of the presidency have a tendency to be manipulated by administration public relations officials as well as by presidents themselves. One critic described the presidency as "propagandized leadership" which has a "mesmerizing power surrounding the office." As a celebrity, the President comes under scrutiny not only in domestic affairs but internationally, as the President represents the entirety of the state at home and abroad.
Presidents are also responsible for giving military and ceremonial awards, which are done around Christmas time traditionally at the Winter Ball (unless otherwise stated, the Empress does this great duty).
List of Presidents of the Californian Empire
| # | President | Took office | Left Office | Party | Terms | Previous Office | Vice President(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Selene Dévnostraéva |
August 1, 1999 | November 1, 2240 Resigned |
Democratic Socialist | 48 (241 years, 3 months) |
Admiral, C.E. Navy | Alexa Sharon Vassaretti-Dévnostraéva |
| (1) | Alexa Sharon Vassaretti (Acting) | November 1, 2240 | November, 18, 2240 | Democratic Socialist | 0 (17 days) |
Vice President | Office vacated |
| 2 |  Alexa Sharon Vassaretti-Dévnostraéva |
November 18, 2240 | August 24, 2259 Assassinated |
Democratic Socialist | 4 (18 years, 9 months, 7 days) |
Vice President | Jennifer Angeline Jourgensen Lindsey A. DeWinter |
| (2) | Jennifer Angeline Jourgensen (Acting) | August 24, 2259 | August 27, 2259 | National, Democratic Socialist |
0 (3 days) |
Vice President | Office vacated |
| 3 |  Jennifer Angeline Jourgensen |
August 27, 2259 | November 1, 2261 Resigned |
National, Democratic Socialist |
1 (2 years, 2 months, 6 days) |
Vice President | Natalya Sarah Kensington Lindsey A. DeWinter Samantha R. Carter |
| 4 |  Natalya Sarah Kensington |
November 1, 2261 | November 19, 2273 Impeached |
Nationalist, Democratic Socialist |
2.5 (12 years, 19 days) |
Vice President | Samantha R. Carter Cynthia R. Breckinridge Anya M. Demetraevik |
| (5) | Selene Dévnostraéva (Acting) |
November 19, 2273 | November, 1, 2275 | Democratic | 1 (1 year, 11 months, 14 days) |
President | Vacant |
| 5 | Selena Helen DeWinter |
November 1, 2275 | Incumbent | Democratic | 5 (23 years, 3 months, 3 days) |
Speaker of the House | Lillian Jacqueline D'Agostino Lindsey A. DeWinter Vivienne M. Girardeaux |
