President of the United Commonwealth

For the current title of the leader of the United Commonwealth of America, see President of the United Commonwealth of America.

  

President of the United Commonwealth of Continental States
Seal of the United Commonwealth
File:Flag of the President of United Commonwealth.svg Presidential flag
Incumbent Daniel Muir since 20 January 2020
Style	Mr. President (informally) His/Her Excellency (formally)
Type	Head of State
Residence	TBD
Appointer	National People's Congress
Constituting instrument	Constitution of the Continental States
Formation	1 May 1921 (1921-05-01)
First holder	Aeneas Warren

The President of the United Commonwealth, officially the President of the Presidium of the United Commonwealth of the Continental States is the chairman of the Presidium of the United Commonwealth, which is the collective head of state of the United Commonwealth. Officially, the President is not the head of state himself, but rather the head representative of the presidium, and prior to the 1982 constitution, the president had relatively little official power in of itself, other than ceremonial functions. However, in practice the President has often occupied a paramount leadership role, making him the de facto head of state and often the outward facing leader to the international community. The office of President of the United Commonwealth is discontinuous with the office of President of the United States, serving a different function despite its name. Unlike in the American system of governance (still employed in the Antilles), in which the President is considered the head of the executive branch, the office of President of the United Commonwealth is at the head of the legislative branch's National People's Congress. A joint session of both houses of the National Congress elects the Presidium to act on its behalf while the congress is not in session, and so the President can be seen as the highest legislative office in the country. In contrast, the Council of People's Commissars is the collective head of government and head of the executive branch, with its chairman, known as the Premier of the United Commonwealth, serving a similar role to that of a traditional president.

The presidency has its roots in the American Central Congressional Committee, created in 1917 as the highest legislative and administrative body of the Provisional Socialist United Commonwealth at the dawn of the Continental Revolutionary War. This committee collectively represented the American Constituent Assembly and had legislative powers in the form of Continental Decrees, which were then confirmed during the infrequent meetings of the assembly. However, this committee was largely sidelined in favor of the Council of People's Commissars, who had wide-reaching legislative and executive powers during the war, and instead the committee often acted as a liaison between the various elected interest groups of the revolution and the Continentalist leadership. At this time the title of "president" was not yet employed, with the head of the committee known simply as its chairman. The last chairman of the Congressional Committee was Ulysses Clark, who ceded the office upon the founding of the Continentalist States via the Union Treaty. The first constitution of the new nation formally decreed the creation of the Presidium to replace the Congressional Committee, and the 1st National Congress of the United Commonwealth elected Aeneas Warren as its inaugural chairman. Although in theory the President was to be a largely figurehead position, during the Presidency of Aeneas Warren he held near complete control over the politics of the United Commonwealth, as not only was he an unchallenged and active President, he also served as Premier for the People's Commissars and General Secretary of the Continentalist Party simultaneously. During the reign of Seamus Callahan, governance of the United Commonwealth effectively broke from the collective leadership model as numerous offices were consolidated around Callahan. Although the power of the Presidium was restored, and enshrined in the current constitution, Callahan's influence influenced the idea of a sole president as head of state in the public conscious.

Officially the role of the President is to carry out ceremonial head of state matters, including meetings with foreign officials and to "foster a national sense of unity and pride". The President is the overseer of discussions and debates among the Presidium, formally acting as a mediator, and informally as a "first among equals" due to his control over the agenda. The President serves at the discretion of the National Congress, and can be re-elected or removed from office by a vote at a session of the congress, although in practice the President usually resigns before such a vote is called. The current president is Daniel Muir, who was selected to the office in 2020.

List

No.	Portrait	Vice President (lifetime)	Term	Election	NPC	Vice President	Paramount leader
1		Aeneas Warren (1871–1922)	1 May 1922 – 17 September 1922	–	2nd (1921–1924)	William Z. Foster	Himself
2		William Z. Foster (1881–1923)	17 September 1922 – 23 September 1922	–	2nd (1921–1924)	Vacant	Disputed
Vacancy during the First Triumvirate from 23 September 1922 to 2 December 1922
3		Coleman Mueller (1870–1948)	2 December 1922 – 8 November 1924	–	2nd (1921–1924)	Samson Zima	Seamus Callahan
4		Seamus Callahan (1875–1947)	8 November 1924 – 1 June 1947	1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944	3rd (1924–1928) 4th (1928–1932) 5th (1932–1936) 6th (1936–1940) 7th (1940–1944) 8th (1944–1948)	Samson Zima (1922–1940) Ava Brown (1940–1944) Jack Tracy (1944–1947)	Himself
5		Jack Tracy (1903–1982)	1 June 1947 – 3 August 1950	1948	9th (1948–1952)	Daniel Plainview	Second Triumvirate
							Amelia Fowler Crawford
6		Daniel Plainview (1908–1999)	3 August 1950 – 20 November 1956	1952	9th (1948–1952) 10th (1952–1956)	Vacant (1950–1952)	Amelia Fowler Crawford
						Elaine Carroll (1952–1956)	Lysander Hughes
7		Lysander Hughes (1897–1958)	20 November 1956 – 19 December 1958	1956	11th (1956–1960)	Elaine Carroll	Himself
8		Elaine Carroll (1900–1981)	19 December 1958 – 20 November 1960	–	11th (1956–1960)	Vacant	Third Triumvirate
9		Rupert Gardner (1908–1968)	20 November 1960 – 25 October 1968	1960 1964	12th (1960–1964) 13th (1964–1968)	Raymond Beshear	Himself
Vacancy from 25 October 1968 to 8 November 1968
10		Christopher Yeager (1914–1992)	8 November 1968 – 8 November 1980	1968 1972 1976	13th (1964–1968) 14th (1968–1972) 15th (1972–1976) 16th (1976–1980)	Christopher McCormack (1968–1972)	Charles Acker
						Aelita Z. Peterson (192–1980)	Himself
10		Simon Valure (1934–1999)	8 November 1980 – 20 January 1989	1980 1984	17th (1980–1984) 18th (1984–1988)	Isaiah Revindon (1980–1984)	Christopher Yeager
						Samantha Carter (1984–1988)	Himself
10		Jackson Rothko (1930–2011)	20 January 1989 – 20 January 2001	1988 1992 1996	19th (1988–1992) 20th (1992–1996) 21st (1996–2000)	Gregory Samson (1988–1992) Sarah Volantin (1992–1996) Sebastian Summers (1996–2000)	Himself
10		Sebastian Summers (1942–Present)	20 January 2001 – 20 January 2009	2000 2004	22nd (2000–2004) 23rd (2004–2008)	Joseph H. Seadon	Jackson Rothko
							Himself
10		Helene Poirier (1960–Present)	20 January 2009 – 20 January 2017	2008 2012	24th (2008–2012) 25th (2012–2016)	Marcus Haywood	Herself
10		Anthony Malito (1965–Present)	20 January 2017 – 6 January 2019	2016	26th (2016–2020)	August Lanson (2017–2018) Joseph Ojeda (2018–2019)	Himself
10		Daniel Muir (1950–Present)	6 January 2019 – Present	2020	26th (2016–2020) 27th (2020–2024)	Joseph Ojeda (2019) Clark S. Key (2019–Present)	Himself

See also

• Politics of the United Commonwealth
• Presidium of the United Commonwealth