General Secretary of the Continentalist Party of Labor

General Secretary of the Continentalist Party of Labor
	Incumbent; Gaston Rousseau; since 31 August 1995
	Central Committee of the; Continentalist Party of Labor
Style	Comrade General Secretary; (informal); His Excellency; (diplomatic)
Status	Party leader
Member of	Secretariat; Central Committee;
Residence	?
Seat	Topèque, Tournesol
Appointer	Central Committee
Formation	December 1, 1889; 134 years ago
First holder	Émeric Vigouroux
Deputy	First Secretary
Salary	$51,000 annually

The General Secretary of the Continentalist Party of Labor, more commonly known as the General Secretary, is the highest office within the Continentalist Party of Labor (CPL) and the de facto supreme leader of Tournesol. The general secretary is the first-ranked member of the Secretariat, a leading member of the Central Committee, and aside from in transitional periods, the Secretary of the Central Military Committee, the leading Party organ for military affairs. Officially, the General Secretary is solely tasked with controlling the Continentalist Party, however, due to the Party's monopoly on political power, the General Secretary is also able to oversee both foreign and domestic policies of the state, and as such the General Secretary is most often regarded as the leader of the country.

With the Continentalist Party's founding in 1889, party founder Émeric Vigouroux was elected its first General Secretary, a position he would remain uncontested in until his death in 1933. Including Vigouroux, six people have held the title of General Secretary. The current General Secretary is Gaston Rousseau, who has held the position since 1995.

The General Secretary is officially elected by the Central Committee, which is in turn elected by the Congress of the Continentalist Party of Labor, which acts as the Party's highest legislative body. In practice, the de facto method of appointing the General Secretary has varied throughout Tournesol's history. Current General Secretary Gaston Rousseau was elevated to the position after serving as First Secretary to previous party head Étienne Renard. In an informal process upon Renard's retirement, members of the outgoing Secretariat deliberated among themselves and with retired Secretariat members in the lead up to the 26th Party Congress, where Rousseau was affirmed as full general secretary. Since 1995, Rousseau has been reelected five times, the most recent of which taking place in 2017.

History

Powers and positions

List of officeholders

General Secretary of the Continentalist Party of Labor
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Congress(es)	Central Committee	Portfolios held while leader
1		Émeric Vigouroux (1857–1933)	1 December 1889	23 October 1933 †	1st–6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th	1st–6th (1889–1918) 7th (1918–19) 8th (1919–20) 9th (1920–22) 10th (1922–24) 11th (1924–28) 12th (1928–32) 13th (1932–37)	Chairman, Central Military Committee President of Tournesol
2		Nicolas Conradi (1880–1961)	23 October 1933	1 May 1957	13th 14th 15th 16th 17th	13th (1932–37) 14th (1937–42) 15th (1942–47) 16th (1947–52) 17th (1952–57)	Chairman, Central Military Committee Premier, Council of Ministers President, Central Party School
3		André Dubois (1895-1981)	1 May 1957	19 August 1977	18th 19ty 20th 21st	18th (1957–62) 19th (1962–67) 20th (1967–72) 21st (1972–77)	Chairman, Central Military Committee
4		Julia Marois (1919–2008)	19 August 1977	14 July 1987	22nd 23rd	22nd (1977–82) 23rd (1982–87)	Chairman, Central Military Committee
5		Étienne Renard (born 1924)	14 July 1987	31 August 1995	24th 25th	24th (1987–92) 25th (1992–97)	Chairman, Central Military Committee
6		Gaston Rousseau (born 1936)	31 August 1995	Present	25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th	25th (1992–97) 26th (1997–02) 27th (2002–07) 28th (2007–12) 29th (2012–17) 30th (2017–22)	Chairman, Central Military Committee