President of Kalșeri

 

President of Kalșeri Alseugi Kalșeri
Presidential Standard of Kalșeri
Incumbent Richard Nakamura since October 15, 2019
Style	His or Her Excellency Your Excellency or Mister President (spoken)
Residence	Gann House 27 Enrik Gann Street, Tașarél, Evalria (official) Personal summer house
Nominator	Political parties or self-nomination
Appointer	Direct popular election Congress (special circumstances)
Term length	Seven years, non-renewable
Constituting instrument	Carnafarry Statute (1794-1934) Charter of Kalșeri (since 1934; amended in 1996)
Formation	September 3, 1783 (de facto) September 20, 1794 (de iure) October 15, 1934 (current powers)
First holder	Archibald Hayworth Kensington R. Johnson (current powers)
Unofficial names	Al, Prez, Number One
Salary	ħ35,000/month

The President of Kalșeri (Kalhan: Alseugi Kalșeri), officially denoted as the President of the Kalșerian Republic (Alseugi Kalșériton Repúblika), is the head of state of Kalșeri. Under the Charter, the main roles of the President are to represent national unity and to appoint a Prime Minister. The President is also Commander-in-chief of the Kalșerian Armed Forces. A President's term in office lasts for seven years, and is non-renewable. The current President is The current President is Richard Nakamura, who won the 2019 election; his term is set to end on September 20, 2026.

Prior to the ratification of the Charter, the President used to serve as the head of government of the country, as well.

The relations between the President and the Congress have changed throughout the history of modern Kalșeri, from respecting the will of the Congress with little resistance, as Terence Segner did, to asserting presidential dominance over it, as Ioen Rovuan did.

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Kalșeri
Constitution Charter of Kalșeri Human rights in Kalșeri
President President of Kalșeri Richard Nakamura (D)
Executive Prime Minister Jim Babich (D) Deputy Prime Minister Maia Filisi (D) Cabinet of Kalșeri Babich Ministries
Legislature House of Representatives (High Summoner • constituencies • members) Senate (President)
Judiciary Supreme Court (Charter) Judges Federal Court (non-Charter national law, criminal law and private law) Administrative Court (administrative law) Fiscal Court (fiscal law) Labor and Social Insurance Court (labor law and social insurance laws) Other courts
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Political ideologies Ancestralism Centralism Communism Conservatism Agrarian Federalism Far-right Rovuanism Liberalism Monarchism Social democracy

History

The post of President was first codified in the 1784 Statute of the Kalșerian Republic, popularly known as the Carnafarry Statute; under the terms of the Statute, the President was to be elected by the people and confirmed by the Inter-cantonal Congress of Electors (ICCE).

From 1894 to 1932, the post of President and its powers were gradually defined by amending the Carnafarry Statute. Ioen Rovuan added the power to issue legislative provisions motu proprio and added several provisions weakening the control of the Congress over the President; following the incapacitation of Ioen Rovuan, the provisions issued by Ioen Rovuan were mostly reversed.

With the promulgation of the Charter in 1934, the post of President was rendered merely ceremonial, as the major parties feared that a case similar to that of Ioen Rovuan could take place. The Charter has since been amended in 1996, where the method of voting used in presidential elections was changed to contingent voting, a variant of instant-runoff voting.

Requirements and appointment

To run for President, a candidate must meet the following requirements:

• be born in Kalșeri or elsewhere to Kalșerian parents;
• be 25 or older at the time of the election;
• not have been accused of any felony for the last 15 years, or since the 15th birthday, in case the age of the candidate is between 25 and 30;
• not be an active member of the Armed Forces;
• be a layman;
• be legally sane. This requirement was added in 1934, after it was publicly announced that the late Ioen Rovuan was schizophrenic. In 1987, the Supreme Court case Hendriksen v. Kalșeri ruled that physical or mental disorders that did not completely hinder one's awareness of their surroundings and actions were not intrinsically qualifying factors for legal insanity.

Candidates who wish to run under a party usually go through a process of nomination, especially if multiple candidates wish to run under the same banner.

Methods of election

Ever since the inception of the post, the main method of election of a President is by direct popular vote. First-past-the-post was the method of voting used in Presidential elections until 1996, when it was scrapped in favor of contingent voting. The presidential election takes place on September 20 every seven years.

If the President cannot perform their duties, the High Summoner serves as Caretaker President. In case of death or resignation of the President, the High Summoner serves the remainder of the term. Prior to 1934, the successor of a President who quit or was unable to work was normally chosen by the Congress (as was the case for Jim McCormick when Andrew Poxton died) or by the people (as it happened in 1932, when Egbert Ralgi resigned).

Inauguration

On October 15th, about a month after the results of the election are announced, the President-elect is escorted from their house to the Presidential Palace, where the public ceremony of being sworn in takes place at noon; the President then utters the oath of allegiance before former Presidents and Senators for life, in either Kalhan or English:

Kalhan:

Ho, [full name], jardoni janu mo ho tirki e șunarki Kalșeri'ta ol ie mongia, mo ho gerki Rialkarta'ta, mo ho jirki ușáriata giasi ol hosi ușáriata, e mo ho jirki geani, káprirdoni e lígirdoni. [Sar hota tișuan.]

English:

I, [full name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend Kalșeri from all enemies, that I will bear allegiance to the Charter, that I will fulfill the needs of my people before my own, and that I will perform the duties bestowed to me faithfully, consciously and professionally. [So help me God.]

The President-elect is given the option to swear on either a copy of the Bible or a copy of the Charter. Traditionally, the oath has been taken in Kalhan, and then repeated in English. For those who do not speak Kalhan, flash cards with a phonetic transcription of the Kalhan words are displayed for the President-elect to see.

The oath is then followed by the acceptance speech at Unification Square in central Evalria, the State Luncheon, where the now-full-fledged President lunches with former Presidents, important Representatives and foreign dignitaries, a parade through Evalria and, after a brief pause, a private dinner with the President's immediate family. The following day, the President may choose to attend the morning service at the Evalria Cathedral; at noon, the President and their predecessor are escorted to the Presidential Palace, where the outgoing President gives the presidential sash and the presidential mace to the new President.

Powers and duties

According to the Charter, the President's powers and duties are the following:

• signing bills into law or vetoing them;
  • Congress may override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority.
• having laws published in the Official Gazette;
• appointing the Prime Minister;
• approving or rejecting the ministerial nominations made by the Prime Minister;
• issuing declarations of war or peace treaties, upon consent of Congress;
• appointing federal judges, upon consent of Congress in a joint session;
• pardoning or changing sentences for federal crimes;
  • The President may not issue a self-pardon, or pardon co-conspirators of a crime in which the President was involved.
• nominating or dismissing ambassadors and consuls, often at the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• awarding people the prestigious orders, such as the Order of the Golden Sun;
• representing Kalșeri abroad.

The President also enjoys legal immunity during their term for all misdemeanors and most felonies, except high treason, genocide, bypassing or attempting to change any part of the Charter in any meaningful way without the permission of the Congress and without declaring a constitutional referendum, and other wrongdoings listed below.

Other functions specified in the Charter or elsewhere include:

• being ex officio the Holder of the Keys of the Main Gate to the Old City of Evalria, a ceremonial office inherited from the title of King of Lág, as per the Main Gate Treaty of 1083. A replica of the Keys can be seen in the Presidential Office.
• being patron to several charity institutions in Kalșeri;
• being the President of KaGi, from 1871 to 1997;
• being ex officio the Rector of the National University of New Leeds.

Incapacitation

A presidential incapacitation takes place when the Congress strips the President of their powers, esentially forcing them to resign. An incapacitation may take place due to wrongdoing for which legal immunity does not apply; legal insanity is also a qualifying factor for presidential incapacitation. An incapacitation needs to reach a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress for it to be successful. Once applied, the President and their Cabinet are asked to give up their seats. Should they not comply, they will be charged with bypassing the will of the Congress and sentenced accordingly. A second vote is then held in the Senate to determine whether the offending officials should be made ineligible for public office for the next five years; a two-thirds majority is once again required for this measure to take effect.

So far, only Ioen Rovuan has been incapacitated, due to his aforementioned mental insanity. The threat of incapacitation has also been an effective measure to force a President to resign, regardless of whether the presidential wrongdoings were actually grounds for incapacitation: this happened once, with Raimund Terșet, charged with corruption in 1977. The measure was not actually applied, as Terșet resigned before any vote on the matter could be scheduled.

The President may be incapacitated for the following reasons:

1. declaring loyalty to an enemy of the State;
2. attempting to change the Charter in any meaningful way without the consent of Congress;
3. planning or executing the persecution and/or extermination of a group of people;
4. disregarding human rights and the basic principles of democracy;
5. disregarding the limits to the Office of President;
6. being investigated for or convicted of corruption;
7. obstruction of justice;
8. contempt of Congress;
9. being declared insane or otherwise unfit to act.

Compensation and privileges of office

• Style: Excellency
  • Reference style: His/Her Excellency The President of the Kalșerian Republic
  • Spoken style: (The) President of (The Republic/Kalșeri)
  • Direct style: Mister President, Your Excellency (Congress)
• Monthly Salary: ħ35,000
• Residence: Gann House
• Car: Maserati Quattroporte
• Airplane: Boeing 787 Dreamliner, whose callsign is Kallie One when carrying the President.
  • A Bombardier Challenger 604 is used for short international trips and whenever the Boeing 737-500 is unavailable.
  • A Sikorsky S-92 is used for domestic flights.

Post-presidency

Pensions and staff

Since the passage of the Presidential Pensions Act 1951, signed into law by President Andrew Hauptmann, Kalșerian presidents have been given a monthly pension of ħ10,000. The Act allows the Senate to stop giving pensions to individual former presidents under certain circumstances.

In 1998, the Presidential Security Detail Act was signed into law, giving a Kalșerian Defense Agency security detail to former presidents and their immediate relatives until the former president's death.

Libraries and museums

Much like in the United States, Kalșerian presidents are given libraries and/or museums where their personal and presidential documents and effects are kept after leaving office. The tradition started in 1943, when Kensington R. Johnson sent much of his older paperwork to what would become the Kensington R. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum; the tradition was confirmed in 1968, when the Presidential Library and Museum Act was signed into law by President Christophe-Marie Martin.

All former presidents have at least one historic site dedicated to them.

List

     Kalhan Front/Social Cooperation      Liberal Republican/Liberal Democrat      Christian Democrat      Whig      Farmer      Movement for Action      Pact for the Country      Independent/Military

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Party	Term of office	Notes
Presidential period (1783–1935)
1		Gen. Archibald Hayworth (1731–1801)	Military	September 3, 1783 – October 15, 1794 4060 days	Temporary until October 15, 1784.
2		Tomas Ienuvion (1745–1803)	Liberal Republican	October 15, 1794 – October 15, 1799 1826 days
3		James Orrey (1751–1814)	Liberal Republican	October 15, 1799 – October 15, 1804 1826 days
4		Richard Kenswick (1749–1817)	Kalhan Front	October 15, 1804 – October 15, 1809 1826 days
5		John D. Ewing (1756–1829)	Liberal Republican	October 15, 1809 – October 15, 1814 1826 days
6		Robert Silorsi (1758–1822)	Kalhan Front	October 15, 1814 – October 15, 1819 1826 days
7		Mark Sellers-Casey (1779–1845)	Kalhan Front	October 15, 1819 – October 15, 1824 1827 days
8		Ben Webber (1784–1843)	Whig	October 15, 1824 – October 15, 1834 3652 days
9		Karl Rovuansi (1789–1841)	Liberal Republican	October 15, 1834 – October 15, 1839 1826 days
10		Jean-Yves Delahaye (1791–1867)	Kalhan Front	October 15, 1839 – October 15, 1844 1827 days
11		Andrew Poxton (1796–1851)	Liberal Republican	October 15, 1844 – February 9, 1851 2308 days	Died in office.
12		Jim McCormick (1805–1867)	Whig	February 9, 1851 – October 15, 1854 1344 days	Appointed by Congress. Temporary.
13		Philip Abernahy (1804–1890)	Liberal Republican	October 15, 1854 – October 15, 1859 1826 days
14		William Tecwen Darby (1811–1887)	Kalhan Front	October 15, 1859 – October 15, 1869 3653 days
15		Enrik Gann (1823–1911)	Liberal Republican	October 15, 1869 – October 15, 1879 3652 days
16		Gabriel Geasergi (1830–1903)	Whig	October 15, 1879 – October 15, 1884 1827 days
17		John William Knowles (1835–1906)	Liberal Republican	October 15, 1884 – October 15, 1889 1826 days
18		Eberhard Feldnehmer (1835–1906)	Farmer	October 15, 1889 – May 15, 1891 577 days	Resigned.
19		Ieremía Skanhal (1833–1902)	Kalhan Front	May 15, 1891 – January 4, 1892 234 days	Appointed by Congress. Resigned.
20		Colonel Baldvin Úkegi (1847–1901)	Military	January 4, 1892 – March 15, 1893 436 days	Appointed by Congress. Resigned.
21		Terence Segner (1832–1896)	Independent	March 15, 1893 – December 7, 1893 267 days	Appointed by Congress. Resigned.
22		Aleksis Harnel (1822–1895)	Independent	December 7, 1893 – October 15, 1894 312 days	Appointed by Congress.
23		Charles Wolfram Haughey (1835–1911)	Christian Democrat	October 15, 1894 – October 15, 1899 1826 days	Born outside Kalșeri, in Carnew, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Commonly listed as Haughey I.
24		Lucretius Reeve (1848–1911)	Christian Democrat	October 15, 1899 – October 15, 1904 1826 days
25		Peter Haughey (1862–1941)	Kalhan Front	October 15, 1904 – October 15, 1909 1826 days	Commonly listed as Haughey II.
26		Ugo Laxalt (1853–1916)	Kalhan Front	October 15, 1909 – October 15, 1914 1826 days
27		Emilius Ninkoșagi (1861–1924)	Christian Democrat	September 20, 1914 – December 1, 1918 1508 days
28		Mike Tearney (1868–1936)	Liberal Republican	December 1, 1918 – October 15, 1919 318 days	High Summoner. Temporary.
29		Raymond Enos Haughey (1874–1947)	Christian Democrat	October 15, 1919 – October 15, 1924 1827 days	Commonly listed as Haughey III.
30		Jorj A. Kregi (1862–1944)	Kalhan Front	October 15, 1924 – October 15, 1929 1826 days
31		Egidius Robert Ralgi (1883–1951)	Christian Democrat	October 15, 1929 – May 1, 1932 929 days	Did not name any successor, instead opting to organize a snap election.
32		Ioen "Rovuan" Klarenșus Șandler (1886–1934)	Movement for Action	May 1, 1932 – November 17, 1933 565 days	Incapacitated by Congress due to his schizophrenia.
33		Tomas U. Lerfe (1873–1946)	Independent	November 17, 1933 – October 15, 1935 697 days	High Summoner.
Parliamentary period (1935–present)
34		Kensington R. Johnson (1865–1948)	Christian Democratic	October 15, 1935 – October 15, 1942 2557 days
35		Orville Linzer (1881–1965)	Social Cooperation	October 15, 1942 – October 15, 1949 2557 days
36		Andrew Hauptmann (1897–1966)	Christian Democratic	October 15, 1949 – October 15, 1956 2557 days
37		Gen. Eduardus Jalé (1900–1994)	Independent	October 15, 1956 – October 15, 1963 2556 days
38		Christophe-Marie Martin, Esq. (1902–1981)	Liberal Democratic	October 15, 1963 – October 15, 1970 2557 days
39		Jerry Mazzotta (1926–2018)	Social Cooperation	October 15, 1970 – October 15, 1977 2557 days
40		Nikoleta Larongi (b. 1939)	Liberal Democratic	October 15, 1977 – October 15, 1984 2557 days
41		Victor Espeland (1911–1989)	Liberal Democratic	October 15, 1984 – March 1, 1989 1598 days	Died in office.
42		Thomas Bachmann (b. 1929)	Social Cooperation	March 1, 1989 – October 15, 1991 958 days	Acting.
43		William P. O'Grady (b. 1934)	Pact for the Country	October 15, 1991 – October 15, 1998 2557 days
44		Ionas Miagi (1924–2020)	Liberal Democratic	October 15, 1998 – October 15, 2005 2557 days
45		Maude Haughey, Esq. (b. 1929)	Liberal Democratic	October 15, 2005 – October 15, 2012 2557 days
46		Dave Robbins (b. 1947)	Liberal Democratic	October 15, 2012 – October 15, 2019 2556 days
47		Richard Nakamura (b. 1947)	Liberal Democratic	October 15, 2019 – present 1203 days