Head of State

The term Head of State indicates a personality (more rarely a collective body) which symbolically represents the continuity and the legitimacy of the State. Various functions are traditionally attached to him: external representation, promulgation of the laws, nomination to the high public office. According to the country, it can be the most eminent holder of the effective executive power, or on the contrary to restrict itself to personify the supreme capacity, exerted on its behalf by other political personalities.

In the Constitution of 1958 founding the Fifth Republic in France, Charles de Gaulle described the role of Head of State such as it heard it. He affirmed that the Head of State must incarnate “the spirit of the nation” for the nation itself and for the whole world: “a certain idea of France”. Today of many countries await from their Head of State that it incarnates the values main road in this spirit.

Constitutional models

Each country has its clean executive system but overall, there exist four principal categories:

the presidential system in which the Head of State is also the Chef of the government and exerts the executive power actively
the semi-presidential system in which the Head of State shares the exercise of the executive power with the Chef of the government
the parliamentary system in which the Head of State has in theory the executive power but the exercise of this capacity is delegated to a Chef of the government
the system with a Head of State not holding the executive power in which the Head of State plays a symbolic system part in the name of the State.

However, even if there exist categories, it is sometimes difficult to choose to which category some Heads of State belong. For example, the changes in the Constitution of the Liechtenstein in 2003, give the Head of State, the prince, of the constitutional capacities without precedents including the right of Veto on the legislation and the capacity, in theory, to dissolve the Council of Ministers. One could conclude from it that the reinforcement of the capacity of the prince with respect to the legislature inserted Liechtenstein in a semi-presidential mode. In the same way, the capacity given at the origin with the Greek president by the constitution of the Hellenic Republic of 1974 brought Greece closer to the French semi-presidential model. Moreover, the capacity, theoretical, British Monarch to dissolve his government at will suggests that the the United Kingdom is in a semi-presidential mode also. Actually, the category to which each Head of State belongs is evaluated by the practice and not by the theory. In practice, no British monarch forced a government resigned since the beginning of, while in reality Greece, before even as the capacities of the presidents are reduced in 1986, was governed like a parliamentary mode. With less and until the prince of Liechtenstein exerts the theoretical capacities that there now has, the principality will remain categorized like parliamentary mode.

Monarchy

In certain countries of the world, the Head of State is a hereditary Monarque. In the majority of modern liberal monarchies, he exerts more one authority Morale that Politique, even if the Constitution confers large to him to be able S.

He can be King, prince sovereign (Monaco, Liechtenstein), large-duke (Luxembourg), emir (country of the Persian Gulf)…

The Pope is the Head of State of the the Holy See and acts for this reason like a monarch elected by a electoral college. Sovereign pontiff is the only religious leader with being recognized Head of State.

Presidential regime

The President of the Republic is not itself Souverain, it is guaranteeing Souveraineté Peuple.

parking Institutions, even of the national unit; in this case and without reality political power.
and/or equipped with the Executive power, even legislature and legal.

In France, in the Constitution of V {{E}} Republic, the Head of the State is at the same time equipped with the Executive power, and parking Institutions. In the case of Italy the president of the Republic is guaranteeing institutions, but the Prime Minister has the executive power.

Semi-presidential mode

The semi-presidential mode combines characteristics of the presidential regimes and members of Parliament, in particular by the fact that the government must answer at the same time the president and the legislature. The constitution of the fifth French Republic envisages a Prime Minister who is named by the president but who must nevertheless be able to gain the confidence of the National Assembly. In this type of mode, it is possible that the president is of a Political party and opposition in load of the legislature. In this case, the president is obliged to choose a Prime Minister in the opposition. it is what one names Cohabitation . Thus, François Mitterrand, of the socialist party, has to choose Jacques Chirac, RPR, like Prime Minister between 1986 and 1988. In the same way, Jacques Chirac cohabited with Lionel Jospin between 1997 and 2002.

In the French system, in the event of cohabitation, the president is often authorized to fix the political diary of the Foreign affairs and the Prime Minister is charged to deal with the interior policy.

Other countries evolve to a mode connected with the semi-presidential mode or a presidential regime. The Weimar Republic, for example, in its constitution envisaged a president elected by the people with an executive power which were to be only used in the event of urgency and the Council of Ministers indicated by the president among the members of the Reichstag which had, in normal weather, to answer the Reichstag. Initially, the president was simply a figure symbolic system with a Reichstag dominating. However, persistent political instability, the governments remaining often only a few months, leads to a change in the structure of the capacity of the Republic. The emergency capacities of the president are used more and more often to support the governments defied by the critical and even hostile votes of the Reichstag. Until 1932, the capacity changed hands so much that the German president, Paul von Hindenburg, was able to make resign a Chancelier and to select the person of her choice even if the outgoing chancellor had the confidence of the Reichstag and the new chancellor did not have it. President von Hindenburg used his capacity to name Adolf Hitler chancellor of Reich without to have consulted the Reichstag.

Parliamentary mode

Contracting State with single

Head of nonexecutive State

The last category is made up Heads of State says not executives. The latter are completely excluded from the executive power: it does not have, even in theoretical manner, any executive power nor even a role in the government.

Within this category, alternatives in terms of being able and functions can exist. The king of Sweden, since the passage of the Swedish modern constitution in the middle of the years 1970, does not have any more the functions of a Head of parliamentary State of mode but always receives the monthly briefing of the Council of Ministers at the Palais Royal. On the contrary, the single contact which the Irish president with the government of his country has makes through a formal session of briefing given by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) to the president. However, it does not have any access to documentation and all the accesses to the ministers pass by the office of the Prime Minister.

Examples of this category:

the Indian president
the president Irish
the king of Sweden (since 1975)
the president of the Germany
the emperor of the Japan (since 1947).

Election of the president

In the very large majority of the Country of the world, the Head of State is a President of the Republic elected for one fixed duration (it can however be re-elected in very many Nation S). Two types of election are retained in this case:

the election with the Direct suffrage: they are all the voters who elect, in one or two turns, the Head of the State. It is the case of the France, the Portugal or the Russia.
the election by the indirect suffrage: they are the members of Parliament (Député S and Senator S if it there of a) which elect, often in the majority qualified (2/3 or 3/5) the Head of the State. It is the case of the Italy, the Germany or the South Africa.

To note that the the United States chose a particular mode of election. The whole of the voters elect Great Electors in each State, equal to the number of members of Parliament. These Great Electors meet then to elect the president of the United States.

The most current presidential mandates are five years (Quinquennat) and seven years (septennate).

Roles of the Head of State

According to his constitutional category (see Model constitutional), a Head of State can have one or more following roles:

Role symbolic system
Chief of the diplomacy
executive Role
legislative Role
Dissolution of the government
Chief of the armies

Symbolic system role

As Charles de Gaulle supported it, one of the most important roles of the modern Heads of State is to be a national symbol living of the nation.

In many countries, official portraits Heads of State can be found in the offices of the government, the courts of justice and even the airports, the libraries and other public buildings. The idea, sometimes controlled by the law, is to use these portraits to make the public conscious of its connection with the government. This practice goes back to medieval times .

Sometimes, this practice is excessive and the Head of State starts to believe that it is the single symbol of the nation. A Culte of the personality follows and the image of the Head of State becomes the single visual representation of the country, exceeding even other symbols such as the Drapeau, the Constitution, the National anthem, etc One of the modern champions in this field was Adolf Hitler. Of course, this type of policy can also be used by leaders not having the rank of Head of State like revolutionary leaders for example.

In other cases, and it is especially true for the monarchs, the coins, the stamps, the banknotes can be drawn with the effigy from the Head of State. Any sorts of thing can be baptized name of the Head of State, like the streets, garden them public, the schools, etc

In general, the role of the Head of State is a ceremonial role. Thus, in the diplomatic businesses, the Head of State is often the first to greet an important foreign visitor. He can also assume the role of host during the visit of important people, by inviting the person with a dinner of state in his palate.

In his country, the Head of State must honor with his presence various events, such as sporting events, military exposures, processions, funeral and visit areas of his country, companies, hospitals. He can also inaugurate buildings, pose the first stone of important projects, etc

For example, the French president goes to the living room agriculture and with the Motor-show, inaugurates the great projects such as the great research centres likely to make radiate the image of France in the world or attends traditional the Défilé of July 14th.

The Head of State does not assume only this role and delegates sometimes these obligations to his wife, to the Prime Minister or any to other person of the government.

Chief of the diplomacy

The Head of State accredits the Ambassadeur S of his country by the sending of letters of accreditation to other Heads of State. Without this accreditation, an ambassador cannot fulfill this role and receive the diplomatic statute highest. However, there exist provisions in the International law making it possible to carry out the same diplomatic functions, or all at least part of these functions, such as the accreditation with a lower role with the government.

The Head of State receives the letters of accreditation sent by other Heads of State accrediting the ambassadors or others Diplomate S in the country.

The Head of State signs the international treated S in the name of the State, or the fact of signing on his behalf by ministers (member of the government or diplomat). The ratification according to usually depends on the legislature.

Executive role

In the great majority of the countries, that they are republics or monarchies, the Executive power is invested in the Head of State.

In the presidential regimes, the Head of State east holds the executive power de facto .

In the parliamentary modes, the executive is theoretically exerted by the Head of State but, in practice, is exerted on council of the Prime Minister. The Australia, the Austria, the Canada, the Denmark, the France, the Italy and the the United Kingdom are examples of country where the Head of State holds the executive power. The Czech Republic, the Ireland and the Sweden belong to the countries where the Prime Minister is in load of the executive.

Legislative role

In certain countries, the Head of State holds part of the Legislative power.

The majority of the countries require that all Bill voted by the assemblies legislative is signed by the Head of State in order to be transformed into law. In some countries, the the United Kingdom, the Ireland or the Belgium, the Head of State in the facts is regarded as belonging to the Parliament. In the presidential regimes, the Head of State often has the capacity to pose his Veto on a law. In the majority of the parliamentary modes, on the contrary, the Head of State cannot refuse to sign a bill. The fact of signing a bill so that it becomes a law is called Promulgation. Certain states of the the Commonwealth call this procedure royal Sanction .

For example, article 1 of the section of the Constitution of the United States stipulates that each bill must be voted by the room of the representatives and must, before becoming a law, to be presented to the president.

In certain parliamentary modes, the Head of State maintains certain capacities, in connection with the bills. They can:

to affix their veto until the legislative room revised it and approved one second time
to suspend a bill, in a temporary or final way. This possibility in general exists in the states with royal prerogative
to require so that a law be checked by the constitutional assembly to check her respect of the constitution
to propose a law with the Référendum

The Head of State is also, in the large majority of the cases, the holder of the executive power. He can then supervise politically the implementation of a law and, consequently, make that a law is applied during years even never.

Dissolution of the legislature

A Head of State often has the capacity to dissolve the legislature.

In the majority of the parliamentary modes, dissolution is made on council of the Prime Minister. In some other parliamentary modes, and some presidential regimes, the Head of State can do it his own initiative.

Some states however, have Parliaments elected for one fixed duration and no anticipated election can be carried out. It is for example the case of the United States. In other states, the Parliament is elected for one limited duration but can be dissolved by the Head of State in certain circumstances. When a Prime Minister lost the confidence of the Parliament, certain States refuse a dissolution of the Parliament obliging the Prime Minister to resign.

It is by calling upon this right to dissolution of the legislative body that Jacques Chirac dissolved the National Assembly in 1997.

Chief of the armies

Other roles

In certain cases, the Head of State can:

to grant its grace
to grant various honors

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