President of Libertas Omnium Maximus

President of the Federal Republic of Libertas Omnium Maximus
Incumbent Collin Lestrange since January 1, 2025
Style	Mister/Madam President
Term length	4 years renewable
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Libertas Omnium Maximus
Formation	January 1, 1841 (1841-01-01)
First holder	Michael Chaucer
Salary	M$256,000 per year

The President of Libertas Omnium Maximus is the Maximusian head of state and foreign affairs. Since 1841, there have been 33 presidents of the nation. Collin Lestrange, a Progressive, is the current officeholder, serving since January 1, 2025.

History

The nature of the national executive was a contentious issue for delegates present at the the Chaucer Assembly in 1840. Various proposals for the nature of the executive ranged from a near-absolutely-powerful leader who would take office only during wartime to an annually-elected executive with almost no de jure authority (the arrangement favored by Chaucer). The final, adopted vision for the Maximusian Presidency is based on a combination of the powers proposed by Gerald Hart and Francis Green.

Today, the Maximusian Presidency is among the most enduring public, democratically-elected offices in the world, with an unbroken continuum of 32 officeholders over 183 years. In that time, the duties of the office have not fundamentally changed, though the President wields more soft influence than in the 19th century due to executive aggrandizement since the 1960s.

Election

The president is elected by an electoral college comprised of one elector from each federal district and two electors representing each province (232 electors). Electors cast their votes in accordance with the electoral preference of their constituents, gauged, in accordance with convention, rather than statute, via a popular election using instant runoff voting. The instant runoff method was not introduced until 1968, though the popular vote has always been taken and considered, in some manner, since the formation of the presidency in 1840.

Once the outcome of the election is determined, electors are dispatched from their respective polities to deliver their ballots to the Chancellor once the new Senate has convened. The Chancellor, serving as "Vicar of the People," formally declares the next President of the Maximusian Republic, who is sworn in on January 1 at noon.

The president serves for four years, but can be reelected as many times as he or she can maintain the vote of the people.

Third Term Curse

Although presidents may theoretically hold the office as many times as they can be reelected, and can run again after losing a reelection campaign, seeking an additional, nonconsecutive term, no candidate has ever been reelected for a third time, although several have tried unsuccessfully. At the turn of the 20th century, an urban legend emerged postulating that running for a third term would upset the ghost of Chaucer, who was known for his vehement opposition to perennial officeholding. Indeed, a number of calamities befell the personal lives and campaigns of the few candidates who pursued a third term. For instance, President Barnett's reelection campaign for a third term was brought to a quick halt when he suffered a major stroke in 1888, and Stanley Morris' wife and eldest son died when the riverboat in which Morris was giving a campaign speech capsized in 1916. Other presidents, notably Duncan and Evans, became embroiled in scandal just as they were leaving office at the end of their second term. Although neither candidate sought a third term, proponents of the Third-Term Curse, as it has been dubbed, argue that both individuals certainly would have had their reelection campaigns upended by the controversy had they run again.

Duties and Functions

The president of Libertas Omnium Maximus is officially the nation's head of state and commander-in-chief of all armed forces, and wields the most unilateral authority of any role in the Maximusian federal government. Assisted by his cabinet, comprised of the heads of the nation's various federal bureaus, the president is tasked with seeing to the fair and expedient execution of law. The president can appoint judges, ambassadors, and officials in government at his discretion (and similarly dismiss all but the later), though the Provincial Council can step in and bar individuals from being removed from office, usually by suing for a stay of dismissal. The president also has the ability to line-item veto legislation presented to his or her office by the Provincial Council, and can recommend legislation for review by the Maximusian High Court if he believes it violates the Maximusian Constitution (or as a tactic to stall the progression of the bill). It is rarely politically advantageous to do so, but the president retains the discretion to call a nationwide referendum on proposed legislation, should he exhaust the line-item veto and constitutional review and still wish to quash the bill. There are a number of ways in which the Senate can override the president's veto, but doing so generally requires a supermajority of both legislative chambers.

The president's cabinet consists of the heads, usually called "directors," of the Maximusian government's federal-level bureaus, who advise the president and are, in turn, given instruction on how to operate their respective ministries by the executive. As cabinet-member turnover is considered "uniquely disruptive to the administration of the nation," cabinet members enjoy a high degree of job security, and are usually only dismissed in cases of egregious conduct or fundamental disagreement with the president. Importantly, unlike many other directorial positions within government, cabinet members cannot be impeached by the Provincial Council, as it is seen as an encroachment on the executive's authority. As a result, some presidents have created new cabinet positions in order to place controversial bureaucrats out of the reach of the Provincial Council. Currently, the Presidential Cabinet consists of 15 directors.

In the event that the president dies or becomes permanently incapacitated, such as by having stroke, experiencing rapid cognitive decline, or falling into a coma, he or she is promptly replaced by the Vice-President of Libertas Omnium Maximus, currently, Veronica Harper. After assuming office, the vice-president serves out the remainder of the deceased president's term without any special limitations or stipulations. Such an event has only occurred once, when Walter Halifax was assassinated in 1923. Samuel Wilson, Halifax's vice-president, served out the remainder of Halifax's term, leaving office in 1925.

The president's salary was initially set at $1000 per year in 1840 (around $40,000 today), but that has since increased to around $250,000. In addition to a yearly salary, presidents are eligible to collect a federal pension for the remainder of their life and for the remainder of their spouse's life, should their spouse outlive the former president. The official residence and office of the president is 17 Warbler Place, a historic neoclassical manor house in Litudinem, which has a permanent wait and security staff, paid for by the state. The president is also given a per-diem stipend of an unknown amount, which he or she may use for discretionary purchases.

List of Officeholders

Presidents of Libertas Omnium Maximus
Color key		No party affiliation      Party of Trade and Commerce      Integrationists      Confederationists      National Conservatives      Liberal Democrats      New Democrats      Progressives      Liberal Coalition      Labor Party      Liberal Federal Party (LFP)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Election(s)
1		Michael Chaucer (1794-1871)	January 1 1841	January 1 1845	1840
2		James Duncan (1797-1859)	January 1 1845	January 1 1853	1844, 1848
3		Charles Mayfield (1799-1865)	January 1 1853	January 1 1857	1852
4		Jacob Ross (1806-1881)	January 1 1857	January 1 1861	1856
5		John Lancer (1815-1889)	January 1 1861	January 1 1869	1860, 1864
6		Steven Hunt (1827-1902)	January 1 1869	January 1 1873	1868
7		Howard Walden (1829-1896)	January 1 1873	January 1 1881	1872, 1876
8		Peter Barnett (1834-1900)	January 1 1881	January 1 1889	1880, 1884
9		Edgar Dalton (1838-1918)	January 1 1889	January 1 1893	1888
10		Nathan Hopley (1836-1909)	January 1 1893	January 1 1901	1892, 1896
11		William Baker (1847-1929)	January 1 1901	January 1 1905	1900
12		Bernard Turner (1859-1933)	January 1 1905	January 1 1909	1904
13		Stanley Morris (1855-1939)	January 1 1909	January 1 1917	1908, 1912
14		Richard Dalton (1861-1940)	January 1 1917	January 1 1921	1916
15		Walter Halifax (1875-1923)	January 1 1921	November 8 1923	1920
16		Samuel Wilson (1879-1971)	November 8 1923	January 1 1925
17		Lawrence Crofter (1880-1956)	January 1 1925	January 1 1933	1924, 1928
18		Gerald Stewart (1877-1949)	January 1 1933	January 1 1937	1932
19		A. Joseph Galanis (1887-1960)	January 1 1937	January 1 1941	1936
20		Geoffrey Dent (1888-1966)	January 1 1941	January 1 1949	1940, 1944
21		Francis Carden (1893-1975)	January 1 1949	January 1 1953	1948
22		William Ainsworth (1900-1989)	January 1 1953	January 1 1957	1952
23		David Stevenson (1898-1977)	January 1 1957	January 1 1961	1956
24		Oliver Milton (1909-1987)	January 1 1961	January 1 1969	1960, 1964
25		Harold Evans (1921-1998)	January 1 1969	January 1 1977	1968, 1972
26		Simon Black (1919-1993)	January 1 1977	January 1 1981	1976
27		John Nelson (1929-2008)	January 1 1981	January 1 1989	1980, 1984
28		Jean Paterson (1937-)	January 1 1989	January 1 1997	1988, 1992
29		Roger Hall (1932-2017)	January 1 1997	January 1 2005	1996, 2000
30		Jason Ward (1948-)	January 1 2005	January 1 2013	2004, 2008
31		Amanda Laine (1955-)	January 1 2013	January 1 2017	2012
32		Lucas Brown (1963–)	January 1 2017	January 1 2024	2016, 2020
33		Collin Lestrange (1960-)	Incumbent		2024