President of the United Federation of Planets

From FEInfobase

The President of the United Federation of Planets is the democratically elected head of state and head government of the United Federation of Planets. The President is in charge and responsible for leading the Federation government, and is seen as one of the most powerful individuals in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

Contents 1 Election & Term Offices 2 Office of the Federation President 3 Governmental responsibilities of the President 4 Military Position 5 Overall Role of the President 6 Federation Presidents of the late 24th and early 25th Centuries 6.1 The Bacco Presidency 6.2 The Spock Presidency 6.3 The Jellico Presidency

Election & Term Offices

Presidential Candidates are announced by the Federation Council, and a president can serve an unlimited number of four-year terms. Candidates are voted by all citizens of the Federation. Presidential Candidates are normally either politicians or diplomats, and have been known on rare occasions to be retired Starfleet officers.

Office of the Federation President

The office of the Federation President is situated in a building called the Palais de la Concorde which is a huge, cylindrical, fifteen-story building in Paris, France on Earth. The Palais is one of many buildings on Earth which is highly secured and is deemed as impenetrable by outside force. It needs to be as the Palais de la Concorde accommodates the President's staff and other important Federation politicians and individuals. The interior decor of many rooms are inspired by nineteenth and twentieth-century Earth designs, often using high-quality furniture, antiques, and fine paintings from these eras.

The first floor holds the visitor's entrance, as well as a chamber for various meetings, which was historically, but no longer, used by the Federation Council, Federation Security Council, and various other sub-councils.

The second floor features the offices of the Palais de la Concorde Press Secretary and staff, and includes the holographic briefing room in which the Secretary remotely addresses press from throughout the Federation.

On the third level holds the office for the Chief Legal Counsel to the President, as well as their staff members.

The Federation Secretary of State and their staff is accommodate on the ninth floor of the building.

The tenth level houses the offices for senior Palais de la Concode staff in the Executive Office of the Federation President. Offices for the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications Director, Deputy Communications Director, and others.

The State Dining Room is situated on the eleventh floor, and this is where the President will dine with their staff and other guests in formal occasions.

The fourteenth level includes the Cabinet Room, where the President's Cabinet meets daily, and the Palais de la Concorde Situation Room.

The fifteenth level houses the President's office. The President's office itself is shielded by multi regenerative force fields as well as layered transporter inhibitor fields to prevent intruders beaming in or abducting the President.

Governmental responsibilities of the President

The duties and responsibilities of the Federation President is vast, holding the title means the president presides over the executive branch of the government, and by Federation law (see: United Federation of Planets Charter) they must oversee all full sessions of the Federation Council and can be only be excused depending on special circumstances (e.g.:- health problems) and the sessions will be led by the Vice President of the United Federation of Planets in place. The president has the right to head meetings for the various sub-councils of the Federation government however the president is not bound to do so. If the president chooses not to then the chair of said council serves as the presiding officer. During all sessions the President holds the power to determine who may or may not speak to the council from the speaker's floor and may also decide when voting on a resolution is to take place. However the president and vice-president may not vote as this power is given solely to members of the council. The president has the right to veto a bill if they do not believe it to be amicable to Federation law. However this veto can be overruled by a sufficiently large number of councilors.

The Federation President also holds the task of appointing their own ambassadors to foreign states. However if nearby the president has the ability to deal with foreign issues and other state leaders in one-on-one meetings.

The Federation President must also appoint a Presidential Cabinet, which would be composed by the most senior members of the executive branch. Along with the Presidential Cabinet the Federation President also must personnelly appoint their senior staff as part of the Executive Office, which would consist of the immediate aides to the president.

Military Position

The Federation President is the senior-most leader of all Federation forces including Starfleet, though the title of Commander-in-Chief is granted to the single Fleet Admiral in charge of Starfleet.

The Federation President can not declare war on another state without all members of the Federation Security Council agreeing, which then passes the decision to the Federation Council which has the last decision if war is declared. However the President does hold the right to order on any Federation Member State, a political subdivision of a Member State, or in a political subdivision of the Federation itself in to a state of Martial Law.

The president also holds the right to preside over session of the Federation Judiciary Council which can serve out court martial to Starfleet officers and treason charges to any politician or diplomat of the Federation.

Overall Role of the President

The Federation presidency serves as the political and inspirational leader of the United Federation of Planets, and is still looked up to for guidance and leadership by the people of the Federation.

Federation Presidents of the late 24th and early 25th Centuries

Currently the presidency is held by seasoned politician and former Starfleet Marine Alexander Stark.

The Bacco Presidency

Bacco was herald as one of the best Federation Presidents during the late twenty fourth century, her commitment to safeguarding Federation security as well as looking out for the best interests of the Federation received popular support. Her foreign affairs alone gave her the reputation of a formidable leader. She brought both the Federation and Klingon Empire closer then ever before through their political alliance. She also developed a working relationship with her counterpart in The Dominion after the Alpha & Gamma Accords were signed, forging peace between both powers. Come the outbreak of the Borg War, matters changed. She was heavily criticised at the time and later by Starfleet officers and military historians for not taking the invasion sufficiently seriously, and so not routing enough resources to the war effort. Some believe this slow reaction was one of the major causes for the Federation's early heavy losses.

The Spock Presidency

Spock reached his fourth term of office by the time of his death in 2405 from health troubles. A majority of his terms dealt with the Borg War, something which he was both praised and criticized for by various people. Many felt he had yet to show his "true colours" as President. In his second term he brought in the role of "Vice President" and had someone many people found surprising; Edward Jellico, who had become a Federation Ambassador in the 2390s and joined Spock in his second campaign for Federation presidency. Spock received a full one hundred confidence vote by the Federation Council in his nomination to succeed President Bacco. In 2396 Spock brought in new legislation under advice by Vice President Jellico to form a Federation Senate. The Federation Council reluctantly agreed to the formation of the Senate, with fifty five votes in favour. The Senate was tasked with governing the Federation internally with the new races that joinined the Federation during the war.

The Jellico Presidency

Edward Jellico assumed the Presidency upon Spock's death. A highly controversial figure, some viewed Jellico as remaining trapped in the days of the war with his emphasis on security over liberty, preparation for war over exploration. The end of Spock's last term approached shortly after his ascension to office, leaving Jellico fighting an election before he had established himself. Demonised by the left and blamed for everything disliked about the Spock administration, he struggled to establish a lead in the polls. His desperate actions in response to this would lead to the Federation Civil War, and likely will prove to cement his Presidency as one of the most hated. He was succeeded, come the enforcement of the free and fair elections, by his primary opponent in the contest, Alexander Stark.