President of the United Federation of Planets

From FEInfobase

Revision as of 13:50, 29 April 2006

The Presidential Seal

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.

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 is normally 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 other

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 Presidents’ 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.

Military Position

The Federation President is the senior most leader of all Federation forces including Starfleet. However the president doesn’t hold the title of Commander-in-Chief as this is given to the single Fleet Admiral in charge of Starfleet. This does not mean however the president not having any say over or given orders to Starfleet to carry out. The president out-ranks all Starfleet flag officers including the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief.

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 former Ambassador and Starfleet captain, Spock. He took over the presidency in 2391 after his predecessor Nanietta Bacco retired after serving the office for three successful terms.

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. This type of support hadn’t been seen since Jonathan Archer’s presidency in the late twenty second century. 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.

The Spock Presidency

Spock is now in his forth term of presidency which would come to an end in 2406. A majority of his terms have dealt with the Borg War, something which he is both praised and criticized for by various people. Many have felt he has 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.