when his party controls the majority of seats in the National Assembly, the president can operate

closely with the parliament and prime minister, and work towards a common agenda. When the
National Assembly is controlled by his opponents, however, the president can find himself
marginalized with the opposition party prime minister exercising most of the power. Though the
prime minister remains an appointee of the president, the president must obey the rules of
parliament, and select a leader from the house's majority holding party. Thus, sometimes the
president and prime minister can be allies, sometimes rivals; the latter situation is known in France
as cohabitation. Variants of the French semi-presidential system, developed at the beginning of
the Fifth Republic by Charles de Gaulle, are used in France, Portugal, Romania, Sri Lanka and
several post-colonial countries which have emulated the French model. In Finland, although the
2000 constitution moved towards a ceremonial presidency, the system is still formally semi-
presidential, with the President of Finland retaining e.g. foreign policy and appointment powers.

Parliamentary systems[edit]
See also: Parliamentary system and Parliamentary republic
The parliamentary republic, is a parliamentary system in which the presidency is largely ceremonial
with either de facto or no significant executive authority (such as the President of Austria) or de
jure no significant executive power (such as the President of Ireland), and the executive powers
rests with the Prime Minister who automatically assumes the post as head of a majority party or
coalition, but takes oath of office administered by the president. However, the president is head of
the civil service, commander in chief of the armed forces and in some cases can dissolve
parliament. Countries using this system include Austria, Albania, Bangladesh, Czech
Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy,[1] Malta, Pakistan, Singapo
re.
A variation of the parliamentary republic is a system with an executive president in which the
president is the head of state and the government but unlike a presidential system, is elected by and
accountable to a parliament, and referred to as president. Countries using this system
include Botswana, South Africa and Suriname.

Collective presidency[edit]

The seven-member Swiss Federal Council serves as collective head of government and state of Switzerland.

Only a tiny minority of modern republics do not have a single head of state. Some examples of this
are:

 Switzerland, where the headship of state is collectively vested in the seven-member Swiss
Federal Council, although there is also a President of the Confederation, who is a member of the
Federal Council elected by the Federal Assembly (the Swiss parliament) for a year
(constitutional convention mandates that the post rotates every New Year's Day).
 The Captains Regent of San Marino elected by the Grand and General Council.
 In the former Soviet Union, while the real power was exercised by the general secretary of
the Communist Party, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet executed powers of collective head
of state, and its chairman was often called "president" in the West.
 Yugoslavia after the death of Josip Broz Tito until its breakup.
 Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 National Council of Government (Uruguay)
 Junta of National Reconstruction in Nicaragua
Dictatorships[edit]
In dictatorships, the title of president is frequently taken by self-appointed or military-backed leaders.
Such is the case in many states: Idi Amin in Uganda, Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire, Ferdinand
Marcos in Philippines and Saddam Hussein in Iraq are some examples. Other presidents in
authoritarian states have wielded only symbolic or no power such as Craveiro
Lopes in Portugal and Joaquín Balaguer under the "Trujillo Era" of the Dominican Republic.
President for Life is a title assumed by some dictators to try to ensure that their authority or
legitimacy is never questioned. Ironically, most leaders who proclaim themselves President for Life
do not in fact successfully serve a life term. On the other hand, presidents like Alexandre
Pétion, Rafael Carrera, Josip Broz Tito and François Duvalier died in office. Kim Il-sung was
named Eternal President of the Republic after his death.
In ancient Rome, Lucius Cornelius Sulla appointed himself in 82 BC to an entirely new
office, dictator rei publicae constituendae causa ("dictator for the making of laws and for the settling
of the constitution"), which was functionally identical to the dictatorate rei gerundae causa ("for the
matter to be done," e.g., a military command against a specific enemy) except that it lacked any set
time limit, although Sulla held this office for over two years before he voluntarily abdicated and
retired from public life.
The second well-known incident of a leader extending his term indefinitely was Roman
dictator Julius Caesar, who made himself "Perpetual Dictator" (commonly mistranslated as 'Dictator-
for-life') in 45 BC. His actions would later be mimicked by the French leader Napoleon
Bonaparte who was appointed "First Consul for life" in 1802 and five years later, the French senate
proclaimed him emperor (a monarchical title).
Several presidents have ruled until their death, but they have not proclaimed themselves as
President for Life. For instance, Nicolae Ceauşescu of Romania, who ruled until his execution
(see Romanian Revolution).

Presidential symbols[edit]
As the country's head of state, in most countries the president is entitled to certain perquisites, and
may have a prestigious residence, often a lavish mansion or palace, sometimes more than one (e.g.
summer and winter residences, or a country retreat) Customary symbols of office may include an
official uniform, decorations, a presidential seal, coat of arms, flag and other visible accessories, as
well as military honours such as gun salutes, ruffles and flourishes, and a presidential guard. A
common presidential symbol is the presidential sash worn most often by presidents in Latin
America and Africa as a symbol of the continuity of the office.[2]

Presidential chronologies[edit]
Main article: List of current presidents
United Nations member countries in columns, other entities at the beginning:

 European Commission
 List of presidents of European Union institutions
 List of Presidents of the Soviet Union (Leaders)

Titles for non-heads of state[edit]

As head of government[edit]
Some countries with parliamentary systems use a term meaning/translating as "president" (in some
languages indistinguishable from chairman) for the head of parliamentary government, often as
President of the Government, President of the Council of Ministers or President of the Executive
Council.
However, such an official is explicitly not the president of the country. Rather, he/she is called a
president in an older sense of the word, to denote the fact that he/she heads the cabinet. A
separate head of state generally exists in their country that instead serves as the president or
monarch of the country.
Thus, such officials are really premiers, and to avoid confusion are often described simply as 'prime
minister' when being mentioned internationally.
There are several examples for this kind of presidency:

 The official title of the Italian Prime Minister is President of the Council of
Ministers (Italian Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri)
 Under the French Third and the Fourth Republics, the "President of the Council" (of ministers –
or prime minister) was the head of government, with the President of the Republic a largely
symbolic figurehead.
 The Prime minister of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1937 was titled President of the
Executive Council of the Irish Free State. At the same time, the Irish Free State was a
constitutional monarchy with a reigning monarch, the King of Ireland, as well as a
resident Governor-General carrying out many head of state functions.
 Under the constitutional monarchies of Brazil and Portugal, the President of the Council of
Ministers (Portuguese Presidente do Conselho de Ministros) was the head of government, with
the Monarch being the head of State. Under the Portuguese First and Second Republics, the
head of government was the President of the Ministry (Portuguese Presidente do Ministério) and
then the President of the Council of Ministers, with the President of the Republic as the head of
State.
 The Prime Minister of Spain is officially referred to as the President of the Government of Spain,
and informally known as the "president". Spain is also a kingdom with a reigning king.
 The official title of the Croatian prime minister is President of the Government of the Republic of
Croatia (Croatian: Predsjednik Vlade Republike Hrvatske).
 The official title of the Polish prime minister is President of the Council of
Ministers (Polish Prezes Rady Ministrów).
 In British constitutional practice, the chairman of an Executive Council, acting in such a capacity,
is known as a President of the Executive Council. Usually this person is the Governor and it
always stays like that.
 Between 1918 and 1934, Estonia had no separate head of state. Both Prime Ministers (1918-
1920) and State Elders (1920-1934) often translated as "Presidents") were elected by the
parliament.