President of Eckland

**Salary** | $105,000 (per annum)

The **President of Eckland** (Eckish: *Presidenti Ekkää*) is the head of state of the Republic of Eckland. The current President is Aali Nöördad, who was elected unopposed by the Maagukoorpuu for a second term in the 2018 presidential election. She is the second woman to be elected to the office. The office was created in 1902, following the restoration of Eckish independence. Prior to this, Eckland had no government and instead was represented by the territorial government of Helvarian Letuvia. In prior incarnations of an Eckish state, the head of state was the Monarch, which has since been deposed.

Eckland is a parliamentary republic in which the President is a ceremonial figurehead with no executive powers. During their tenure in office, the President is constitutionally obliged to resign from any political party they may have been registered with and refrain from voting in elections. Upon assuming office, the authority and duties of the President in all other elected or appointed offices terminate automatically. These measures should theoretically help the President to function in a more independent and impartial manner.

Most often, the President is elected by the Maagukoorpuu for a four-year term that can be renewed once. Eckish presidential elections are complex, often consisting of several rounds of voting. In the first round, the Maagukoorpuu votes for any of the candidates that have declared their candidacies. If no candidate receives a 2/3 majority in the Maagukoorpuu, the candidate with the lowest amount of votes is eliminated and a second vote is held. If this second vote fails as well, the process repeats for a third vote. If the third vote also fails to elect a candidate with a 2/3 majority, all candidacies are forcibly withdrawn and the two largest political parties in the Maagukoorpuu are tasked with nominating their own candidates to stand for a popular vote of the Eckish population. This has happened four times in Eckish history.

## Role and authority

The Constitution of Eckland outlines the role and powers of the presidency. Regarding internal affairs, the President is tasked with:

* The signing of treaties and bills
* Appointing and recalling members of the Government on the advice of the Prime Minister
* Appointing and recalling Eckish diplomats on the advice of the Government
* Calling for snap elections or dissolving the Maagukoorpuu on the advice of the Government
* Officially declaring the results of parliamentary elections and inviting the Prime Minister-elect to form a government based on those results
* Swearing in new members of the Maagukoorpuu and opening the first session of each Maagukoorpuu
* Vetoing any pieces of legislation they determine to be "politically unacceptable or unconstitutional"
* Nominating and appointing the President of the Supreme Court, Director of the Bank of Eckland, Attorney General, and Auditor General after participating in discussions with the Government
* Awarding state decorations including military and civilian honors
* Declaring martial law in the case of attack or invasion of Eckland, and serving as the ceremonial commander-in-chief of the military
* Granting official pardons to convicted offenders

In addition to the above, the President is also the chief international representative of Eckland abroad, often partaking in international diplomacy trips to friendly nations and hosting foreign dignitaries to Eckland.

## Amenities

The official residence of the President is the Presidential Palace of Poorgu. The residence is located in the upscale Võsalu neighborhood of Palriita in Poorgu. The Presidential Palace serves as both the private residence of the President and the location of the Office of the President, where work is conducted. Since its construction in 1934, all Presidents and their families have resided in the Presidential Palace. The President is given an annual salary of $105,000, funded through taxation. The salary is $25,000 higher than that of the Prime Minister.

## List of Presidents

*Main article: List of Presidents of Eckland.*