Emperor of Mexico

Imperial Standard of the Empress of Mexico

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The **Emperor** or **Empress of Mexico** (Spanish: **Emperador** or **Emperatriz de México**) is the hereditary monarch, sovereign ruler, and head of state of the Mexican Empire. The title has existed in three major iterations, 1821-1853, 1881-1921, and 1956 onwards respectively, and has ruled over Mexico for the majority of the country's independent history. The first two iterations of the monarchy were ruled by the House of Iturbide, whilst the third and current version has been ruled by the House of Rodríguez since inception.

Following the independence of Mexico in September 1821, the revolutionary general Agustín de Iturbide conducted a self coup against the revolutionary junta and proclaimed himself as Emperor Agustín of Mexico and the first head of the House of Iturbide. After reigning for two decades, Agustín was succeeded by his son Pedro I in 1843 - within a decade, Pedro I was deposed by José Mariano Salas in a republican coup d'état after refusing to appoint Salas as prime minister, effectively ending the first iteration of the Mexican Empire. In 1869, Pedro de Iturbide, the son of deposed Pedro I and head of the House of Iturbide in-exile, led a revolution against President Salas - within twelve years of the revolution, Pedro de Iturbide was enthroned as Emperor Pedro II of a restored Mexican Empire. In 1921, Emperor Juan I was assassinated by anarchist rebels; the lack of a suitable successor tipped the country into civil war and no monarch would rule until 1956, when Alberto I of Mexico was proclaimed as emperor by the Regency Council which had governed the empire in absence of the monarchy.

Whilst the position of emperor has existed almost continuously since 1821, the powers associated with the office have drastically fluctuated over time. Upon the title's creation, the emperor of Mexico wielded near absolute power over the country and was able to appoint a government to administrate the state on their behalf - however, during the reign of Pedro I large amounts of this power was effectively devolved to the prime minister or to the Congress of Mexico. After the interregnum during the Republic of Mexico, the founding 1881 constitution of the restored empire more clearly defined the role of the emperor in relation to the government. Whilst the sovereign was able to appoint governments at will, they were constitutionally prohibited from taking part in the government and were supposed to be an impartial figure with little political power - however, Pedro II and his successor Juan I largely ignored these aspects of the constitution, and subsequently the impartiality requirement was not *de-facto* implemented until 1919 following the United States' occupation.

Since the establishment of an independent Mexican state in September 1821, the position of head of state has alternated between the monarchy and civilian head of state positions. Following a coup in 1852, the monarchy was abolished and the subsequent Republic of Mexico governed the country until Pedro II was elected as president and restored the Mexican Empire in 1881. After a period of stability, in June 1921 the monarchy fell into abeyance after Emperor Juan I was assassinated with no suitable heirs. Whilst the Mexican Empire and the position of emperor continued to exist, the throne remained vacant and power was exercised by a series of regents until Alberto I was elected emperor by the Regency Council of Mexico in August 1956.

## Duration of Tenures

Since the establishment of the title of emperor of Mexico, there have been nine individuals to hold the position across a combined total of 157 years and 313 days, as of January 1, 2043. Out of these, four reigned for more than two decades, whilst only the incumbent Empress Cassandra ruled for a period shorter than a decade. Pedro II's reign of 28 years and 181 day is the longest on record, whilst Cassandra's reign of 3 years, 32 days is the shortest on record.

\* as of January 1, 2043

## Gallery of Emperors of Mexico

**Agustín of Mexico**
1821 - 1843
**Pedro I of Mexico**
1843 - 1853
**Pedro II of Mexico**
1881 - 1910
**Juan I of Mexico**
1910 - 1921
**Alberto I of Mexico**
1956 - 1983
**Carlos of Mexico**
1983 - 1998
**Juan II of Mexico**
1998 - 2014
**Felipe III of Mexico**
2014 - 2039
**Cassandra of Mexico**
2039 - *Present*

## See Also

* List of leaders of Mexico
* Regent of Mexico