Editing President (government title) (section)

==History==
The title ''president'' is derived from the [[Latin]] ''prae-'' "before" + ''sedere'' "to sit". The word "presidents" is also used in the [[King James Bible]] at [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] 6:2 to translate the [[Aramaic]] term סָרְכִ֣ין ''(sā·rə·ḵîn)'', a word of likely Persian origin, meaning "officials", "commissioners", "overseers" or "chiefs". As such, it originally designated the officer who presides over or "sits before" a gathering and ensures that debate is conducted according to the [[rules of order]] (''see also'' [[chairman]] and [[Speaker (politics)|speaker]]), but today it most commonly refers to an executive official in any social organization. Early examples are from the universities of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] (from 1464) and the founding [[president of the Royal Society]], [[William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker|William Brouncker]], in 1660. This usage survives today in the title of such offices as "[[President of the Board of Trade]]" and "[[Lord President of the Council]]" in the [[United Kingdom]], as well as "President of the Senate" in the [[United States]] (one of the roles constitutionally assigned to the [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]]). The officiating priest at certain [[Anglican Communion|Anglican]] religious services, too, is sometimes called the "president" in this sense.

The most common modern usage is as the title of a [[head of state]] in a [[republic]]. The first usage of the word ''president'' to denote the highest official in a government was during the [[Commonwealth of England]].

===Commonwealth===

[[Thomas Hungerford (speaker)|Thomas Hungerford]], who became the first [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|speaker of the English House of Commons]] in 1376, used the title, "Mr. Speaker", a precedent followed by subsequent speakers of the House of Commons.

After the abolition of the monarchy, the English [[English Council of State|Council of State]], whose members were elected by the House of Commons, became the [[executive (government)|executive]] government of the Commonwealth. The Council of State was the successor of the [[Privy Council]], which had previously been headed by the [[Lord President of the Council|lord president]]; its successor the Council of State was also headed by a lord president, the first of which was [[John Bradshaw (judge)|John Bradshaw]]. However, the lord president alone was not head of state, because that office was vested in the council as a whole.

The [[speaker of the House of Commons of Canada]], established in 1867, is also addressed as "Monsieur le Président" or "Madame la Présidente" in French.

===France===
In pre-revolutionary [[Kingdom of France|France]], the president of a ''[[Parlement]]'' evolved into a powerful [[magistrate]], a member of the so-called ''[[noblesse de robe]]'' ("[[nobility]] of the gown"), with considerable judicial as well as administrative authority. The name referred to his primary role of presiding over trials and other hearings. In the 17th and 18th centuries, seats in the ''Parlements'', including presidencies, became effectively hereditary, since the holder of the office could ensure that it would pass to an heir by paying the crown a special tax known as the ''[[paulette (tax)|paulette]]''. The post of "first president" (''premier président''), however, could be held by only the [[King of France|King]]'s nominees. The ''Parlements'' were abolished by the [[French Revolution]]. In modern France the chief judge of a court is known as its president (''président de la cour'').

By the 18th century, the president of a [[France|French]] [[parlement]] was addressed as "Monsieur le Président". In [[Pierre Choderlos de Laclos]]'s 1782 novel ''[[Les Liaisons dangereuses]]'' ("Dangerous Liaisons"), the wife of a magistrate in a parlement is referred to as Madame la Présidente de Tourvel ("Madam President of Tourvel"). The fictional name Tourvel refers not to the ''parlement'' in which the magistrate sits, but rather, in imitation of an aristocratic title, to his private estate. This influenced parliamentary usage in France. When the [[Second French Republic]] was established in 1848, "Monsieur le Président" became the title of the president of the French Republic.

===United States===
{{Further|President of the United States}}
The modern usage of the term ''president'' to designate a single person who is the [[head of state]] of a [[republic]] can be traced directly to the [[United States Constitution]] of 1787, which created the office of [[President of the United States]]. Previous American governments had included "presidents" (such as the [[president of the Continental Congress]] or the president of the [[Massachusetts Provincial Congress]]), but these were presiding officers in the older sense, with no executive authority. It has been suggested that the executive use of the term was borrowed from early American colleges and universities, which were usually headed by a ''president''. British universities were headed by an official called the "[[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]]" (typically a ceremonial position) while the chief administrator held the title of "[[Vice-Chancellor]]". But America's first institutions of higher learning (such as [[Harvard University]] and [[Yale University]]) did not resemble a full-sized university so much as one of its constituent colleges. A number of colleges at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] featured an official called the "president". The head, for instance, of [[Magdalene College, Cambridge]] was called the ''master'' and his second the ''president''. The first president of Harvard, [[Henry Dunster]], had been educated at Magdalene. Some have speculated that he borrowed the term out of a sense of humility, considering himself only a temporary placeholder. The presiding official of [[Yale College]], originally a "[[Rector (academia)|rector]]" (after the usage of continental European universities), became "president" in 1745.

A common style of address for presidents, "Mr/Mrs. President", is borrowed from British Parliamentary tradition, in which the presiding Speaker of the House of Commons is referred to as "Mr/Mrs. Speaker". Coincidentally, this usage resembles the older French custom of referring to the president of a ''parlement'' as "''Monsieur/Madame le Président''", a form of address that in modern France applies to both the [[President of the French Republic|president of the Republic]] and to chief judges. In the United States, the title "Mr. President" is used in a number of formal instances as well: for example anyone presiding over the [[United States Senate]] is addressed as "Mr./Madam President", especially the vice president, who is the [[president of the Senate]]. Other uses of the title include presidents of state and local legislatures; however, only the president of the United States uses the title outside of formal sessions.
[[File:Stuart-george-washington-constable-1797.jpg|thumb|[[George Washington]], the [[President of the United States|first president of the United States]]]]
The 1787 [[Constitution of the United States]] did not specify the manner of address for the president. When [[George Washington]] was sworn in as the [[Presidency of George Washington|first president of the United States]] on April 30, 1789, however, the administering of the oath of office ended with the proclamation: "Long live George Washington, President of the United States."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bartoloni-Tuazon|first1=Kathleen|title=For Fear of an Elective King|date=2014|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca|page=89}}</ref> No title other than the name of the office of the executive was officially used at the inauguration. The question of a presidential title was being debated in Congress at the time, however, having become official legislative business with [[Richard Henry Lee]]'s motion of April 23, 1789. Lee's motion asked Congress to consider "what titles it will be proper to annex to the offices of President and Vice President of the United States{{snd}}if any other than those given in the Constitution".<ref name="For Fear of an Elective King">{{cite book|last1=Bartoloni-Tuazon|first1=Kathleen|title=For Fear of an Elective King|date=2014|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca|page=86}}</ref> Vice President [[John Adams]], in his role as President of the [[United States Senate]], organized a [[Congressional committees|congressional committee]]. There Adams agitated for the adoption of the style of ''Highness'' (as well as the title of ''Protector of Their [the United States'] Liberties'') for the president.<ref name=HutsonAdams>{{cite journal|last1=Hutson|first1=James H.|title=John Adams' Title Campaign|journal=The New England Quarterly|date=March 1968|volume=41|issue=1|pages=30–39|doi=10.2307/363331 |jstor=363331 | issn=0028-4866}}</ref> Adams and Lee were among the most outspoken proponents of an exalted presidential title.<ref name="For Fear of an Elective King"/>

Others favored the variant of ''Electoral Highness'' or the lesser ''Excellency'', the latter of which was vociferously opposed by Adams, who contended that it was far beneath the presidential dignity, as the executives of the states, some of which were also titled "President" (e.g. the [[Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|president of Pennsylvania]]), at that time often enjoyed the style of ''Excellency''; Adams said the president "would be leveled with colonial governors or with functionaries from German princedoms" if he were to use the style of ''Excellency''. Adams and Richard Henry Lee both feared that cabals of powerful senators would unduly influence a weak executive, and saw an exalted title as a way of strengthening the presidency.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bartoloni-Tuazon|first1=Kathleen|title=For Fear of an Elective King|date=2014|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca|page=57}}</ref> On further consideration, Adams deemed even ''Highness'' insufficient and instead proposed that the executive, both the president and the vice president (i.e., himself), be styled ''Majesty'' to prevent the "great danger" of an executive with insufficient dignity.<ref name=HutsonAdams /> Adams' efforts were met with widespread derision; [[Thomas Jefferson]] called them "the most superlatively ridiculous thing I ever heard of", while [[Benjamin Franklin]] considered it "absolutely mad".<ref name=HutsonAdams />

Washington consented to the demands of [[James Madison]] and the [[United States House of Representatives]] that the title be altered to "Mr. President".<ref>{{cite book|last=Hart|first= Albert Bushnell |title=Formation of the Union, 1750–1829 |pages=143|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n41HAAAAIAAJ&q=%22title+of+Mr+President%22&pg=PA143 | year=1897 | publisher=Longmans|isbn=1-4069-2845-3}}</ref><ref name="star">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Judith |title=Star-spangled Manners |pages=67|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_C-cv96t0kC&q=%22Mr+President%22+%22former+president%22+title+%22first+lady%22&pg=PA67 | isbn=978-0-393-04861-2 | year=2003 | publisher=W.W. Norton & Co.}}</ref><ref name="ladies">{{cite book|last=Wood|first=Gordon S.|title=Revolutionary Characters |pages=54|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uOovRxek5AIC&q=%22title+of+Mr+President%22&pg=PA54 | isbn=978-1-59420-093-9 | year=2006 | publisher=Penguin Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Caroli|first=Betty Boyd |author-link=Betty Boyd Caroli |title=First Ladies |pages=4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3DiQRbwz6jcC&q=%22Mr+President%22+++title+%22first+lady%22&pg=PA4 | isbn=978-0-19-516676-7 | year=2003 | publisher=Oxford University Press US}}</ref> Nonetheless, later "The Honorable" became the standard title of the President in formal address, and "His/Her Excellency" became the title of the President when addressed formally internationally.

Historically, the title was reserved for the [[incumbent]] president only, and was not to be used for former presidents, holding that it was not proper to use the title as a courtesy title when addressing a former president.<ref>{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Judith|date=January 21, 2009|title=Miss Manners by Judith Martin|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/20/AR2009012003558.html|access-date=May 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies of the United States {{!}} USAGov|url=https://www.usa.gov/presidents|access-date=2020-08-24|website=www.usa.gov|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Addressing a Former President |first=Judith |last=Martin |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1030916.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610083421/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1030916.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 June 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=21 October 1992 |access-date=5 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.formsofaddress.info/former.html#FO003 |title=Is a Former President Addressed as President (name)? |first=Robert |last=Hickey |work=Honor & Respect – The Official Guide to Names, Titles, and Forms of Address |publisher=Protocol School of Washington |access-date=5 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emilypost.com/forms-of-address/titles/118-addressing-a-former-us-president|access-date=2013-01-05|date=2013-01-05|quote=When addressing a former President of the United States in a formal setting, the correct form is "Mr. LastName". ("President LastName" or "Mr. President" are terms reserved for the current head of state.)|title=Addressing a Former President of the United States|first=Kerrie|last=Keller|publisher=The Emily Post Institute|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924000146/http://www.emilypost.com/forms-of-address/titles/118-addressing-a-former-us-president|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the official website of the United States of America, the correct way to address a letter is to use "The Honorable John Doe" and the correct salutation is "Mr. Doe".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usa.gov/presidents |title=Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies of the United States}}</ref>

Once the United States adopted the title of "president" for its head of state, many other nations followed suit.

===Other countries===
[[File:President Prabowo Subianto in 2024 with decorations.jpg|thumb|[[Prabowo Subianto]], the eighth president of Indonesia, is the democratically elected president with the largest [[popular vote]] in the world.]]
[[Haiti]] became the first presidential republic in the [[Caribbean]] when [[Henri Christophe]] assumed the title in 1807. Almost all the Pan-American nations that became independent from [[Spain]] in the early 1810s and 1820s chose a US-style president as their chief executive. The first European president was the president of the [[Italian Republic (Napoleonic)|Italian Republic of 1802]], a [[Sister Republic|client state]] of revolutionary France, in the person of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. The first [[Africa]]n president was the [[president of Liberia]] (1848),<ref>Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner and Margaret Hope Bacon, eds., ''Back to Africa: Benjamin Coates and the Colonization Movement in America: 1848–1880''. State College PA: Pennsylvania State Press, 2010. 57–59.
{{ISBN|9780271045719}}
books.google.com/books?id=9X0rc6E9EGkC&pg=PA57</ref> while the first [[Asia]]n president was the [[president of the Republic of China]] (1912).<ref>Xu Guoqui, ''China and the Great War: China's Pursuit of a New National Identity and Internationalization''. Cambridge University Press, 2005. 319.
{{ISBN|9780521842129}}
books.google.com/books?id=erOGMb8c4XEC&pg=PA319</ref>