Emperor of the Republic

The Emperor of the Republic is the ceremonial leader of the Imperial Republic, elected for 20-year term of office by the Imperial Parliament. All candidates for Emperor are nominated by members of the Council of Twelve, and elected by majority vote of the Regular Council. If no candidate for Emperor wins a majority of Regular Council votes on the first ballot, there is a second, runoff ballot pitting the top two candidates who garnered the most votes on the first round.

Until Year 33,044, any group of Regular Council members numbering at least 25 could nominate candidates for Emperor the same way any single member of the Council of Twelve could.

The laws passed in Year 33,044 stated that if all 12 members of the Council of Twelve nominated the same candidate for Emperor, the Regular Council would confirm if he or she could serve as Emperor of the Republic by a "yes" or "no" vote.

The Emperor was originally elected for life, but that was changed in Year 33,044.

From Year 33,044 to Year 43,001 when a new law was passed, an incumbent Emperor could be reelected, but since Year 43,001 Emperors have been legally limited to a single, 20-year term.

The Emperor of the Republic may be removed from office by Parliament for physical or mental incapacity, dereliction of duty, or conviction of a serious crime. Such requires a unaminous vote of the Council of Twelve or a two-thirds vote of the Regular Council. The laws stated since the Republic's foundation in Year 23,786 that an ex-Emperor originally removed for any reason whatsoever by either council in Parliament could never again be reelected Emperor.

The reason why the Emperors were elected was because critics did not want House Corrino to monopolize the position of Emperor as they did with the planetary Emperors of Galactic Primus.

The Emperors of the Republic originally had broad powers, but political reforms passed in Year 33,044 stripped them of much of their authority.

The role of the Emperor includes as follows:

proclaims the passage of new laws by Parliament; the Emperor used to have the authority to actual veto parliamentary bills, but that was abolished in Year 33,044.

presides over the meetings of the Supreme Tribunal (see page on the Imperial Parliament) when it hears criminal, civil, or legal cases (although the Emperor cannot vote on judicial matters); the Emperor used to appoint the members of the Supreme Tribunal, but that was abolished in Year 33,044.

presides over the lottery that selects members of Parliament to serve on the Council of Twelve and annouces their names

is the nominal commander-in-chief of the Imperial Republic's military forces and supreme chief of it's law-enforcement agencies, although the Emperor acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers (see the page on the Imperial Parliament) according to the laws passed in Year 33,044.

grants titles of nobility, including hereditary seats in Parliament, although that is subject to the approval of both the Council of Twelve and the Regular Council; until Year 33,044 the Emperor's right to appoint hereditary nobility along with hereditary parliamentary seats was absolute. (See Law on Rescinding Parliamentary Privledges)

grants individual worlds, corporations, guilds, etc. the right to appoint non-noble members of the Imperial Parliament, although that is subject to the approval of both the Council of Twelve and the Regular Council; until Year 33,044 the Emperor's power to grant entities the right to non-hereditary parliamentary seats was absolute. (See Law on Rescinding Parliamentary Privledges)