AHC: Plural Executive

[octaviuz]

The Head of State of a country is usually one person. Other than Switzerland and a brief period of Uruguayan history, countries have tended to have a single occupant in the office.
With a POD after the 1848 Swiss Constitution, your challenge is to make the plural executive more widespread.

 

[Uhura's Mazda]

Other examples: the Directoire and Consulate periods of the French Revolution; Bosnia and Herzegovina; a load of Juntas in Latin America at various points; San Marino; Republican Rome; etc. etc.

One way would be for the American Founding Fathers to emulate the Romans a bit more, and have someone else as popular and influential as Washington, leading to a dual-Consul situation. Or maybe Napoleon doesn't come to power in France. Multinational states might follow Bosnia's lead in certain cases, also.

 

[Workable Goblin]

One way would be for the American Founding Fathers to emulate the Romans a bit more, and have someone else as popular and influential as Washington, leading to a dual-Consul situation. Or maybe Napoleon doesn't come to power in France. Multinational states might follow Bosnia's lead in certain cases, also.

That was sort-of the idea behind the original vice-presidency, what with being the runner-up to the President and all. Of course, it didn't work out that way, but constitutionally the Vice President is in some respects a second executive officer.

 

[jahenders]

One variant of that could be if the founding fathers foresee that the legislative branch can't decide everything in time, but are afraid of "imperial" presidents, so they create a mechanism where some decisions require agreement of a small group -- perhaps the President, VP (other party), Speaker of the House, and President (pro tempore) of the Senate. Heck, you could even throw in the Chief Justice.

That was sort-of the idea behind the original vice-presidency, what with being the runner-up to the President and all. Of course, it didn't work out that way, but constitutionally the Vice President is in some respects a second executive officer.

 

[Tonifranz]

Does the Soviet Union count? Especially after Lenin and before Stalin, and after Stalin until Khruschev? Then we have Brezhnev and Kosigin.

How about China? In theory at least, it is a plural executive during the communist regime. But in fact, Mao really was in charge.

 

[Green Painting]

Republic of San Marino has two consuls.

Many communist regimes have a presidentium after the demise of one charismatic leader. Think of Post-Tito Yugoslavia for instance.

 

[aktarian]

Republic of San Marino has two consuls.

What about Andorra? Two Co-Princes who also hold some other position

Many communist regimes have a presidentium after the demise of one charismatic leader. Think of Post-Tito Yugoslavia for instance.

The thing abot this is that's mostly "let's pretend we work together until one of us comes on top and we manage to get rid of secret police chief". A temporal solution that suits everybody on top because at that point nobody has large enough power base and everybody sees this as temporal truce before blood letting.

 

[funnyhat]

What about Andorra? Two Co-Princes who also hold some other position

I may be mistaken but I believe the Co-Princes' role is largely ceremonial and that there is a prime minister (or similar) who runs the government.