Head of State/ Head of Government

Although our British friends are very familiar with the idea that the monarch is the Head of State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of Government, not all Americans realize that the European countries that have dissolved their monarchies still retain the separation of Head of Government & State. Outside of the old British colonies (like Canada), most of the countries in the Western Hemisphere have followed the American example of combining the two offices into one position.

Sometimes I think that may be a mistake.

The business of Head of Government is necessarily a partisan position, while a Head of State should be apolitical. But on the other hand, many Americans would find an elected Head of State as redundant an another useless expense. One quick question that few Americans can answer is who are the two people pictured below, and which one is the Head of State and which is the Head of Government of Germany?

While it would seem silly to go back to a monarchy, sometimes I think that a Head of State might be useful. But it would involve an expense, and the position might be seen as in conflict with the Presidential duties.

The duties of a Head of State would include overseas state visits, honoring the nations elite (military and civilian), charity fundraising, extolling the American people to be "better" (like Michelle Obama's obesity campaign, or more tolerant, etc.), and generally representing the nation. They would not include partisan fundraising, platforms, commander in chief responsibilities, etc. The Head of State duties might seem to be the more glamorous of the presidential duties.

I voted that the system is fine as is. A head of state with no power would be seen as just a figurehead by other governments. Perhaps he/she could be used for ceremonial events like the Olympics or funerals for other heads of state. Then again such a movie might look insulting -- like we're sending in some flunky instead of the top banana.

Many of the "Head of State" functions that the President attends to personally, can be considered among the 'perks' that go along with the job. Take them away, and the job becomes less attractive.

Besides, the system is fine, partially because we already have people in place to do some of those "Head of State" type functions that the President either doesn't want to handle, or can't for any number of reasons. I refer specifically to the First Lady and the Vice President.

Quote: pacomartin

One quick question that few Americans can answer is who are the two people pictured below, and which one is the Head of State and which is the Head of Government of Germany?

Don't ask me to name them (although, having seen the image file name, I could...), but here's a WAG (Wild Ass Guess):

I think the gentleman looks like the kind of beer-drinking party animal that Germany would have as a Head Of State. The lady looks more serious, like she's running the show/country.

Here is my guess as to the woman. I have no clue about the man.

Quote: Wizard

Here is my guess as to the woman.

That's the right answer.

The vice president can take care of representing the nation at events that don't require the prez. The Veep doesn't have much else on his slate, anyway, from a constitutional standpoint.

I can envision too many problems with a two-headed monster.

Quote: Wizard

I voted that the system is fine as is. A head of state with no power would be seen as just a figurehead by other governments. Perhaps he/she could be used for ceremonial events like the Olympics or funerals for other heads of state. Then again such a movie might look insulting -- like we're sending in some flunky instead of the top banana.

Most of the European countries have a head of state with no political power. They don't regard them solely as figureheads, because they represent the state apolitically. Of the 27 European Countries 7 have retained traditional monarchy, Cyprus is the only one where one person serves both functions.

Most countries call their head of government a Prime Minister, but Germany and Austria retain the name Chancellor. Ireland uses a traditional Gaelic name.

In Germany the head of state is not nearly as well known as the Chancellor.

Most Americans can't get more than a handful of the names of the leaders of our close allies in the EU.

European Union	Head of State	Head of Government
United Kingdom	Queen Elizabeth II	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister David Cameron
Denmark	Queen Show Spoiler Queen Margrethe II	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Netherlands	Queen Show Spoiler Queen Beatrix	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Belgium	King Show Spoiler King Albert II	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo
Spain	King Show Spoiler King Juan Carlos I	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
Sweden	King Show Spoiler King Carl XVI Gustaf	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
Luxembourg	Grand Duke Show Spoiler Grand Duke Henri	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker
Austria	President Show Spoiler President Heinz Fischer	Chancellor Show Spoiler Chancellor Werner Faymann
Germany	President Show Spoiler President Joachim Gauck	Chancellor Show Spoiler Chancellor Angela Merkel
Ireland	President Show Spoiler President Michael D. Higgins	Taoiseach Show Spoiler Taoiseach Enda Kenny
Hungary	President Show Spoiler President János Áder	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Bulgaria	President Show Spoiler President Rosen Plevneliev	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Boyko Borisov
Czech Republic	President Show Spoiler President Václav Klaus	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Petr Nečas
Estonia	President Show Spoiler President Toomas Hendrik Ilves	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Andrus Ansip
Finland	President Show Spoiler President Sauli Niinistö	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen
France	President Show Spoiler President François Hollande	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault
Greece	President Show Spoiler President Karolos Papoulias	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos
Italy	President Show Spoiler President Giorgio Napolitano	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Mario Monti
Latvia	President Show Spoiler President Andris Bērziņš	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis
Lithuania	President Show Spoiler President Dalia Grybauskaitė	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius
Malta	President Show Spoiler President George Abela	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi
Poland	President Show Spoiler President Bronisław Komorowski	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Donald Tusk
Portugal	President Show Spoiler President Aníbal Cavaco Silva	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho
Romania	President Show Spoiler President Traian Băsescu	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Victor Ponta
Slovakia	President Show Spoiler President Ivan Gašparovič	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Robert Fico
Slovenia	President Show Spoiler President Danilo Türk	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Janez Janša
Cyprus	President Show Spoiler President Dimitris Christofias	NOT APPLICABLE

In the UK, everything is done in the name of the crown but the Annual address to the people is written by the Prime Minister who of course is a political figure of power who won the partisan election but is thought therefore to be the instrument of applying the Crown policies. It enables the UK to have an inherited Monarchy, a mantle of all the civil service prats acting as agents of the Queen. Convicts are convicted by a jury but not sentenced until Her Majesty's pleasure is made known to the judge. Of course that simply means made known through the various probation clerks and the like who are all supposedly acting on the Queen's behalf. It allows an extra layer of protocol. And often provides for an extraordinary avenue of appeal. It is even then possible for there to be active intervention "by the Grace and Favor of Her Majesty" such as pardons, paroles or the retention of a civil servant who might otherwise be past the age of mandatory retirement. Recently a death inquiry was initiated by The Coroner of the Queen's Household. This means that a death in Paris, France such as that of Princess Diane can be investigated by an English Coroner's Jury.

While an archaic institution provides opportunities for archaic paths of applying power, it is a division utterly inapplicable to the United States. When we elect a bumbling peanut farmer to office, we mean it.

Actually the USA has FOUR heads of gummint.

PRESIDENT: Head of the Executive Branch
President pro-tempore of the Senate
Speaker of the House of Rep.s
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

I could also make the case for SIX,
Majority leaders of both House and Senate. As it DOES take a Majority vote to pass even a fart in either Diet.

Quote: FleaStiff

While an archaic institution provides opportunities for archaic paths of applying power, it is a division utterly inapplicable to the United States. When we elect a bumbling peanut farmer to office, we mean it.

While monarchy is not really an option for the United States, consider this biography of Joachim Gauck.

Quote: random comments excerpted from BBC News profile

Joachim Gauck

He is a Lutheran pastor - and son of a pastor.
...
Mr Gauck and Chancellor Angel Merkel were both raised in the East, which crumbled in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
...
Mr Gauck speaks his mind and is a forthright confronter of what he perceives to be wrong. He went into politics in the East after his father was deported to Siberia for his civil rights activism.
...
Then, when the Church spoke out in favour of democracy in the old East Germany in the late 1980s, he held services which preceded the big demonstrations that eventually toppled the regime. When the Wall fell, and Germany was reunited, Pastor Gauck became head of the commission which investigated the activities of the Stasi, the East German secret police.
...
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung said his strengths were his "preacher-like emotionalism", but added that this might present a difficulty for Chancellor Merkel: "His thoughts and words and sometimes even his actions are guided by emotions.
...
Just after he was nominated in February, his 64-page treatise in defence of human rights around the globe, Freedom: A Plea, was published.
...
Mr Gauck is already a hero to many Germans and he may become a hero to some non-Germans too.

The position of President of Germany is apolitical while the Chancellor of Germany, Andrea Merkel is the Chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Of the two positions, the Chancellor is clearly the most powerful. In fact Andrea Merkel may be the most powerful politician in the EU.

But the positions are different. The President represents the German State, while the Chancellor represents the German government. He is not perceived as an second level power whose job it is to attend funerals and garden parties.

Most other European countries and Canada have both positions. Can you guess any of these?

Country	Head of State	Head of Government
Norway	King Show Spoiler King Harald V	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Andorra	Co Princes Show Spoiler Co-Princes Joan Enric Vives Sicília & François Hollande	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Antoni Martí
Liechtenstein	Prince Show Spoiler Prince Hans-Adam II	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Klaus Tschütscher
Monaco	Prince Show Spoiler Prince Albert II	Minister of State Show Spoiler Minister of State Michel Roger
Albania	President Show Spoiler President Bamir Topi	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Sali Berisha
Iceland	President Show Spoiler President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
Macedonia	President Show Spoiler President Gjorge Ivanov	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski
Moldova	President Show Spoiler President Nicolae Timofti	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Vlad Filat
Ukraine	President Show Spoiler President Viktor Yanukovych	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Mykola Azarov
Belarus	President Show Spoiler President Alexander Lukashenko	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich
Montenegro	President Show Spoiler President Filip Vujanović	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Igor Lukšić
Russia	President Show Spoiler President Vladimir Putin	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
Switzerland	Show Spoiler Federal Council: Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (Pres.), Ueli Maurer (VP), Doris Leuthard, Didier Burkhalter, Simonetta Sommaruga, Johann Schneider-Ammann, Alain Berset
Vatican City	Show Spoiler Pope Benedict XVI	President of the Governorate  Show Spoiler President of the Governorate Giuseppe Bertello
Canada	Show Spoiler Queen Elizabeth II	Prime Minister Show Spoiler Prime Minister Stephen Harper