President of Shops Island

The President of the Democratic Industrial Island of Shops is the formal title of Shops Island's head of state, head of government, and supreme commander of the Shopper Armed Forces. The current officeholder is Lavender, since February 2nd, 2013. So far, five penguins have held this position, four of which have held it democratically.

The president also has a personal anthem, which is played in formal events where he is the center of attention. The Shopper president doesn't enjoy as many luxuries as those of other countries, and Shopper presidents have to pay their own way, and need alternative methods of making money. Though, they are still driven around in fancy cars and airplanes with many bodyguards for safety and prestige purposes.

History
The position of president started loosely on the day of Shops Island's founding. Back then, the term was just "leader", or "founder", in the name of Ben. This title transitioned to "Our great leader" or "Glorious founder" in late 2011. This continued into early 2012, and the term "President" was used only by the few foreign diplomats that visited the island.

After Ben was thrown out of office and exiled during the events of the revolution against him in February 2012, his (powerless) "Vice-President" was elected into office as the first democratically elected president of Shops. He held this title for a few months. During Chill's term, he established the distinguished Shopper identity, and stabled out the economy in a fair and democratic manner.

In September 2012, Chill resigned under threats from Brook and a brainwashed Bro, with the threat of impeachment. A rigged election was held, and Bro won the presidency in a landslide. As president, Bro upgraded Shops' government services such as transportation, and opened up foreign relations with many other countries. Bro also made a back-room deal with the USA which secured Shops the ability to make nuclear weapons.

Bro was impeached in November 2012 on accounts of corruption and abuse of power. He was replaced by Mario Arkay, who was elected in an emergency Shops Island Council vote directly after the impeachment. During Mario's presidency, Shops saw the rise of the power of the SIA as Shops became a space power. Mario's accomplishments would always be tarnished, though, by his infamous laziness.

Mario resigned late January 2013 and was replaced with the government outsider, Lavender. He won in a landslide, and became president on February 2, 2013, in the largest inauguration so far.

During Lavender's presidency, Shops became a major Antarctic power, and his presidency quickly overshadowed all the others before him. His leadership during Shops' military expansion, and through various wars earned him the mutual respect of many Antarctic leaders. Lavender's presidency was briefly challenged in May 2013, but he couped the rigged election, and remained president, as still is today.

Since February 2013, the president of Shops Island is, ex officio, the nominal Governor of Moon Island.

As of June 2015, the Shopper President also serves as the head of state of the Dominion of Notron.

Involvement
The president is the Shopper head of state, and as such, is the most powerful figure in the country. The president makes the final decision on important matters of state, in things such as economic, foreign relations, domestic issues, military issues, and others.

Given Shops Island's predominant position on the Antarctic stage, the president also has significant influence over politics across the board. As such, the president's word and proclamations regarding foreign relations often has very real economic and social consequences both at home and abroad.

Special Powers
As head of state and head of government, the Shopper president is entitled to some special privileges and powers which may only be exercised by him.


 * The president holds veto power over any bill tabled by the Common Legislature, thus being able to shoot down any bill that doesn't meet his approval. However, presidential vetos can be irrevocably overturned by a 70%+ vote in the Common Legislature, to prevent a blatant abuse of power.
 * A president may pardon any person convicted or accused of a crime, regardless of how heinous the crime. Due to its controversy, this power was only ever exercised once, when Ben tried to pardon himself during his impeachment.
 * The president may bestow honorary Shopper citizenship upon anybody, although it is considered good practice to pass any of these citizenship motions through the Common Legislature.
 * As commander in chief of the Shopper military, the president is able to give orders to the military in the event of a war, although it is considered best for all involved to consult with the appropriate generals. The president also has the power to authorize nuclear and Squarium strikes, although the director of the SIA may veto these decisions if he believes the president is of ill capacity to make such a decision.
 * The president is allowed to appoint anybody to his cabinet with minimal oversight from the Common Legislature. Cabinet officials are generally Shopper citizens with at least a bare-bones knowledge of politics and a high degree of expertise in their field.
 * The president may pass executive orders, which are new rules or objectives that the executive branch (police, military, government bureaus) must follow. These executive orders may be overturned by a 70%+ vote in the Common Legislature, however.
 * The president may convene a session of the Common Legislature at his whim, although this power is usually only used in extreme circumstances. These presidential-mandated sessions must not, however, interrupt the legislature's normal operating schedule.

Responsibilities
Although the president has significant hard and soft power, the job also carries many official and unofficial responsibilities.


 * Every year, the president must submit a budget to the Common Legislature, which is a general outline of the administration's plan for spending taxpayer money over the fiscal year. This budget is drafted up by the president and his cabinet, and must be approved by the legislature to ensure proper functioning of the government at all times.
 * While the high judge of the Shops Island Council is responsible for swearing in the president, the president himself is responsible for administering oaths of office for the Vice-President and all state or territorial governors.
 * As de-jure Chancellor of the Moon Island Institute of Education, the president is expected to give a commencement speech to each year's graduating class.
 * The president is often tasked with personally representing Shops Island at many diplomatic summits, and often is responsible for directly overseeing missions to bodies such as the UAN and SATO.

Presidential Line of Succession
There is an established line of succession in the event that the Shopper president is killed or incapacitated. This contingency plan has only been used once officially, although there are occasions where the president has temporarily delegated his powers for personal reasons.

In the event of the president being injured, killed, or otherwise incapacitated, the line of succession goes as follows:


 * 1) Vice-President (Chill57181)
 * 2) Secretary of Defense (LMGT)
 * 3) Speaker of the Common Legislature (Garret Placid)
 * 4) Secretary of Foreign Affairs (N/A)
 * 5) Attorney General (Andrew Fife)
 * 6) Secretary of the Treasury (John Yellow)
 * 7) Secretary of the House (Lloyd Danielson)

Shopper law states that under no circumstances are all these seven successors and the president allowed to be in the same room or building at the same time. This rule exists so that the entire line of succession is not eliminated in the event of some catastrophic attack. As such, there must always be a designated survivor to be kept in a safe spot so that there will always be a successor to the presidency.

The line of succession has been triggered a few times in Shopper history as of 2019:


 * On February 25th, 2012, president Ben 100022 was impeached and exiled as a consequence for his dictatorial reign. His vice-president, Chill57181, took his place as president, making it the first time the line of succession was triggered.
 * On November 30th, 2012, president Bro was also impeached due to corruption charges. His vice-president, Mario Arkay assumed the role as president.
 * For much of September and October of 2018, president Lavender handed his duties over to vice-president Chill57181 so that he could go on a much-needed vacation.
 * On December 2nd, 2018, president Lavender was shot during a public event. Luckily, he survived. Vice-president Chill turned down the role due to his very recent role in the office, and as such LMGT, the director of the SIA, assumed the office. This marked the first time that the line of succession went past the first designated successor.

Acting President
If the president is for any reason incapacitated but still alive, or in a position where he is not suited to lead for a temporary period, an acting president is appointed based on the line of succession. The difference between a proper presidential succession and the appointment of an acting president, however, is that appointees can turn down the role of acting president.

Any person who assumes the role of acting president temporarily assumes all the president's roles and responsibilities, along with the power which comes with the office.

Protection
Protecting the president is an utmost priority for the SIA. As such, the president and all important people in the administration are entitled to special protection by a special division of the SIA Special Forces which is known as the Presidential Protection Program (PPP). Multiple agents from this program are sworn to protect the president with their lives. PPP agents take the president's security very seriously, and will go to all lengths to protect the Shopper head of state. As such, the PPP often places severe restrictions upon the president's personal freedom in exchange for his security. Nonetheless, most Shopper presidents have pushed back against this strong protection in hopes that they can maintain some freedom of motion.

Vice President of Shops Island
The Vice President is the second-most powerful official in the Shopper government, second only to the president. The vice-president is first in the presidential line of succession in the event of the president's death or other incapacitation. The current Vice-President is Chill57181.

List of Vice-Presidents
So far, there have been seven Shopper vice presidents.

Controversy
The Shopper presidency is often frowned upon as aristocratic, due to the fact that all of the presidents so far (with the exception of Lavender), had close connections with at least one other president of Shops. The fact that two very young presidents were elected into office doesn't exactly help Shops' case.