The president of Uruguay ( es, Presidente del Uruguay), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Their rights are determined in the

Constitution of Uruguay The Constitution of Uruguay () is the supreme law of Uruguay. Its first version was written in 1830 and its last amendment was made in 2004. Uruguay's first constitution was adopted in 1830, following the conclusion of the three-year-long Cispla ...

. Along with the Secretariat of the Presidency, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

and the director of the

Office of Planning and Budget The Office of Planning and Budget (OPP) ( es, Oficina de Planeamiento y Presupuesto) is a dependency of the Presidency of Uruguay that is responsible for advising the Politics of Uruguay, Executive Power in the formulation of national and depart ...

, the President is part of the executive branch. In case of absence, their office is exercised by the

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

. In turn, the president of the republic is the commander in chief of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. Since 1990, the president's term has begun and ended on 1 March. This same date for ending the presidency also happened during the National Council of Government (1952–1967) and it has been not unusual since 1839. The current president since 1 March 2020 is

Luis Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (; ''Luis Lacalle'' locally or ; born 10 August 1973) is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer serving as President of Uruguay since 1 March 2020. Son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle ...

, who is the 42nd president of Uruguay—and also the child of the 36th president,

Luis Alberto Lacalle Luis Alberto Lacalle de Herrera, GCMG (; ''Lacalle'' locally or ; born 13 July 1941), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer who served as President of Uruguay from 1990 to 1995. Background His mother, María Hortensia de Herrera de Lacalle, ...

Features of the office

Requirements

The

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

amendment establishes the requirements for becoming president. Article 151 establishes that the president must be a

natural-born citizen A natural-born-citizen clause, if present in the constitution of a country, requires that its president or vice president be a natural born citizen. The constitutions of a number of countries contain such a clause, but there is no universally ac ...

of the country, or have been born to an Uruguayan citizen if born abroad. The president must also be at least 35 years old and be registered in the National Civic Registry.

Election

According to the current Constitution

Constitution of Uruguay of 1967 The sixth Constitution of Uruguay came into force in 1967. Approved in a referendum on 27 November 1966, it replaced the previous constitutional text, which had been in force since 1952. History In the elections of November 27, 1966, nearly 5 ...

Constitution of Uruguay of 1997 The 1997 Constitution of Uruguay refers to the 1967 Constitution with amendments. Its actual name should be: the Constitution of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, with the amendments as approved in popular plebiscites of 26 November 1989, of ...

, the president is elected by direct popular vote for a term of five years. A person may be reelected to the presidency any number of times, but is ineligible for immediate reelection. The president and vice president run on a single ticket submitted by their party. In case no candidate obtains an absolute majority of votes (50%+1), a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

is held between the top two candidates. In this case, the candidate who obtains a plurality in the runoff wins the election.

Powers and duties

According to Article 168 of the Constitution, the president, acting with the respective minister or ministers, or the Council of Ministers, includes, is assigned: #The preservation of order and tranquility within and security without. #The command of all armed forces. #The promulgation of all laws, issuing special regulations necessary for its implementation. #The delivery, to the

General Assembly of Uruguay The General Assembly of Uruguay ( es, Asamblea General de Uruguay) is the legislative branch of the government of Uruguay, and consists of two chambers: the Chamber of Senators and the Chamber of Representatives. General Assembly has 130 voting ...

at the opening of regular sessions, the state of the Republic address. #The right to veto laws he dislikes. #The right to propose bills or amendments to laws previously enacted. #The dismissal of public employees for misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance. #Management of

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

and, with consent of the legislature, the right to declare war. #The right to declare a state of emergency when needed. #The preparation of the state budget. #Negotiation of treaties with the ratification of the legislature.

Succession

Article 153 of the Constitution establishes that in the event of absence, resignation, cessation, or death of the President and Vice President, the Presidency of the Republic shall be assumed by the first titular Senator of the list most voted for of the political party by which they were elected.

Residence

The Suárez Residence in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

is the

official residence An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

of the president. The site was acquired by Adelina Lerena de Fein at auction, and the construction of a three-storey house by the young architect

Juan María Aubriot Juan María Aubriot (1876–1930) was a Uruguayan architect. Some of his most important buildings are: *School of Law, University of the Republic The University of the Republic ( es, Universidad de la República, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is Urug ...

, was ordered by Fein Lerena family. In 1925, the young

Luis Batlle Berres Luis Conrado Batlle y Berres (26 November 1897 – 15 July 1964) was a Uruguayan political figure. Background Batlle Berres was a journalist and prominent member of the Uruguayan Colorado Party. He was selected — in hindsight, with far- ...

and

Matilde Ibáñez Tálice Matilde Ibáñez Tálice (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 3 March 1907 – Montevideo, 4 September 2002) was a First Lady of Uruguay from 1947 until 1951 as the wife of former President Luis Batlle Berres. Ibáñez is also the mother of Jorge Batlle Ibáñ ...

met while walking in front of this property. Soon after they were married. In 1947,

was already head of state, and at the suggestion of his spouse they chose this mansion as their official residence. The Anchorena Presidential Estate is the president's country residence. Located in the

Colonia Department Colonia () is a department of southwestern Uruguay. Its capital is Colonia del Sacramento, the country's second oldest city. Weather Colonia has an annual average temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). In winter it has an average temperat ...

, 208 kilometers from

, is the result of the legacy of the aristocrat Aarón de Anchorena who gave about 1,369 hectares of his estate to the Uruguayan State. The mansion combines the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

and Tudor styles. The president also has the use of a mansion in

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este later became internationally known as a resort for the Latin and North American j ...

, which is called "Woodland’s," and serves as a vacation residence. It was donated to the Uruguayan State by the Argentine businessman Mauricio Litman. File:Residencia Presidencial - panoramio.jpg, Residencia de Suárez, the official residence File:Parque Anchorena Estancia Residencial Presidencial Colonia Uruguay - panoramio.jpg, Anchorena Presidential Estate, the official retreat

References

External links

Politics Data Bank at the Social Sciences School – Universidad de la República (Uruguay)
{{Heads of State of the South America 1830 establishments in Uruguay