First Consul

First Consul of the Benacian Union
Incumbent Lors Bakker-Kalirion since 5.XV.1752 AN
Style	First Consul
Residence	New Residency, Chryse
Appointer	Congress of Chryse
Term length	10 years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Lors Bakker-Kalirion
Formation	5.XV.1752 AN
Deputy	Second Consul Third Consul

The First Consul is the supreme executive authority of the Benacian Union, serving as head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Established by the Charter of the Benacian Union as reformed and ratified by the Eleventh Congress of Chryse in 1752 AN, the First Consul serves as the predominant member of the Consulate, a three-person collective executive that replaced the previous system centered on the Szodan of Benacia and High Presidium of the Benacian Union.

The First Consul exercises supreme command over military affairs, directs foreign policy, possesses sole authority to propose legislation through the Council of State, appoints ministers and commissioners throughout the Union's administrative apparatus, and represents the Union in all international affairs. The office combines elements of executive presidency with consular traditions, creating a position of substantial but not unlimited authority within the Union's complex constitutional framework.

Lors Bakker-Kalirion serves as the first and current First Consul, having been selected by the Eleventh Congress on 5.XV.1752 AN. His tenure marks the beginning of the Charter transition period and the establishment of the Consulate system as the Union's permanent executive structure.

Constitutional Basis

The office of First Consul derives its authority from the Charter of the Benacian Union, which establishes the Consulate as the collective executive of the Union-State. The Charter allocates supreme executive power to the First Consul while creating the offices of Second Consul and Third Consul to oversee internal security and economic policy respectively. This tripartite structure reflects the Charter's attempt to balance concentrated executive authority with institutional checks, though the First Consul's predominance in military, diplomatic, and legislative matters ensures that the position functions as the Union's primary executive.

The Charter describes the First Consul as possessing "supreme executive power" and elaborates this authority through specific grants of command over the armed forces, direction of foreign policy, control over legislative initiative, appointment powers throughout the Union's administrative apparatus, and decree authority during legislative recess. These powers, read together, create an executive office of considerable scope limited primarily by the Conservatory Senate's constitutional guardianship, the Congress of Chryse's ultimate political supremacy, and the federal structure that preserves substantial Realm autonomy in specified domains.

The Charter's allocation of power to the First Consul built upon the precedents established by the office of Szodan of Benacia, which had evolved from a military command position during the Second Elwynnese Civil War into the Union's de facto head of state. The experiences of Daniyal ibn Daniyal, Jeremiah Avon-El, and Zacharias Avon-El in that office informed the Charter drafters' understanding of what executive authority the Union required. The four-year interregnum following Daniyal's death in 1743 AN, during which the High Presidium operated without clear executive leadership, demonstrated the necessity of designating a single predominant executive capable of decisive action.

Powers and Responsibilities

The First Consul's powers span the full spectrum of executive authority, from command of military forces to management of the Union's administrative apparatus. These powers are exercised both directly and through subordinate officials appointed by and responsible to the First Consul.

Command of the Armed Forces

The First Consul serves as commander-in-chief of the Benacian Union Defence Force, exercising supreme military authority subject to the Charter's provisions regarding the Congress of Chryse's war powers. The First Consul appoints the Commissioner for War and senior military commanders, directs strategic planning and force deployment, orders military operations within the scope of existing Congressional authorizations, and determines military doctrine and force structure. This authority extends to all branches of the BUDF including the Land Forces, Maritime Forces, Aviation Forces, and the Ransenari Grouping of Forces.

The concentration of military authority in the First Consul represents continuity with the previous system, under which the Szodan exercised command through the Commission for War and the General Staff. During the Streïur uis Faïren, the unified command structure proved essential to coordinating the Union's war effort across multiple fronts and through seven years of attritional conflict. The Charter's framers, many of whom had participated in the conduct of that war, recognized that military effectiveness required clear lines of authority terminating in a single executive capable of rapid decision-making.

The First Consul's military authority operates through several institutional mechanisms. The Commissioner for War, appointed by the First Consul, manages the day-to-day administration of the armed forces and translates the First Consul's strategic direction into operational orders. The General Staff Council provides military expertise and professional judgment while remaining subordinate to civilian authority. The Commission for the Panopticon, though primarily focused on internal security, coordinates with military intelligence and provides surveillance capabilities supporting military operations. This layered structure allows the First Consul to exercise effective command while relying upon professional military officers for tactical and operational expertise.

Direction of Foreign Policy

The First Consul directs all aspects of the Union's foreign relations through the Commission for Foreign Affairs and possesses exclusive authority to represent the Union in international affairs. The First Consul receives and credentials ambassadors, negotiates treaties and international agreements subject to ratification by appropriate deliberative bodies, determines the Union's diplomatic posture toward other states and international organizations, and coordinates the Union's participation in multilateral institutions including the Raspur Pact. This centralization of foreign policy authority ensures that the Union speaks with a unified voice in international forums and that diplomatic strategy aligns with the First Consul's broader executive priorities.

The Charter grants the First Consul substantial autonomy in foreign affairs, reflecting the understanding that diplomatic effectiveness often requires confidentiality, flexibility, and rapid response to changing circumstances. While major treaties require ratification by the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations and the Conservatory Senate may review foreign policy for Charter compliance, the First Consul exercises day-to-day control over diplomatic communications, bilateral relationships, and the positioning of the Union within the international system. This authority proved particularly significant during the Charter transition period, as the First Consul inherited responsibility for managing the Union's relationships with Shireroth under the Treaty of Lorsdam, coordinating with Raspur Pact allies, and navigating the Union's observer status with the Euran Economic Union.

The Commission for Foreign Affairs operates as the First Consul's principal instrument for conducting foreign policy. The Commissioner, appointed by and removable by the First Consul, manages the Union's diplomatic service, oversees embassies and consulates abroad, coordinates intelligence collection on foreign developments, and advises the First Consul on international affairs. The structure allows the First Consul to delegate operational management of foreign relations while retaining strategic control over the Union's international posture.

Legislative Initiative

The First Consul possesses sole authority to propose legislation through the Council of State, creating a monopoly on legislative initiative that represents one of the Charter's most significant concentrations of power in the executive. No bill may reach the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations or other deliberative bodies unless first composed by the Council of State at the First Consul's direction. This grants the First Consul complete control over the legislative agenda and ensures that all lawmaking proceeds from executive initiative rather than from independent parliamentary activity.

The Council of State, comprising thirty to fifty appointed experts serving at the First Consul's pleasure, functions as the legislative drafting office of the executive. Members are selected for expertise in law, economics, security, administration, and other fields relevant to Union governance. The Council translates the First Consul's policy directives into formal legislative texts, conducts legal research and analysis supporting legislative proposals, coordinates with relevant Commissions and administrative agencies to ensure legislative feasibility, and revises bills in response to concerns raised during deliberative proceedings. This structure ensures that legislation reaching the deliberative bodies reflects professional drafting and executive priorities rather than arising from ad hoc parliamentary initiative.

The First Consul's control over legislative initiative does not guarantee passage of proposed legislation. The Chamber of Guilds and Corporations may reject bills, propose amendments, or delay consideration. The Conservatory Senate may annul legislation deemed contrary to the Charter. The Council of Realms must provide concurrent consent for certain categories of legislation affecting federal structure. These checks create a system in which the First Consul determines what is considered but cannot unilaterally determine what becomes law. The resulting dynamic resembles executive-legislative relations in other systems where executives possess strong agenda-setting powers but must negotiate with parliamentary bodies for legislative approval.

Appointment Authority

The First Consul appoints and removes ministers, commissioners, judges, and other officials throughout the Union's administrative apparatus, subject to Charter limitations respecting Realm autonomy and certain positions requiring confirmation by other bodies. This appointment power extends to the Second Consul and Third Consul, who serve at the First Consul's pleasure, all members of the Council of State, the Commissioner for War and other heads of Union-level Commissions, senior military commanders and diplomatic representatives, and judges serving in Union courts. The power to appoint carries with it the power to remove, giving the First Consul substantial control over the personnel of Union governance.

Certain appointments require confirmation or consultation with other institutions. The initial population of the Conservatory Senate requires Congressional approval, though subsequent appointments follow a more complex process involving Senate nomination and Congressional selection. Appointments in Ransenar and the Sovereign Confederation are subject to constitutional limitations respecting those Realms' autonomy over internal governance. The Unified Governorates of Benacia, by contrast, are governed directly by the First Consul as Head of Realm, giving the First Consul unmediated appointment authority over UGB officials.

The appointment power serves multiple functions within the Union's governance structure. It allows the First Consul to ensure administrative coherence by placing trusted individuals in key positions throughout the government. It creates incentives for officials to align their conduct with the First Consul's priorities, as their tenure depends upon maintaining the First Consul's confidence. It enables the First Consul to shape the development of Union institutions by selecting individuals whose understanding of their positions aligns with the First Consul's constitutional vision. These effects combine to make appointment authority one of the First Consul's most significant tools for translating executive preferences into governmental action.

Decree Powers

During legislative recess, the First Consul may issue decrees with the force of law, allowing the executive to respond to urgent circumstances without awaiting the convocation of deliberative bodies. Such decrees must be countersigned by the Second Consul or Third Consul if they touch matters within those Consuls' respective domains of internal security or economic policy, though the lack of countersignature does not prevent a decree from taking effect. This decree power creates a form of executive legislation subject to subsequent review by the Conservatory Senate and deliberative bodies but immediately effective upon promulgation.

The scope of decree authority expands substantially during Constitutional Emergency. When the First Consul declares Constitutional Emergency with two-thirds concurrence of the Conservatory Senate, or when the Senate and Council of Realms jointly declare emergency, the First Consul may issue decrees with immediate force without Council of State drafting or deliberative body approval. Such emergency decrees override normal legislative processes and remain effective for the duration of the emergency period, which lasts ninety days maximum but may be extended once to eighteen months total by unanimous Senate vote. This emergency authority, though subject to stringent procedural requirements and time limitations, grants the First Consul extraordinary powers during periods of crisis.

The decree power represents a form of executive legislation that exists in tension with the Charter's allocation of deliberative authority to the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations and other bodies. The Charter's framers included this power based on experience during the Second Elwynnese Civil War and the Streïur uis Faïren, when rapid executive action proved necessary to respond to military and security challenges. The requirement of Consular countersignature for decrees touching internal security or economic policy creates a modest check on decree authority, though the First Consul's power to appoint and remove the other Consuls limits the practical significance of this requirement. The Conservatory Senate's power to annul decrees deemed contrary to the Charter provides the primary institutional check on decree authority.

Selection and Tenure

The First Consul is selected through a multi-stage process designed to filter candidates through several institutional gatekeepers while ultimately placing the decisive choice in the hands of the Congress of Chryse. In the final year of a Consular term, or upon the death or removal of a sitting First Consul, the outgoing Consulate and Conservatory Senate jointly prepare a shortlist of three candidates drawn from the Lists of National Notables. This shortlist reflects the collective judgment of the existing executive and the constitutional guardians regarding which individuals possess the qualities necessary for the office. The Congress of Chryse then selects the First Consul from this shortlist by majority vote, exercising the ultimate political judgment regarding which candidate should lead the Union.

The shortlisting process creates multiple veto points in First Consul selection. The outgoing Consulate's participation ensures that candidates have the approval of individuals with direct experience in executive governance. The Conservatory Senate's participation ensures that candidates pass constitutional scrutiny from the institution charged with guarding the Charter. The requirement that candidates appear on the Lists of National Notables ensures that only individuals who have passed through the Selectorate System's graduated tiers of filtration and algorithmic selection may be considered. These requirements combine to limit the pool of potential First Consuls to a narrow elite who have demonstrated institutional loyalty, administrative competence, and political reliability through years of service and continuous Panopticon evaluation.

The Congress of Chryse exercises the decisive choice among shortlisted candidates, reflecting the Congress's position as the supreme political authority of the Union-State. As the body composed of the victors of the Second Elwynnese Civil War and their designated successors, the Congress retains its historic character as existing above ordinary constitutional constraints. The Congress's selection of the First Consul thus represents a moment when the Union's foundational political forces directly determine executive leadership, ensuring that the First Consul commands the confidence of the revolutionary vanguard that established the Union.

The First Consul serves a ten-year term and may serve no more than two consecutive terms unless this limitation is waived by plebiscite. This term structure creates substantial continuity in executive leadership while preventing indefinite tenure that might transform the office into a de facto monarchy. The possibility of waiving term limits by plebiscite provides flexibility for exceptional circumstances while requiring direct popular ratification of extended tenure. Upon completion of a term or terms, a former First Consul may not be reselected until one full term has elapsed, preventing immediate return to office but allowing experienced individuals to serve again after an interval.

Relationship with Other Institutions

The First Consul operates within a constitutional framework that allocates substantial executive authority while creating meaningful institutional checks on that authority. The resulting system resembles other mixed constitutions in which executive predominance coexists with parliamentary deliberation and constitutional review.

The Congress of Chryse

The Congress of Chryse stands above the First Consul in the Union's constitutional hierarchy, possessing ultimate political authority and the power to shape the fundamental direction of the Union-State. The Congress selects the First Consul through its majority vote on shortlisted candidates and may call plebiscites on succession or constitutional questions by three-quarters vote. The Congress appoints the Lord High Censor and through that appointment exercises indirect influence over the Benacian Censorate, the Population Management Bureau, and the Worshipful Guild of the Sacred Carnifices. These powers ensure that the Congress retains decisive authority over the Union's fundamental course even as the First Consul exercises day-to-day executive power.

The relationship between First Consul and Congress reflects the Charter's attempt to formalize and channel the Congress's supremacy without eliminating it. Under the previous system, the Congress existed as an unlimited sovereign body whose will became law through mere expression. The Charter creates institutional structures and procedures that regiment Congressional power while preserving the Congress's ultimate political supremacy. The First Consul must defer to Congressional will on fundamental questions but exercises substantial autonomy in ordinary governance. This division creates a system in which the Congress determines "who governs and to what ends" while the First Consul determines "how governance proceeds on a daily basis."

The Congress's composition as the victors of the Second Elwynnese Civil War and their designated successors gives it a revolutionary character that persists despite the Charter's formalization of procedures. The First Consul, as the Congress's chosen executive, must maintain the confidence of this revolutionary vanguard or risk removal through the various extraordinary procedures the Charter provides. This relationship ensures that the First Consul, however powerful in the exercise of executive authority, remains ultimately accountable to the political forces that established the Union.

The Conservatory Senate

The Conservatory Senate serves as the constitutional check on First Consular authority, possessing powers that can substantially constrain executive action. The Senate may annul any decree or action deemed contrary to the Charter, providing a form of constitutional review that operates independently of the First Consul's will. The Senate jointly prepares shortlists for First Consul selection with the outgoing Consulate, giving the Senate influence over who may become First Consul. The Senate may remove a sitting First Consul by three-quarters vote for gross Charter violation, creating an extraordinary remedy for executive misconduct. The Senate may override Panopticon algorithmic determinations by two-thirds vote, allowing correction of automated governance decisions. These powers make the Senate a potentially formidable constraint on executive authority.

The practical significance of Senate constraints depends upon the Senate's willingness to assert its powers and the First Consul's approach to constitutional boundaries. The First Consul's role in appointing initial Senate members creates potential for executive influence over the institution charged with checking executive power. The Senate's confidential proceedings and life tenure insulate Senators from immediate political pressures but also remove them from direct accountability. The resulting dynamic resembles other constitutional systems in which judicial or quasi-judicial bodies exercise review powers over executive and legislative action but must balance constitutional principle against institutional comity and political prudence.

The Senate's power to annul executive action creates an ongoing dialogue between executive and constitutional guardian regarding the boundaries of lawful authority. A First Consul who regularly exceeds constitutional limits risks Senate intervention and the institutional crisis such intervention would precipitate. A Senate that regularly annuls executive action risks executive efforts to pack or circumvent the institution. The Charter assumes that both First Consul and Senate will recognize their mutual dependence on stable constitutional governance and exercise their respective powers with appropriate restraint.

The Chamber of Guilds and Corporations

The Chamber of Guilds and Corporations serves as the Union's legislative assembly, deliberating upon and ratifying bills proposed by the First Consul through the Council of State. While the Chamber cannot initiate legislation, it may propose amendments, delay consideration, or reject bills outright. These powers create meaningful legislative oversight of executive proposals even absent the ability to generate independent legislative initiatives. The Chamber's composition, drawn from guilds and corporations representing major organized interests within Benacian society, ensures that executive legislation must satisfy diverse institutional constituencies to secure passage.

The relationship between First Consul and Chamber resembles executive-legislative dynamics in other systems where the executive controls the legislative agenda but must negotiate with parliament for passage of proposals. The First Consul determines what legislation is considered but cannot unilaterally determine what becomes law. This creates incentives for the First Consul to craft proposals that can secure Chamber approval and to engage in consultation with Chamber delegates during the legislative drafting process. The Chamber's public proceedings and representative character make it the forum in which organized interests contest the substance of Union law, with the First Consul positioned as both agenda-setter and chief negotiator.

The Chamber's inability to initiate legislation prevents it from functioning as an independent policy-making body but does not eliminate its influence over the substance of Union law. Chamber amendments, if accepted by the Council of State, modify bills before passage. Chamber rejection of bills forces the First Consul to either revise proposals or abandon legislative objectives. Chamber debates shape public understanding of proposed legislation and create political costs for the First Consul if legislation proves unpopular or unworkable. These effects combine to make the Chamber a meaningful participant in lawmaking despite its lack of initiative power.

The Council of Realms

The Council of Realms provides federal oversight of Union action affecting Realm interests, requiring concurrent consent for expansion of Union competencies, modification of Realm boundaries, amendments to Charter federal provisions, and Union abrogation of Realm acts. The Council's three-quarters veto power over such actions, though subject to Conservatory Senate override, creates a substantial obstacle to unilateral executive alteration of federal arrangements. This makes the Council an important institutional check on First Consular authority in the federal domain, even as the First Consul exercises predominant power in purely Union matters.

The relationship between First Consul and Council of Realms reflects the Charter's attempt to preserve meaningful Realm autonomy within a system of Union supremacy. The First Consul cannot unilaterally eliminate Realm competencies, modify Realm boundaries, or abrogate Realm legislation without securing substantial Realm consent through the Council. This creates incentives for the First Consul to negotiate with Realm executives and to respect federal boundaries in the exercise of Union authority. The Council's limited powers—it cannot veto ordinary Union legislation or interfere with executive operations in Union competency areas—ensure that federal oversight does not paralyze Union governance.

The First Consul's direct governance of the Unified Governorates of Benacia as Head of Realm creates a unique position within the federal system. Unlike in Ransenar and the Sovereign Confederation, where Realm executives exercise independent authority, the UGB is governed directly by the First Consul. This eliminates the distinction between Union and Realm executive authority in UGB territory and gives the First Consul unmediated control over the Union's industrial heartland. The asymmetry in federal arrangements reflects the UGB's origins as the territorial base of the Black Legions and its continued role as the core loyalist territory of the Union.

Precedents and Practice

The office of First Consul is newly established under the 1752 AN Charter, and its practical operation will develop through precedents set during the tenure of Lors Bakker-Kalirion and his successors. The Charter provides a framework of formal powers and procedures, but the actual exercise of those powers and the relationships between First Consul and other institutions will be shaped by the accumulated practice of office-holders and the responses of other constitutional actors to executive initiatives.

The Bakker-Kalirion Tenure

Lors Bakker-Kalirion, selected as the first First Consul on 5.XV.1752 AN, assumed office at the beginning of the Charter transition period with responsibility for implementing the new constitutional system while managing ongoing governance challenges. His early tenure will establish baseline expectations regarding the exercise of First Consular powers and the relationship between First Consul and other institutions.

This section will be expanded as the First Consul takes actions that establish precedents for the office's operation.

Appointments and Removals

The First Consul's power to appoint the Second and Third Consuls, populate the Council of State, nominate Conservatory Senators, and fill other positions throughout the Union's administrative apparatus provides early opportunities to establish precedents regarding appointment criteria, consultation with other institutions, and removal procedures.

This section will be expanded as the First Consul exercises appointment authority and as patterns emerge regarding the types of individuals selected for key positions.

Legislative Initiatives

The First Consul's monopoly on legislative initiative through the Council of State creates opportunities to establish precedents regarding the types of legislation proposed, the extent of consultation with deliberative bodies and Realms before formal proposal, and the First Consul's response to amendments or rejections by the Chamber of Guilds and Corporations.

This section will be expanded as the First Consul proposes legislation and as the relationship between executive initiative and legislative deliberation develops in practice.

Constitutional Interpretation

The First Consul's understanding of executive authority under the Charter, particularly regarding the boundaries between executive and other branches' powers and the scope of decree authority, will be tested through interactions with the Conservatory Senate and other institutions. The Senate's power to annul actions deemed contrary to the Charter creates potential for constitutional confrontations that will clarify the practical boundaries of First Consular authority.

This section will be expanded as constitutional questions arise and as the First Consul and Conservatory Senate engage in dialogue regarding the interpretation of Charter provisions.

Relations with Member Realms

The First Consul's relationship with the four member Realms, particularly the balance between exercising Union supremacy and respecting Realm autonomy, will be established through early interactions with Realm executives and the Council of Realms. The First Consul's dual role as Union executive and direct Head of Realm in the Unified Governorates creates unique dynamics in federal relations.

This section will be expanded as the First Consul engages with Realm governments and as precedents develop regarding federal-Realm coordination.

List of First Consuls

#	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office	Congress
1		Lors Bakker-Kalirion (1720 AN–)	5.XV.1752 AN – present	11th

See Also

• Consulate of the Benacian Union
• Charter of the Benacian Union (1752)
• Congress of Chryse
• Szodan of Benacia