| President of the Republic of Belarus | |
|---|---|
| |
 | |
| Presidential Administration of Belarus | |
| Style | Mr President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Status | |
| Residence | Independence Palace, Minsk (ceremonial) Presidential Residence, Minsk (residential) |
| Appointer | Popular vote |
| Term length | 5 years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Belarus |
| Precursor | Chairman of the Supreme Council |
| Formation | 20 July 1994 |
| First holder | Alexander Lukashenko |
| Deputy | Prime Minister |
| Salary | ~84,000 Belarusian rubles/US$33,600, annually[1] |
| Website | Official website |
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The president of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Прэзідэнт Рэспублікі Беларусь, romanized: Prezident Respubliki Bielaruś; Russian: Президент Республики Беларусь, romanized: Prezident Respubliki Belarus') is the head of state and head of government of Belarus. The office was created in 1994 with the passing of the Constitution of Belarus by the Supreme Council. This replaced the office of Chairman of the Supreme Council as the head of state. The tasks of the president include executing foreign and domestic policy, defending the rights and general welfare of citizens and residents, and upholding the Constitution. The president is mandated by the Constitution to serve as a leader in the social affairs of the country and to act as its main representative abroad. The duties, responsibilities and other transitional clauses dealing with the presidency are listed in Chapter Three, Articles 79 through 89, of the Constitution.
The term for the president is five years, but due to a 1996 referendum, the election that was supposed to occur in 1999 was pushed back to 2001. Under the 1994 constitution, the president could only serve for two terms as president, but due to a change in the constitution, term limits were eliminated. In the 2022 constitutional referendum, a limit of two terms was reimposed, though only on "newly elected presidents". During the course of the office, elections were held in 1994, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2020. Alexander Lukashenko is the only person to serve as president since the 1994 elections. The presidential office is located in the Palace of the Republic in the capital Minsk, while the presidential residence is located in Zaslawye, near the capital.
Lukashenko heads an authoritarian government and has often been referred to as "Europe's last dictator".[2] Elections are not considered to be free and fair by international monitors, opponents of the regime are repressed, and the media is not free.[3][4]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Elena Shesternina (March 2013). "How Much Presidents and Prime Ministers Make". World Economic Journal.
- ^ Tharoor, Ishaan. "Analysis | Can people power topple Europe's 'last dictator'?". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 August 2020."Profile: Alexander Lukashenko". BBC News. BBC. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
'..an authoritarian ruling style is characteristic of me [Lukashenko]'
Levitsky, Steven; Way, Lucan A. (2010). "The Evolution of Post-SovietCompetitive Authoritarianism". Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. Problems of International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 203. ISBN 9781139491488. Retrieved 12 June 2020.Unlike his predecessor, Lukashenka consolidated authoritarian rule. He censored state media, closed Belarus's only independent radio station [...].
Treisman, Rachel (16 August 2020). "One Week After Election, Belarus Sees Giant Protests Against 'Europe's Last Dictator'". NPR. Retrieved 24 August 2020. - ^
- Jones, Mark P. (2018). "Presidential and Legislative Elections". In Herron, Erik S; Pekkanen, Robert J; Shugart, Matthew S (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001. ISBN 9780190258658. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... Lukashenko's 2015 election occurred within an authoritarian context.
- Levitsky, Steven (2013). Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid regimes after the Cold War. Cambridge University Press. pp. 4, 9–10, 21, 70. ISBN 978-0-521-88252-1. OCLC 968631692.
- Crabtree, Charles; Fariss, Christopher J.; Schuler, Paul (2016). "The presidential election in Belarus, October 2015". Electoral Studies. 42: 304–307. doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2016.02.006. ISSN 0261-3794. S2CID 155377250.
- Roman Goncharenko (10 July 2019). "Belarus strongman Lukashenko marks 25 years in power". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- Jones, Mark P. (2018). "Presidential and Legislative Elections". In Herron, Erik S; Pekkanen, Robert J; Shugart, Matthew S (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001. ISBN 9780190258658. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^
- "Belarus leader dismisses democracy even as vote takes place". AP NEWS. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- Rausing, Sigrid (7 October 2012). "Belarus: inside Europe's last dictatorship". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- World Report 2020: Rights Trends in Belarus. Human Rights Watch. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- "Human rights by country – Belarus". Amnesty International Report 2007. Amnesty International. 2007. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.