Elective monarchy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An elective monarchy is a monarchy whose reigning king or queen is elected in some form.
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[edit] Some examples from history
In the ancient Kingdom of Rome, the kings were elected by the Assemblies. The Holy Roman Empire was another example of this, in which the emperor was elected by a small council of nobles called prince-electors.
In Gaelic Order Ireland, a Rí, or king was elected to rule clan lands both large and small. While Rí (king) is used regardless of the size of the territory, in English, the lesser rulers are more commonly called chieftains. The Ard Rí na hÉireann, or High King of Ireland was also elected from among the provincial kings.
A system of elective monarchy existed in Anglo-Saxon England (see Witenagemot), the Kingdom of Hawaii, Visigothic Spain, and medieval Scandinavia.
In Poland, after the death of the last Piast in 1370, Polish kings were initially elected by a small council; gradually, this privilege was granted to all members of the szlachta (Polish nobility). Kings of Poland during the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795) were elected by gatherings of crowds of nobles at a field in Wola, today the neighbourhood of Warsaw. Every one of an estimated 500,000 nobles could potentially have participated in such elections in person. During the election period, the function of the king was performed by an interrex (usually in person of the primate of Poland). This unique Polish election was termed the free election (wolna elekcja).
At the start of the 20th century, the first monarchs of several newly-independent nations were elected by parliaments: Norway is the prime example. Previously, following precedent set in newly-independent Greece, new nations without a well-established hereditary royal family, often chose their own monarchs from among the established royal families of Europe rather than elevate a member of the local power establishment, in the hope that a stable hereditary monarchy would eventually emerge from the process. The now-deposed royal families of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania were originally appointed in this manner.
Other monarchs, such as the Shah of Iran, have been required to undergo a parliamentary vote of approval before being allowed to ascend to the throne.
An attempt to create an elective monarchy in the United States failed. Alexander Hamilton argued in a long speech before the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that the President of the United States should be, in effect, an elective monarch, ruling for "good behavior" (i.e., for life, unless impeached) and with extensive powers. His proposal was resoundingly voted down in favor of a four-year term with the possibility of reelection.
[edit] When it was usual
Elective succession has been, in its various forms, the most common official system of succession in monarchies. Arguably the world's oldest method to determine succession was that for the military leader who ascended to power through some sort of election. Elective monarchies were once common, although usually only a very small portion of the population was eligible to vote.
Most kingdoms were officially elective long into historic times, though the candidates were usually, or always only from the family of the deceased monarch. Hereditary systems came into being mostly in order to avoid the instability and discontinuity which is inherent in elective systems, where a powerful leader might use violence, raise a coup d’état or otherwise manipulate the election.
As the impact of this archaic democracy diminished, many elected monarchies eventually introduced hereditary succession, guaranteeing that the title and office stayed within the royal family. Today, almost all monarchies are hereditary monarchies in which the monarchs come from one royal family with the office of sovereign being passed from one family member to another upon the death or abdication of the incumbent.
In monarchical government, the desire to ensure continuity has resulted in having some formalized order of succession. Interregna and also, for example, disputed elections have seriously affected the efficacy of the monarchical form of government, which more or less precise succession laws try to ameliorate with varying degrees of success.
Female rulers have almost never succeeded in an elective monarchy. Hereditary monarchy seem to give females more opportunities than elective monarchy.
[edit] Current
Currently, the world's only true elective monarchies are:
- Vatican City, where the Pope is elected to a life term by (and usually from) the College of Cardinals; in this instance, a hereditary monarchy is impossible because the Pope must be celibate
- Malaysia, where the King or Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected to a five-year term. Nine hereditary rulers from the Malay States form a Council of Rulers who will determine the next King. They use a system of rotation, originally based on seniority, and varied by the council and the decision is made via a secret ballot amongst the council members.
- The Kingdom of Cambodia, in which kings are chosen for a life term by The Royal Council of the Throne from candidates of royal blood.
- Kuwait, where the Emir must be ratified by a vote of the parliament.
In addition, Andorra could be considered a semi-elective monarchy (or more accurately principality). Andorra's two heads of state are Spain's Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell and, since 1589, the king of France. At present the democratically elected President of France is also co-prince of Andorra.
[edit] Elective monarchies in fiction
In the prequel trilogy of Star Wars films, there is a planet named Naboo which is an elected monarchy. Padmé Amidala, one of the series' main characters, was elected queen at the age of fourteen but was not the youngest ever to reign.
In the Lord Darcy universe, set out in a series of works by Randall Garrett, the Kings of the Anglo-French Empire are elected by Parliament from a small group of eligible members of the Royal Plantagenet family. See Michael Kurland's additions to the canon.
Shakespeare's Hamlet is often staged with the assumption that Denmark is or was an elective monarchy.
In Hiroyuki Morioka's Seikai series of science fiction novels, Human Empire by Abh (Frybarec Gloerh gor Bari) is an elective monarchy. While ruling monarch (speunaigh) is absolute, he or she is elected by Dynasty Council from eight eligible royal families and usually doesn't rule for life.
