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Countries with a semi-presidential system

Presidential republics with a full presidential system.

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The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a popularly elected head of state who is more than a purely ceremonial figurehead, and from the presidential system in that the cabinet, although named by the president, is responsible to the legislature, which may force the cabinet to resign through a motion of no confidence.

The term was first used in a 1978 work by political scientist Maurice Duverger to describe the French Fifth Republic, which he dubbed a régime semi-présidentiel.^[1]

Division of powers[link]

The powers that are divided between president and prime minister can vary greatly between countries. In France, for example, in case of cohabitation when the president and the prime minister come from opposing parties, the president is responsible for foreign policy and the prime minister for domestic policy.^[2] In this case, the division of powers between the prime minister and the president is not explicitly stated in the constitution, but has evolved as a political convention. In Finland, by contrast, this particular aspect of the separation of powers is explicitly stated in the constitution: "foreign policy is led by the president in cooperation with the cabinet".

Cohabitation[link]

Further information: Cohabitation (government)

Semi-presidential systems may sometimes experience periods in which the President and the Prime Minister are from differing and opposing political parties. This is called "cohabitation", a term which originated in France when the situation first arose in the 1980s. In most cases, cohabitation results from a system in which the two executives are not elected at the same time or for the same term. For example, in 1981, France elected both a Socialist president and legislature, which yielded a Socialist premier. But whereas the president's term of office was for seven years, the National Assembly only served for five. When, in the 1986 legislative election, the French people elected a right-center Assembly, Socialist President Mitterrand was forced into "cohabitation" with a rightist premier.

Cohabitation can create an effective system of checks and balances or a period of bitter and tense stonewalling, depending on the attitudes of the two leaders, the ideologies of their parties, or the demands of their constituencies. As a typical example, Sri Lankan politics for several years witnessed a bitter struggle between the President and the Prime Minister, belonging to different parties and elected separately, over the negotiations with the LTTE to resolve the longstanding civil war.

See also[link]

• List of countries by system of government

Notes[link]

• Prof. Robert Elgie of Dublin City University (School of Law and Government) is a leading academic on Semi-presidentialism

References[link]

• Steven D. Roper. Are All Semipresidential Regimes the Same?
• Maurice Duverger. 1978 .Échec au roi. Paris.
• Maurice Duverger. 1980.’A New Political System Model: Semi-Presidential Government’ European Journal of Political Research, (8) 2, pp. 165–87.
• Giovanni Sartori. 1997. Comparative constitutional engineering. Second edition. London: MacMillan Press.
• Horst Bahro, Bernhard H. Bayerlein, and Ernst Veser. Duverger's concept: Semi-presidential government revisited. European Journal of Political Research. Volume 34, Number 2 / October, 1998.
• Matthew Søberg Shugart. Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns. Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego. September 2005.
• Dennis Shoesmith. Timor-Leste: Divided Leadership in a Semi-Presidential System Asian Survey. March/April 2003, Vol. 43, No. 2, Pages 231–252
• J. Kristiadi. Toward strong, democratic governance . Indonesia Outlook 2007 - Political June 30, 2008 The Jakarta Post
• Frye, T. 1997. A politics of institutional choice: Post-communist presidencies. Comparative Political Studies, 30, 523-552
• Goetz, K.H. 2006. ‘Power at the Centre: the Organization of Democratic Systems,’ in Heywood, P.M. et al.. Developments in European Politics. Palgrave Macmillan
• Arend Lijphard. 1992. Parliamentary versus presidential government. Oxford University Press
• Nousiainen, J. 2001. ‘From Semi-Presidentialism to Parliamentary Government: Political and Constitutional Developments in Finland.’ Scandinavian Political Studies 24 (2): 95-109 June
• Rhodes, R.A.W. 1995. "From Prime Ministerial Power to Core Executive" in Prime Minister, cabinet and core executive (eds) R.A.W. Rhodes and Patrick Dunleavy St. Martin's Press, pp. 11–37
• Shugart, M.S. and J.Carrey. 1992. Presidents and assemblies: Constitutional design and electoral dynamics. Cambridge University Press.
• Canas, Vitalino - “The semi-presidential system”, Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Heidelberg Journal of International Law), Band 64 (2004), number 1, p. 95-124.

External links[link]

• Governing Systems and Executive-Legislative Relations. (Presidential, Parliamentary and Hybrid Systems), United Nations Development Program (n.d.).
• Blog of Robert Elgie

Eric Clayton (born 1 December 1967) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his work in the influential gothic symphonic metal group Saviour Machine which he formed with his brother Jeff Clayton in 1989. Eric Clayton is notable for his deep baritone operatic vocals, and he has done guest vocals on Ayreon's album The Human Equation, Divinefire's album Glory Thy Name, Narnia's album The Great Fall, Wedding Party's album Anthems, and Eva O's album Damnation (Ride the Madness) as well as Seventh Circle's album "The Struggle." Clayton also produced the two aforementioned albums as well as many Saviour Machine albums. Clayton is known for his theatrical live performances and dark, peculiar appearances and masks.^[1][2]

Saviour Machine[link]

Eric Clayton's most ambitious work has been Saviour Machine, which released two studio albums Saviour Machine I (1993) and Saviour Machine II (1994) before starting the Legend trilogy that strictly focuses on the end times, Book of Revelation and prophecies about the biblical apocalypse. The band has also released a compilation album titled Synopsis (2003), the live albums Live in Deutschland 1996 and Live in Deutschland 2002. The latter was also filmed and released on DVD format. The band was originally signed to Christian metal label Frontline Records but gothic metal in all its visual appearance was misunderstood in US Christian scenes, and eventually Saviour Machine began work with MCM Music and Massacre Records, labels based in Germany where the band was more popular than in US. In 1997 Saviour Machine performed at Wacken Open Air, the biggest exclusively metal music festival in the world.

Currently, Eric Clayton is working on the last album in the Legend series, Legend Part III:II, which will also be the last Saviour Machine album. The album was supposed to be released on July 7, 2007, but was postponed due to Clayton's esophageal condition called Barrett's Esophagus which was diagnosed in 2004 but eventually got worse.^[1]

Clayton has compiled The Collective Journals (1997–2009) released in 2010 available at the band website.

Vocal style and live performance[link]

Clayton's vocals can simply be described as operatic. His voice ranges from high tenor to low baritone to occasionally the deep basso, and is typically filled with dark emotions. On Legend trilogy as well as on some guest performances he utilized cinematic, narrative speaking vocals.

On Saviour Machine's concerts, Clayton performs several theatrical and symbolic gestures. He typically paints his face in a way that it resembles an iconic theatre mask, and wears a peculiar forehead jewel as well as black clothes. Some of his live performances include wearing an American flag during the songs "Legion" and "American Babylon", dipping the Israeli and Palestinian flag into blood, wearing devices that resemble demon wings, and other gestures with separate masks, candles, chains, statues etc.

Clayton's lyrics are deeply spiritual, and on the first two album's include themes ranging from salvation to melodramatic, horror oriented dark romanticism on songs such as "Legion". As the first album was banned from Christian bookstores due to a certain line in that song, Clayton has somewhat humorously criticized the Christian music scene for its hypocritical manners on songs such as "Ascension of Heroes."^[3]

References[link]

Notes[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} Brunner, David (2007-10-21). "Eric Clayton im Interview". Sound 7. Germany. http://www.sound7.de/article.php?article=4154. Retrieved 2006-08-11. 
2. ^ Saviour Machine Interview mit Eric Clayton - Interview - vampster.com - Das Metal Online Musik Magazin im Internet
3. ^ Eric Clayton's Liner notes on Saviour Machine - Synopsis booklet, 2003, mas cd0298, Massacre Recrds. retrieved on 2007-10-21

External links[link]

• Official website

Wayne LaPierre
Wayne LaPierre in February 2011.
Born	(1948-11-08)November 8, 1948
Education	BA in Education, MA in Government
Alma mater	Siena College, Boston College
Occupation	CEO and Executive Vice President of the NRA, author, television host
Known for	Second Amendment Activism
Home town	Roanoke, VA

Wayne LaPierre (born November 8, 1948),^[1] is an American author and Second Amendment advocate. He is best known for his position as the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association.

Background[link]

LaPierre graduated from Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, VA in 1967. He received his BA in Education from Siena College in Loudonville, NY and his MA in Government from Boston College. He has been a government activist and lobbyist ever since finishing his MA, including positions on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Political Consultants, the American Conservative Union, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

National Rifle Association Activity[link]

Since 1991, he has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Rifle Association, the largest American gun rights organization. LaPierre joined the NRA in 1977 after working as a legislative aide to a Democratic Virginia Delegate Vic Thomas.

LaPierre has authored several books on weaponry topics, ranging from shooting practices to terrorism to gun safety to crime. He also makes appearances promoting the NRA at gun shows and political events. Citing Democratic candidate John Kerry's history of authoring and supporting gun control legislation, LaPierre actively campaigned against the senator in the 2004 Presidential elections.

In the media[link]

Television[link]

LaPierre hosts Crime Strike, a syndicated weekly television program which advocates gun use for the purpose of self-defense and highlights situations where people have used their guns against criminal suspects.

Online[link]

In October 2006, LaPierre instituted a weekly podcasts on the NRAnews.com website called "What They Didn't Tell You Today." Every weekday, LaPierre gives a short broadcast about gun rights.

Books[link]

• Guns, Crime, and Freedom (1994)
• Shooting Straight: Telling the Truth About Guns in America (2002)
• Guns, Freedom, and Terrorism (2003)
• The Global War on Your Guns (2006)
• The Essential Second Amendment Guide (2007)

Politics[link]

In 2000, LaPierre said President Bill Clinton tolerated a certain amount of violence and killing to strengthen the case for gun control and to score points for his party.^[2] Clinton White House spokesman Joe Lockhart called it "really sick rhetoric, and it should be repudiated by anyone who hears it."^[3]

In 2004, LaPierre debated Rebecca Peters, head of the International Action Network on Small Arms, at King's College London.

References[link]

External links[link]

• NRA Leaders: Wayne LaPierre
• NRAnews.com
• Edited transcript of Rebecca Peters' debate with Wayne LaPierre
• Ruby Ridge documents at TruTV (formerly CourtTV)

David Keene at CPAC in February 2011.

David A. Keene (born May 20, 1945) is the President of the National Rifle Association. From 1984-2011, he was the chairman of the American Conservative Union.

Political biography[link]

Keene has been involved in politics since the 1960s, when he worked in the White House as a political assistant to Vice President Spiro Agnew and in Congress as executive assistant to Senator James L. Buckley. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he served as the National Chairman of Young Americans for Freedom, he went on to serve as the southern regional coordinator for Ronald Reagan's 1976 bid for the Republican presidential nomination and national political director for George H.W. Bush's 1980 presidential campaign. He advised Senator Robert Dole's 1988 and 1996 presidential campaigns, and in 2007 endorsed Mitt Romney for president.^[1] Today, he is of counsel at the Carmen Group, a lobbying firm based in Washington, D.C.

Keene has been called "one of the country’s most astute political observers,"^[2] and "was counted as one of the few men with both the ear of Republican presidents and an ability to influence the grassroots."^[3]

Civil libertarian[link]

In 2007, Keene co-founded the American Freedom Agenda, "a coalition established to restore checks and balances and civil liberties protections under assault by the executive branch."^[4] (In 2007, Keene resigned from AFA.) He also co-chairs the Constitution Project's Liberty and Security Committee, and has said that "the right to appeal one's detention to an independent judge is a cornerstone of responsible, conservative governance."^[5] He has been critical of the Patriot Act.^[6]

External links[link]

• Last column for the Hill newspaper
• Bio at the Carmen Group
• Bio at the American Conservative Union

References[link]