President of the United States (Shattered)

The President of the United States (informally referred to as "POTUS") is the head of state and head of government of the. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the.

The president is considered to be the world's most powerful political figure, as the leader of the only contemporary global superpower. The role includes being the commander-in-chief of the world's most expensive military with the second largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of President holds significant hard and soft power both domestically and abroad.

vests the executive power of the United States in the president. The power includes execution of federal law, alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive, diplomatic, regulatory and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Senate. The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances. The president is largely responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of the party to which the president is a member. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States. Since the office of President was established in 1789, its power has grown substantially, as has the power of the federal government as a whole.

The president is indirectly elected by the people through the to a four-year term, and is one of only two nationally elected federal officers, the other being the. However, nine vice presidents have assumed the presidency without having been elected to the office, by virtue of a president's intra-term death or resignation.

The prohibits anyone from being elected president for a third term. It also prohibits a person from being elected to the presidency more than once if that person previously had served as president, or acting president, for more than two years of another person's term as president. In all, 44 individuals have served 45 presidencies (counting 's two non-consecutive terms separately) spanning 57 full four-year terms. On January 20, 2017, was sworn in as the 45th and current president. She is the first woman and first former First Lady to serve as president.