President of the United States (For Want of a Telegram)

The President of the United States of America (POTUS) is the elected head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

The President of the United States is considered one of the world's most powerful people, leading the world's only contemporary superpower. The role includes being the commander-in-chief of the world's most expensive military with the largest nuclear arsenal and leading the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP. The office of the president holds significant hard and soft power both in the United States 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 enrolled. The president also directs the foreign and domestic policy of the United States. Since the founding of the United States, the power of the president and the federal government has grown substantially.

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 Vice President of the United States. In all, 40 individuals have served 41 presidencies (counting 's two non-consecutive terms separately) spanning 56 full four-year terms. On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th and current president. On November 6, 2012, he was re-elected, and on November 8, 2016, defeated Republican nominee Donald Trump to win a third term in office. He is scheduled to be sworn in for the third time on January 20 2017.

Timeline of Presidents
(non-partisan, 1789-1797) (, 1797-1801) (, 1801-1809) (Democratic-Republican, 1809-1817) (Democratic-Republican, 1817-1825) (Democratic-Republican, 1825-1829) (Democrat, 1829-1837) (Democrat, 1837-1841) (, 1841) (, 1841-1845) (Democrat, 1845-1849) (Whig, 1849-1850) (Whig, 1850-1853) (Democrat, 1853-1857) (Democrat, 1857-1861) (Republican, 1861-1865) (Democrat, 1865-1869) (Republican, 1869-1877) (Republican, 1877-1881) (Republican, 1881) (Republican, 1881-1885) (Democrat, 1885-1889) (Republican, 1889-1893) Grover Cleveland (Democrat, 1893-1897) (Republican, 1897-1901) (Republican, 1901-1909) (Republican, 1909-1913) Woodrow Wilson (Democrat, 1913-1925) Calvin Coolidge (Republican, 1925-1933) Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat, 1933-1945) Cordell Hull (Democrat, 1945-1949) Douglas MacArthur (Republican, 1949-1961) Joseph P. Kennedy (Democrat, 1961-1969) Richard Nixon (Republican, 1969-1974) Gerald Ford (Republican, 1974-1981) Charlton Heston (Democrat, 1981-1993) Dan Quayle (Republican, 1993-2001) Buddy McKay (Democrat, 2001-2005) John McCain (Republican, 2005-2009) Barack Obama (Democrat, 2009-present)