Alternative History
Alternative History
Seal of the President of the United States

Presidential seal

Flag of the President of the United States

Presidential flag

The President of the United States of America is the 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.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president and charges him with the 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. Since the founding of the United States, the power of the president and the federal government have grown substantially and each modern president, despite possessing no formal legislative powers beyond signing or vetoing congressionally passed bills, is largely responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of his party and the foreign and domestic policy of the United States. The president is frequently described as the most powerful person in the world.

The president is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College 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. The Twenty-second Amendment, adopted in 1951, prohibits anyone from being elected to the presidency for a third full term. In all, 43 individuals have served 55 four-year terms. On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden became the forty-sixth and current president.

Because of its impact on global affairs, the United States plays a significant role in many alternate history timelines. The different people who occupy this office throughout the whole spectrum of alternate history is indicative of the many paths history can take and the impact of a single moment in time. Here are a list of historical and fictional persons who have held the title of President of the United States of America in the various alternate histories on this wiki: