III. The executive

1. The Administration

The presidency of the U. S. is the highest governmental office.

The executive branch, which includes the President, Vice-President, and the President's Cabinet, is responsible for admin­istering and executing the laws.

The President must be a natural-born citizen, at least thir­ty five years old, and for at least fourteen years a resident of the United States.

The Twentieth Amendment makes noon on (January 20, every four years, the time for the beginning of presidential terms. The 22nd Amendment ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states limits the President to two terms. At noon on January 20 ("Inauguration Day") the President, the chief executive, is sworn to preserve, protect, and defend the Consti­tution.

The Oath of the President: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, pro­tect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The U.S. President is assisted in Administration by a Cab­inet of 10-15 members. The Government positions held by members of the President's Cabinet are: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Hous­ing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Ambassador to the United Nations, Budget Director, US Trade Representative.

Cabinet officials are appointees of the President and serve during his term. When the President's service ends, it is customary for the Cabinet to resign, so that the new President can appoint new chiefs of executive departments.

The fourteen executive departments are: the State Department (established in 1789), the Treasury Department (1789), Depart­ment of Defense (1947), Department of Justice (1870), Department of the Interior (1849), Department of Agriculture (1889), Department of Commerce (1903), Department of Labor (1913), Department of Housing and Urban Development (1965), Department of Transportation (1967), Department of Energy (1977), Department of Health and Human Services (1979), Department of Education (1979), Department of Veterans Affairs (1989).

The fourth Act of Congress after adoption of the Constitu­tion was a bill establishing a Department of Foreign Affairs, on July 27, 1789. That is, the State Department ranks ahead of other Departments in prestige and seniority.

Among major activities of the State Department are: Embas­sies and Legations; European Affairs; Far Eastern Affairs; Near Eastern, South Asian and African Affairs; Inter-American Af­fairs; Bureau of Economic Affairs; International Trade and Resources; International Organization Affairs; International Cooperation Administration; Mission to United Nations; Passports and Visas.

The political power of the Secretary of State is second only to that of the President. The Secretary of State has the duty of trying to maintain peace and to negotiate economic and po­litical treaties.

The Secretary of State has an Under Secretary of State and two Deputy Under-Secretaries; in addition, there are several Assistant Secretaries of State, whose functions are divided in accordance with the wishes of the Secretary. The Department has numerous offices and in every office, there are many divisions and subdivisions, consisting of experts in various fields, who per­form the myriad duties incidental to the conduct of interna­tional relations.

An Ambassador is the highest ranking envoy. He is techni­cally the representative of the chief executive. As such he has the right to audience with the head of the nation to which he is accredited. A minister must, on the other hand, deal through the head of the State Department or Foreign Ministry in the country to which he is sent. The minister is generally consider­ed the highest ranking United States emissary in a small coun­try. Until 1893, the United States maintained no ambassadors. Today every nation in Latin America and the Western Hemi­sphere has a United States ambassador. Most of the European countries also have United States ambassadors.

No state, country, or private, or public person may use force or violence against the person of an ambassador, his property, household, or servants, even in the event of a declaration of war between his nation and the one to which he is accredited. For minor violations of the law, such as speeding in motor ve­hicles and other infractions of municipal ordinances, the diplomat is "immune" from prosecution and arrest.

Diplomatic immunity is a matter of common international usage and tacit consent, granted on a reciprocal basis. An am­bassador is the personal representative of the chief executive of his country. Exemption from the local jurisdiction, of the capital in which he works is recognition of the fact that he owes alle­giance to his own country, not to the foreign land to which he is accredited.

The ambassador and his staff are exempt from criminal, civil, police, fiscal, and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the country to which he is accredited. He has freedom of communication with his government. His couriers have special passports and must not be searched when traveling. Pouches of diplomatic mail are not subject to search by customs or police authorities.

Usually the secretary of the embassy takes over his superior's duties when the latter is away. The secretary then becomes charge d’affaires, except in time of war. In that event, the embassy is turned over to a neutral agent for the duration.

Unlike British Foreign Ministers who appear, before Parlia­ment, neither the Secretary of State nor any other Cabinet offi­cer may appear on the floor of either House. There has been considerable agitation since 1919 for extending the privilege of the floor to Cabinet members for the purpose of asking questions, but numerous bills to this effect have failed to be enacted. (Having the "privilege of the floor" means only the privilege of being in the Chamber while the House is in session, it does not carry with it the right to speak. Only members have the right to address the Speaker, one who has been recognized by the Speaker then "has the floor".)

Cabinet members, however, do appear before committees of the two Houses to give testimony and they may visit either House while in session.