President for Life

President for Life is a title assumed by some authoritarian leaders to irrevocably remove their term limit as a way of removing future challenges to their authority, legitimacy. The title sometimes confers on the holder the right to nominate or appoint a successor. The usage of the title of "President" rather than a traditionally autocratic title such as that of a monarch implies the subversion of democracy by the titleholder.

A President-for-life may be regarded as a de facto monarch. In fact, other than the title, political scientists often face difficulties in differentiating a state ruled by a president-for-life (especially one who inherits the job from a family dictatorship) and a monarchy.

Most leaders who have proclaimed themselves President for Life have not in fact gone on to successfully serve a life term. Most have been deposed long before their death while others truly fulfill their title by being assassinated while in office. However, some, such as José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Alexandre Pétion, Rafael Carrera, Yuan Shikai, François Duvalier, Josip Broz Tito and Saparmurat Niyazov have managed to rule until their (natural) deaths. Others made unsuccessful attempts to have themselves named President for Life, such as Mobutu Sese Seko in 1972.

One of the most well-known incidents of a republican leader extending his term indefinitely was Roman dictator Julius Caesar, who made himself "Perpetual Dictator" in 45 BC. Traditionally, the office of dictator could only be held for six months, and although he was not the first Roman dictator to be given the office with no term limit, it was Caesar's dictatorship that inspired the string of Roman emperors who ruled after his assassination.

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