Under the
United States Constitution, the
President of the United States is the
head of state and
head of government of the
United States. As chief of the executive branch and face of the
federal government as a whole, the presidency is the highest political office in the United States by influence and recognition. The president is also the
commander-in-chief of the
United States Armed Forces. The president is
indirectly elected to a four-year
term by an
Electoral College (or by the
House of Representatives, should the Electoral College fail to award an absolute majority of votes to any person). Since the ratification of the
Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1951, no person may be elected president more than twice, and no one who has served more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected may be elected more than once. Upon the death, resignation, or removal from office of an incumbent president, the
vice president assumes the office. The president must be at least 35 years of age, has to have lived in the United States for 14 years, and has to be a "natural born" citizen of the United States.