Stadhouder
From Scandia
The Stadhouder is head of state and government for the Fifth Republic Kassaten. The Stadhouder always has a fellow Stadhouder. Kassaten is therefore effectively governed by two presidents/prime ministers. The difference that some other countries make between the head of state and the head of government isn't made in Kassaten.
History
The office of Stadhouder was instituted when the First Republic was proclaimed. Already during the First Republic there were two Stadhouders. This has been part of a checks and balances system that formed the foundation of the seperation of powers of the First Republic. Both Stadhouders were elected from the Regent class.
Formally Rutger Moldrecht assumed the office of Stadhouder as a single Stadhouder after his succesful coupe d'etat. However he soon crowned himself emperor of the Second Empire, which meant the end of the first period of Stadhouders governing Kassaten.
After the revolution that relieved Kassaten from Moldrecht's reign the Second and Third Republic followed which both featured a system with two Stadhouders. The benefits of having two Stadhouders proved useful when a schism in the liberal movement didn't make the country ungovernable. Both sides of the spectrum got their own Stadhouder, although compromises where obviously hard to achieve.
Mirroring the situation with Moldrecht, Dolf Francken proclaims himself emperor of the Third Empire shortly after becoming a de facto single Stadhouder. This time however the Fourth Republic gets proclaimed immediately with two Stadhouders, one liberal and one socialist.
After the merger of the Third Empire and the Fourth Republic forming the Fifth Republic the Stadhouder system of the Fourth Republic is continued. After popular vote the 'traditional' division of one liberal, and one social-democrat remains with the new Stadhouders Reigwart Pileus and Gerard Biesterveld.
Constitutional position of a single Stadhouder
After the assassination of Gerard Biesterveld many questioned the position of Reigwart Pileus as a single Stadhouder. Kassatic history books don't deny the two clearly bad examples of what could happen in such a situation. The Kassatic Council of State ruled that in the event of loosing one Stadhouder there should be held new elections within a limited time period. In the case of the third Biesterveld - Pileus cabinet there were already elections scheduled for the end of the year.
