Regent of Ventora

The Regent of Ventora, officially the Regent for the Kingdom and Commonwealth of Ventora (: Regente del Reino y Commonwealth de Ventora) is the  of Ventora.

Under the Fundamental Law of Ventora, the country's, the crown is, technically, the head of state. Since the extinction of the royal line following the royal train derailment at Lorqui in 1961, the authority of the head of state is exercised through the auspices of the regent. The Protocols of State formalized the office of regent and established the method for electing officeholders in 1964. The Regent's Palace is the regent's official residence and site of his office as well.

Isidro Duarte Arias, Duke of Estévez, is the tenth and current elected regent. He assumed office on January 1, 2020.

History
Several monarchs over the centuries had a regent acting on their behalf for various reasons. Most commonly, a regent was appointed when the monarch was felt to be too young to rule effectively. In 1765, King Pedro I became incompetent, now believed as a result of early onset dementia, and a regent was appointed while his son was away performing military duties. Pedro II came home, assumed the throne, and extended the regent's services so he could return to war overseas where he remained until his father's death in 1767.

Throughout the history of the monarchy, the position of regent was ad hoc, informal, intermittent, and of a temporary nature. The duties and responsibilities varied with the times and reason a regent was appointed. The position was never clearly defined in law nor as a matter of tradition or convention.

Until 1961, there had always been a potential line of succession for monarchy. When the royal train derailed with King Florián III and all members of the royal family aboard on September 13th, the line of succession was extinguished. The dukes voted to designate Tácito Quixano Arce, Duke of Castellano to serve as regent while attempting to determine the proper means of succession to the throne. Talks eventually broke down and led to the War of the Three Capitals (1962 – 1964) during which three factions attempted to assert their views concerning the future of the Ventoran state. With no side able to achieve a clear victory, the growing economic costs and rapidly declining public tolerance for the war resulted in the combatants agreeing to meet at the Summer Palace in Terrell.

Realizing the need to reunify the country, the Terelle Talks were productive and resulted in the Treaty of Terelle which ended the war. An addendum to the treaty, the Protocols of State formalized the elected regency as head of state in lieu of a monarch. All 26 dukes agreed to the contents of the treaty and its addendum on October 16th. Preceding the signing ceremony on October 18th, the dukes returned Tulio Olmo Cantú, Duke of Caniza as the first elected regent.

Election
Candidates for the regency must be titled nobles (duke/duchess, count/countess, or baron/baroness) who are at least 25 years old. Although not specified, in practice this means any elected regent will have fulfilled their military service obligation. Candidates do not need to hold any other office, political or otherwise, but may not hold another office while serving as regent.

The Grand Council of State elects the regent by secret ballot under a. The term of office for the regent is five years. There is no limit on the number of terms that may be served. In the event the regency becomes vacant or the serving regent becomes unable to fulfill the responsibilities of office, the Grand Council will elect a replacement to serve either the remainder of the term or until the regent is able to perform their duties again.

Role and authorities
During, the regent swears an of loyalty to the state and promises to fulfill the constitutional and legal duties and responsibilities of the office with diligence and in good faith and conscience and to honor and defend the rights of all Ventoran citizens.

Because the regent serves in the stead of a reigning monarch, many of the responsibilities are ceremonial. Nonetheless, several have considerable significance in matters of state. As head-of-state, the regent:
 * Appoints the governor general with approval of the Grand Council of State
 * Signifies assent to legislative bills by affixing the official signature and seal or rejects them
 * Accepts the fealty of members of the armed forces or withholds such acceptance, and may dismiss them with cause and concurrence of the Grand Council of State
 * Assents to the appointments of commissioners by the governor general or blocks such appointments, and may request their removal with cause
 * Receives visiting heads-of-state
 * Accredits Ventora's ambassadors, high commissioners, legates, and like-ranking diplomatic officials
 * Receives the credentials of foreign diplomatic officials of ambassadorial, high commissioner, legate, and like levels
 * Binds Ventora to international treaties and obligations by affixing the official signature and seal following ratification by the Grand Council of State
 * Confers and cancels honors of Ventora
 * Grants pardons and amnesties by personal discretion in any matters except involving treason or espionage

While the regent and governor general meet frequently, and the regent has the right to attend government meetings of the College of Commissioners (Colegio de Comisionados), the regent's authority is, for all intents and purposes, advisory. The governor general and the various commissioners of state deparments (called commissions in Ventora) have the authority and responsibility for executive branch of governance. Isidro Duarte Arias, the current regent, meets with the governor general weekly and has attended cabinet meetings approximately quarterly, largely to receive information from the commissioners on matters of relevance within their spheres. The most significant role the regent has with regard to the commissioners is issuing them their Royal Commissions of office in the stead of the monarch.

Importantly, the regent is not the commander-in-chief of the Ventoran Armed Forces. That role belongs to the Defense Commissioner during peacetime and the governor general during wartime. Nonetheless, military members swear fealty to the regent as representative of the nation in light of his role as head of state. Thus, the regent has influence in matters of military appointments. These distinctions were made in the Protocols of State to avoid the concentration of military power within a single office because of the experiences that led to the War of the Three Capitals. Duarte has maintained a close interest in the military and occasionally visits units in the field. His visits have been well-received by the troops, most of whom would never have the opportunity to meet high level government officials otherwise.

As with other senior government officials, the regent may not be prosecuted for crimes while serving in office, except for treason and espionage, which is answerable before the State Supreme Court (Corte Suprema Estatal). Once out of office, a former regent may be prosecuted for alleged crimes not in relation to the execution of the duties of office. Such cases are heard by the court of jurisdiction the same as any other matter. A former regent may never be prosecuted for crimes committed in the direct exercise of official duties and obligations.

Styles and titles
The official style for the serving regent is His/Her Excellency the Regent and Head of State (Su Excelencia el Regente y Jefe del Estado). In speech, the style may be shortened to His/Her Excelency. After leaving office, former regents are entitled to be addressed as Your Excellency for life.

Since he retained his role as duke regnant for Estévez, Duarte uses the following style: His Excellency the Regent and Head of State and His Excellency Isidro the Duke of Estévez (Su Excelencia el Regente y Jefe del Estado y Su Excelencia Isidro el Duque de Estévez).

Living former regent
Alexandra Blanca Guadarrama Herrera (b. November 19, 1972), Duchess of Tremanca, is the only former regent still alive. She served two terms from 2010 through 2019. She is also one of only two regents to have held office for more than one term.