President of the Confederate States of America |President of the
Confederate States of America| |Former political post| Great
Seal of the Confederate States |First officeholder||Jefferson
Davis| |Last officeholder||Jefferson Davis| |Office began||18
February 1861 22 February 1862 |Office ended||10 May 1865|
|Current pretender||Position abolished| The President of the
Confederate States of America was the head of state and head of
government of the Confederate States of America, which was
formed from the states which declared their secession from the
United States, thus precipitating the American Civil War. The
only person to hold the office was Jefferson Davis. He was
President from February 18, 1861, to May 10, 1865, and his Vice
President was Alexander Stephens. Howell Cobb, as president of
the Provisional Confederate Congress, was the highest ranking
Confederate official before the election of Davis, but he was
not titled President of the Confederate States. - chosen by an
electoral college from each state