by Anthony Davis The Office of the President of the United
Federation of Planets was created in 2184, at the same time as
the ratification of the Federation Constitution. Prior to that
time, the Federation government had no centralized executive
authority, and while a “president” did exist to preside over the
Council, which was at that time a unicameral legislature, he/she
had no real power. With the emerging threat posed by the Klingon
Empire in the period following the founding of the Federation in
2161, as well as the struggles in maintaining order and cohesion
under this weak system of government, the Federation’s leaders
decided that a stronger, more effective government was necessary
to accomplish the goals for which the Federation had been
created. Thus, in 2183 representatives from the Federation’s six
charter member worlds met in the city of San Francisco,
California on Earth and drafted the Federation Constitution,
which, besides guaranteeing certain basic rights to Federation
citizens, also created