Official portrait of Barack Obama

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch (Executive (government)) of the federal government (Federal government of the United States) and is the commander-in-chief (Commander-in-chief#United States) of the United States armed forces.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution (Article Two of the United States Constitution) charges the president with the execution of federal law and with the responsibility of appointing federal executive, regulatory, and judicial officers with the advice and consent (Advice and consent#United States) of the Senate (United States Senate), and granting federal pardons and reprieves (Pardon). Since the founding of the United States, the power of the president and the federal government have substantially grown (Imperial Presidency) and each modern president, despite possessing no formal legislative powers beyond signing or vetoing congressionally passed bills, is largely responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of his party. The president is frequently described as the most powerful person in the world.

The president is indirectly elected (Indirect election) by the people through the Electoral College (Electoral College (United States)) to a four-year term, and is one of only two nationally elected federal officers, the other being the Vice President of the United States. Since 1951, presidents have been limited to two terms by the Twenty-second Amendment (Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution). In all, 43 individuals (List of Presidents of the United States) have served 55 four-year terms. On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became (Inauguration of Barack Obama) the forty-fourth, and current, president.

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