President

President is a title held by many leaders of organization, companies, trade union, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin pre- "before" + sedere "to sit"; giving the term praeses). Originally, the term referred to the presiding officer of a ceremony or meeting (i.e. chairman); but today it most commonly refers to an official with executive powers. Among other things, president today is a common title for the head of state of most republic, whether popularly elected, chosen by the legislature or a special electoral college. It is also often adopted by dictator. As an English word, the term was originally used to refer to the presiding officer of a committee or governing body in Great Britain. Early examples are from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge (from 1464); the founding President of the Royal Society William Brouncker in 1660. Later this usage was applied to political leaders, including the... full article at wikipedia