Emergency Backup Executive

Contingency Reserve Executive Heśikonvix Staśulix Vektur
Incumbent Kífur Sudherlōma since 1 Trîlus, 21195
Abbreviation	EBUE
Reports to	Prime Executive
Residence	Antipodes Hall
Seat	Prehnite Hills, Sydona
Nominator	Council of States
Appointer	Electoral College Prime Executive in event of vacancy.
Term length	60 months
Constituting instrument	Fundamental Statute (21186 Version)
Formation	Template:H:title
First holder	D. Inbhir Àir
Succession	At that point you just give up.
Unofficial names	"Emergency Backup Executive" "Last Executive"
Salary	₤70,000 per annum
Website	www.ebug.āri.kr

The Contingency Reserve Executive (Heśikonvix Staśulix Vektur) or Emergency Backup Executive is a federal elected official of the Kiravian Federacy who serves as a designated survivor to maintain continuity of government in the event that the entire line of succession to the Prime Executure of the Kiravian Federacy is exhausted by a mass-casualty attack or similar contingency.

Concept and History

A constitutionally-prescribed line of succession to the Prime Executure was written into the Fundamental Statute of the Kiravian Federation by the Xth Amendment, ratified after the assassination of Prime Executive D. Javorius Allen and simultaneous attempted assassination of Second Executive E. Moravius Sthelexon during Allen's inaugural address. Had Sthelexon been slain as well, the procedure at the time would have been for the Council of States to elect a new Prime Executive and Second Executive. Although the Council of States is a standing body and always notionally in session, during the era in question the Council was a slow-moving institution plagued by absenteeism and frequent vacancies due to state legislative gridlock and long travel times between Kartika and the more distant states. After the assassination, concerns were raised that a similar event could leave the new standing Army, Navy, and burgeoning federal bureaucracy without clear leadership. In response, the Xth Amendment was drafted by the Stanora, empowering the Executive College (Cabinet) to elect one of its members as Acting Prime Executive and (if necessary) Acting Second Executive until the Council of States could select a permanent replacement or a new election could be held.

Revived interest in continuity of government planning accompanied the dawn of the nuclear age, and the Kirosocialist government of the Kiravian Union put in place extensive protocols and infrastructure to enable the national government to carry on its functions in the event of a catastrophe. However, the matter of succession to apex executive posts and maintaining democratic legitimacy was not of concern in the single-party state. Even if a disaster were to eliminate the entire Union Soviet, Politburo, Central Committee, and Party Congress (the last item being particularly unlikely, as the Congress spent most of its term in recess and its members were distributed throughout the country), it would be possible to reconstitute these institutions fairly quickly by automatic promotion and election from surviving state and local party committees.

Selection

The Contingency Reserve Executive is elected at the same time and by the same process as the Prime Executive and Second Executive, and serves for the same five-year term. Nominees for the Prime Executure select their own running mates, and all three run on the same ticket. Names of candidates for CRE usually appear in small print on the ballot. Naturally, the eligibility criteria for all three offices are identical. If the office is vacated before the expiration of a term, the Prime Executive or Acting Prime Executive may appoint a replacement.

Powers Duties

The office holds no political powers in its own right. Per the Fundamental Statute, the only duty with which the Contingency Reserve Executive is charged is to "maintain themself in a condition of readiness to assume the Prime Executure". Pursuant to this, the CRE receives regular briefings on national security and civil defence, and undergoes periodic medical and psychological evaluations. The CRE is nominally a nonvoting member of the Executive College and occasionally attends Cabinet meetings by means of teleconference technology but participates little.