Is a president who resigns, past president ?

[smastiff]

Our president resigned , vice is now president and took over . The resigned president claims she has the full privileges as is assign a past president ,  The term of office she resigned from ends 2019. So can she attend all executive meeting and vote as our past president has privilege to do?

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Any position of "past president" would have to be defined in your bylaws.

[Guest Who's Coming to Dinner]

Recognizing that Mr. Huynh's typically laconic response may appear stingy, I will add that it is perfectly correct. There is no definition of "Past President" to be found in Robert's Rules. Therefore, the mechanisms of this ill-advised office are entirely up to the organization which has embraced it.

[J. J.]

In American English, a "past president" is someone who was president and isn't president at the current time; George Washington is a "past president" of the United States of America, for example.  Under RONR, there is no definition or duties for a "past president."

The bylaws would have to create a different definition and if there is one, the person is a past president.  If the bylaws that all past presidents can do X, and nothing else, she can do X.  

[Gary Novosielski]

Past president refers to any former president. The one most recently president is often referred to as the immediate past president.

The phrase is not mentioned (in either form) in RONR, but (too) many organizations have language in their bylaws that grants the IPP or all PPs an official office.  Most if not all regulars here would advise against it, for reasons you are beginning to discover first-hand.  Not all presidents who leave the presidency do so on the best of terms.  Some die leaving the IPP office vacant, some resign, some are removed, some simply move away, which may cause quorum problems.

Almost never does this formal office afford any advantages that could not be afforded by an informal relationship with those past presidents who are willing and able to contribute in a positive manner.

Edited July 27, 2018 at 08:00 PM by Gary Novosielski

[Richard Brown]

Smastiff, Richard Nixon was President of the United States. Would anyone in your organization seriously argue that he is not a past president? If your guy was president even for one day he is a past president. It is up to your organization to determine what rights and privileges you afford him and your other past presidents.

[Steven Britton]

13 hours ago, smastiff said:

Our president resigned , vice is now president and took over . The resigned president claims she has the full privileges as is assign a past president ,  The term of office she resigned from ends 2019. So can she attend all executive meeting and vote as our past president has privilege to do?

Do your bylaws actually specify the office of Immediate Past President?

[Guest Zev]

One of the reasons I think giving a past president any office or task is because sometimes the election of a new president may have been from a different party or interest group and now the past president sits on a committee(s) working against the interest of the new administration.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 7/27/2018 at 6:41 PM, Guest Zev said:

One of the reasons I think giving a past president any office or task is because sometimes the election of a new president may have been from a different party or interest group and now the past president sits on a committee(s) working against the interest of the new administration.

Was there supposed to be a not in there somewhere?

[Richard Brown]

6 hours ago, Gary Novosielski said:

Was there supposed to be a not in there somewhere?

I suspect its the old "not hole" again. 😉