Acting President - moving to past president??

[Stella13]

At our last AGM the board was elected as per usual procedure.  Part way into the term, the president resigned and the VP moved into the president position.  Shortly thereafter, that person also resigned and another board member (not a VP) moved into the role of acting president for a period of about 4 months.  Our AGM is coming up and we are wondering if the person who acted in the position of president for 4 months (it is typically a 2 year term) will move into the position of past president?  I could not any mention of this in Robert's Rules of Order.  Thanks.

[Richard Brown]

That is an issue which  RONR does not address. You have to interpret your own bylaws when it comes to past presidents. However, most of my colleagues and I are of the opinion that anyone who has ever been president, even for one day, is a past president. Also, in the opinion of most of us, the immediate past president is the last person who served as president, regardless of how he became president or how he ceased to be president.

Do your bylaws actually provide for such a thing as an acting president? I'm thinking that person either was or was not your president. There is no provision in RONR for an acting president. Please explain what you mean by acting president and how he came to be acting president and whether that office is provided for in your bylaws.

It is ultimately going to be up to your organization to interpret its own bylaws, but we will give you what guidance we can.

[Transpower]

After the VP assumed the role of president, a new VP should have been elected.  If the president (the former VP) then resigned, the VP would then become the president.  But if a board member was serving only temporarily as president, then he would not be considered as a past president.  

[Stella13]

Thank you for the replies.

Our bylaws state that the board can appoint someone to fill a vacancy UNTIL the next AGM.  The board does not have the power to elect - just appoint.  Historically, after a president quit, the temporary or acting president could choose to run at the AGM and after that term of being president, would become past president.  So yes  , our agency would see him as the acting or temporary president - not president elect.  Hope that makes sense.

As an aside, how do you flag someone in a reply?

[Bruce Lages]

I don't think the method of filling this vacancy makes any difference, as long as it is in keeping with the bylaw provisions, which it appears to be from your description. Whether elected or appointed, even if only for a short term of office until the next AGM, the person now in the position would be considered as the president, not as an 'acting' or 'temporary' president.

[jstackpo]

A couple of points that may (or may not!) help...

Primary:  do your bylaws DEFINE what you mean as an "acting president".  If not the person the board appointed to fill the position IS the president, although only until the next AGM.  So if he/she doesn't run or isn't re-elected, he will become the THE immediate past president, displacing your previous one (until another one comes along, of course) .

Second:  Your "appoint / elect" distinction is a bit of an apples and kumquats comparison.  The authority to appoint someone to a vacancy (or other position) just means that the appointing authority exists and can do it. (The authorization is usually found in the bylaws.)  An election is one (of many) ways of selecting who shall be (eventually) appointed.  Other means of selection could be drawing lots, divine intervention (I suppose), trial by immersion, taking the first volunteer, seniority, &c.  (The means of selection, if other that election, should probably be in your bylaws, too.)

[Richard Brown]

32 minutes ago, Stella13 said:

Thank you for the replies.

Our bylaws state that the board can appoint someone to fill a vacancy UNTIL the next AGM.  The board does not have the power to elect - just appoint.  Historically, after a president quit, the temporary or acting president could choose to run at the AGM and after that term of being president, would become past president.  So yes  , our agency would see him as the acting or temporary president - not president elect.  Hope that makes sense.

As an aside, how do you flag someone in a reply?

Both Bruce Lages and Dr. Stackpole posted their comments just as I was about to post my reply.  I agree with their responses.  i think the person currently serving as president, no matter how he got the "job" or how long it is to last, is your president and will become the immediate past president the instant a new president takes office.  Ultimately, however, this is a matter of bylaws interpretation  and that is something that only your own members  can do.  Your organization must interpret its own bylaws.

I don't know what you mean by your question of  how  to "flag" someone in a reply.  Where are you seeing that option?  Usually, to "flag" a post means to report it as inappropriate.  I haven't  seen anything inappropriate in this thread.   Are you perhaps asking how to "tag" someone, like we do in Facebook?  This forum  does not offer that option, but if you use the quote feature to  quote a member's post, he might receive a notification that he has been quoted... depending on his notification settings. 

 

[Hieu H. Huynh]

@Stella13 This is how you would tag someone.

[Richard Brown]

1 hour ago, Hieu H. Huynh said:

@Stella13 This is how you would tag someone.

And what does that do/accomplish?  Does it send Stella 13 a notification of some kind?

Edited October 18, 2018 at 05:51 PM by Richard Brown
Added last sentence

[Hieu H. Huynh]

@Richard Brown Did you get a notification from this tag?

[Transpower]

My issue is with the term "acting president."  This sounds to me like a temporary position, rather than a real position.

 

[Richard Brown]

Just now, Hieu H. Huynh said:

@Richard Brown Did you get a notification from this tag?

Yep, sure did!  Just learned something new.  I don't know that I've ever seen that done here, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention to it or didn't know why it was being done.  Thanks!  btw, this is something that maybe should be posted in the "questions about the forum" section.  This is good information to know.... there have been many times I have wanted to "tag" someone like that without actually inserting a quote, but didn't know how.  Thanks!

[Richard Brown]

1 minute ago, Transpower said:

My issue is with the term "acting president."  This sounds to me like a temporary position, rather than a real position.

But, it doesn't appear that the bylaws define such an officer as an "acting" officer.  That is a position or custom that the organization seems to have informally adopted.  The bylaws, from what I understand, just say that someone appointed to fill a vacancy serves until the next annual meeting.  In my opinion, that makes such an officer a full fledged officer, not an "acting" officer.   It is equivalent to having been elected, just perhaps for a shorter term... but not necessarily for a shorter term.  It depends on when the term expires.  It might be expiring at the next annual meeting.