Resignation

[Guest Ross2]

If the President of the organization resigns from his role as President, does he fall into the immediate past president position even though he did not fulfill his full 3 year term (he did at least half the term).

[Larry Cisar]

He would fit the definition.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

If the President of the organization resigns from his role as President, does he fall into the immediate past president position even though he did not fulfill his full 3 year term (he did at least half the term).

Unknown.

Using only Robert's Rules of Order, there is no answer, since the term "past president" or "immediate past president" is never used in the current edition (10th).

Using only a dictionary, and looking up the the three words comprising the term within the initials "IPP", what is the argument against the notion that any president who loses his seat WON'T be considered the immediate past president, by definition? - Isn't he a past president, by definition? Isn't he the immediate past president, as those words imply?

[Josh Martin]

If the President of the organization resigns from his role as President, does he fall into the immediate past president position even though he did not fulfill his full 3 year term (he did at least half the term).

The position of "Immediate Past President" does not appear in RONR and many on this forum advise against such a position. Ultimately, this is a question of Bylaws interpretation that the society must decide for itself. See RONR, 10th ed., pgs 570-573 for some Principles of Interpretation. The simple dictionary meaning of the words would suggest that the IPP is the person who served immediately prior to the current president, and factors such as length of service and how he left office are irrelevant. There may, however, be other relevant rules in your Bylaws which would make the issue more complex.