President of Earth
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The President of Earth is a theoretical future political office that is common in many science fiction works.
The President of Earth is the president of the entire planet Earth, during a period occurring after all countries of the world have agreed to merge their governments into a single world government. In some science fiction works the office of President of Earth is not the leader of the entire human race, due to space exploration and human colonization of other planets.
In many cases, the President of Earth is portrayed as occupying an office very similar in style to that of the President of the United States, perhaps alluding to an eventual American takeover of the world, or simply a pro-U.S. bias of the author (ie: the author being more familiar with that office than the office of other world leaders).
More common in earlier works of science fiction, this type of character has appeared less often as sci-fi became more sophisticated in its depiction of politics and government. Contemporary uses in programs like Futurama and Star Trek: Voyager parody these early depictions.
Presidents of Earth have been characters in:
- Andromeda
- Babylon 5
- Doctor Who
- The Fifth Element
- Futurama
- Legion of Super-Heroes (DC Comics)
- Star Trek
In Futurama, Earth President McNeal (voiced by Billy West) is killed by invading Omicronians. In a later episode, Richard Nixon's preserved head is elected the world's president.
In the Red Dwarf novel The Last Human, Nixon's descendant John Milhaus Nixon is President of the World Council.
In some other works of science fiction Earth's government is made subsidary to a higher political authority. For example:
In the last book of the Animorphs series, The Beginning, Jake Berenson is (jokingly) introduced to the Andalite people as President of Earth.