Top Questions
How did term limits originate?
What is the Twenty-second Amendment?
How do term limits vary globally?
How have some leaders violated term limits?
term limits, legal restrictions placed, typically in a country or region’s constitution, on the length of time an official may serve in their elected position. Term limits are applied to ensure political leaders do not continue in office indefinitely, a practice that could lead to a dictatorship. They are most commonly applied to the office of the head of government of the country, typically the president. Despite defined term limits, political leaders have been known to violate or circumvent them to remain in power.
Term limits typically take one of two forms. They may mandate the number of consecutive terms a leader can serve. After a defined period of time, the official can again seek office. Term limits can also be imposed on total number of terms in an official’s lifetime. Term limits are not typically used in parliamentary systems, in which the head of the executive branch, usually the prime minister, is chosen from among elected representatives.
HistoryTerm limits were in use in ancient Greece in the 5th and 4th centuries bce, when they were used to promote rotation of people in office. Consuls in ancient Rome served for only one year. The Republic of Genoa elected a doge—or duke—every two years from 1528 to 1797; however, the republic was controlled by an oligarchy of merchant families, from whom the doge was elected. The Republic of Florence was governed by a council of nine, with officials picked using a lottery every two months. However, as in Genoa, several key families controlled the process; the lottery was often predetermined, with positions being handed out based on birthright or privilege.
Modern term limits arose with the spread of democracy and the use of written constitutions to define how governments operate. The United States’ Founding Fathers were inspired by ancient Greece and Rome, and George Washington left office after serving his second term, setting an informal precedent for American presidents to serve only two terms. Not all of the Founding Fathers agreed with Washington’s decision. In Federalist paper number 69, Alexander Hamilton wrote:
That magistrate [the president] is to be elected for four years; and is to be re-eligible as often as the people of the United States shall think him worthy of their confidence.
Nonetheless, Washington’s precedent stood, with no president serving more than two terms until the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was elected four times: in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. Roosevelt’s successor, Pres. Harry Truman, set up the Hoover Commission to look at reforms of the federal government, which included imposing term limits on the presidency. The Twenty-second Amendment, which was ratified in 1951, formally limits the service of a president to two four-year terms. If a person becomes president without election and serves fewer than two years, they may be elected to two full terms.
Variations around the worldSome countries, such as Indonesia, follow the United States format of two terms, consecutive or not, after which the president is not allowed to seek office again. Several other countries, such as Peru, allow an unlimited number of terms in office for the president, as long as they are nonconsecutive. Several countries set the term of office but allow an unlimited number of terms. For example, the president of India is chosen by an electoral college composed of popularly elected federal and state representatives for a term of five years but can be reelected for an unlimited number of five-year terms. (Only one Indian president, Rajendra Prasad, has been elected for two terms.)
These two methods are often combined, with a limit on consecutive terms coupled with a specification of the number of terms the official must stay out of office. For example, in Argentina the president can serve for a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms but must then stay out of office for at least one four-year term before being eligible for reelection to another two consecutive four-year terms. The tiny European republic of San Marino elects two captains regent for terms of six months, after which they must wait for three years before being eligible again for the post. Some countries allow only a single term in office, as seen for the office of president in Guatemala (one four-year term) and Malta (one five-year term).
Exceptions for certain individuals have been seen in several countries. While the 1963 constitution of Yugoslavia set a four-year term for the office of president, it granted unlimited tenure to Josip Broz Tito, who served in the role from 1953 to 1980.
Violations of term limits Pres. Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin, shown in 2022, after he had changed Russia's laws about term limits to allow him to serve as president until 2036.Several presidents have attempted to continue in office beyond the legal completion of their term. The most common approach is through an amendment of the country’s constitution, eliminating term limits altogether, or extending the number of terms the president can stay in office. In 2018 the Chinese Communist Party passed an amendment allowing Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping to serve an unlimited number of five-year terms; the previous limit was two consecutive five-year terms. In Algeria Pres. Abdelaziz Bouteflika amended the constitution in 2008, allowing him to run for a third term. The term limit of two five-year terms was restored in 2016 after protests, and Bouteflika continued in power until 2019 when he was forced to resign after further demonstrations.
Several other approaches have been used. In Sudan Pres. Omar al-Bashir delayed elections from 2009 to 2010, with his administration citing logistical issues, and then attempted to implement an entirely new constitution after his 2015 win, renewing the maximum tenure of two five-year terms applicable to the president, before his 2019 ouster. Changes to constitutions are usually not applied retroactively, allowing incumbents to start over with a clean slate.
Presidents have also used courts to reinterpret term limits, as seen in Nicaragua in 2009, when the Supreme Court blocked restrictions on term limits, allowing Daniel Ortega to continue being elected to office.
In instances in which incumbent presidents are unable to influence lawmakers or courts to support their continued presence in office, they may handpick a successor whom they believe can be controlled from behind the scenes. In Russia Vladimir Putin endorsed Dmitry Medvedev as his successor in 2008, shortly before the second of his two terms was due to end. Medvedev won the election, and Putin became prime minister before returning to the presidency in 2012. In 2021 Putin signed a new law that would allow him to remain in power until 2036.
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