An Alternate Proposal for the Government of the Federation in the 23rd Century

The government of the United Federation of Planets is comprised to two main bodies: the Federation Council and the High Commission.

The Federation Council is a hybrid diplomatic/legislative body that sets the strategic direction of the Federation as a whole, resolves disputes between member worlds, ratifies treaties between the Federation and other entities, and determines admission for applicant worlds. There is no limit on the number of delegates a member world can seat in the chamber; however, each Federation member world receives only one vote. The size of the chamber limits the number of delegates each world can have present, and, in practice, worlds rarely seat more than three.

The body selects from its delegates the President of the Federation Council, who is often referred to as the President of the Federation (or, more formally, President of the United Federation of Planets). The president's term of office is indeterminate, though his position must be affirmed annually; the only other restrictions are that the candidate must be a member of the Federation Council at the time of election, must be willing to serve when nominated, and must be elected by a majority of the body.

The President of the Federation serves a dual role as the leader of the Council and as the delegated authority to which the Federation executive is accountable. This includes serving as the Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet in peace or war, and of all federalized forces in times of war. The President is allowed the counsel of five Advisors; advisors may not be from the same delegation as the President, nor may any two be from the same delegation. (If the President is incapacitated while in office, the Advisors act in council in his stead.)

The Federation High Commission is the executive branch of the government of the Federation, managing the wide-ranging bureaucracy. The commission is split into seven major departments, each headed by a High Commissioner or equivalent. The departments are:

Federation Starfleet, headed by Commander, Starfleet (rank of Fleet Admiral)
Commission on Exploration and Colonization, headed by a High Commissioner
Commission on Scientific and Technical Inquiry, headed by a High Commissioner
Federation Diplomatic Corps, headed by the Chief Ambassador
Commission on Interstellar Trade and Commerce, headed by a High Commissioner
Judiciary Commission, headed by the High Chief Justice
Commission of the Interior (also called the Commission on Member World Development and Welfare), headed by a High Commissioner

High Commissioners have several deputies and assistants, each with the title of Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner/Assistant Commissioner.

Each High Commissioner is sovereign in matters relating to his department; when an issue intersects two or more, the high commissioners are required to collaborate on a solution. Disputes in jurisdiction, when not previously codified by legislation, are adjudicated by the President and his Advisors.

As a group, the High Commission is accountable to the Federation Council; the council delegates authority over the High Commission to the President and his Advisors. The only exception to this is Starfleet, which, by Federation Law, is subordinate to the President alone. The level of involvement of the President in executive affairs has waxed and waned over time; some of this is at the whim of the individual office-holder -- some seek to be more intimately involved in their oversight, while others prefer to let the individual commissioners to "do their jobs," unfettered by "outside interference" -- and some is through Council action in response to excesses during a previous administration. (This is why we see greater involvement by the President during events of the 2280s and 90s, but hear nearly nothing of the office in the 2260s.)