section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: The president of the Republic of Belarus is the head of state of Belarus. The office was created in 1994 with the passing of the Constitution of Belarus by the Supreme Council. This replaced the office of Chairman of the Supreme Council as the head of state. The tasks of the president include executing foreign and domestic policy, defending the rights and general welfare of citizens and residents, and upholding the Constitution. The president is mandated by the Constitution to serve as a leader in the social affairs of the country and to act as its main representative abroad. The duties, responsibilities and other transitional clauses dealing with the presidency are listed in Chapter Three, Articles 79 through 89, of the Constitution.
  
  The term for the president is five years, but due to a 1996 referendum, the election that was supposed to occur in 1999 was pushed back to 2001. Under the 1994 constitution, the president of Belarus could only serve for two terms, but due to a change in the constitution, term limits were eliminated. In the 2022 constitutional referendum, a limit of two terms was reimposed, though only on "newly elected presidents". During the course of the office, elections were held in 1994, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025. Alexander Lukashenko is currently the only person to have been president of Belarus since the position was established in 1994. The presidential office is located in the Palace of the Republic in the capital Minsk, while the presidential residence is located in Zaslawye, near the capital.
  
  Lukashenko heads an authoritarian government and has often been referred to as "Europe's last dictator ". Elections are not considered to be free and fair by international monitors, opponents of the regime are repressed, and the media is not free.