President for life

President for life is a title assumed by or granted to some leaders to remove their term limit irrevocably as a way of removing future challenges to their authority and legitimacy. The title sometimes confers on the holder the right to nominate or appoint a successor. The usage of the title of "president for life" rather than a traditionally autocratic title, such as that of a monarch, implies the subversion of liberal democracy by the titleholder (although republics need not be democratic per se). Indeed, sometimes a president for life can proceed to establish a self-proclaimed monarchy, such as Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henry Christophe in Haiti.

Similarity to a monarch
A president for life may be regarded as a de facto monarch. In fact, other than the title, political scientists often face difficulties in differentiating a state ruled by a president for life (especially one who inherits the job from a family dictatorship) and a monarchy.

Most leaders who have proclaimed themselves president for life have not in fact gone on to successfully serve a life term. Most have been deposed long before their death while others truly fulfill their title by being assassinated while in office. However, some, such as José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Alexandre Pétion, Rafael Carrera, François Duvalier, Josip Broz Tito and Saparmurat Niyazov, have managed to rule until their (natural) deaths. Others made unsuccessful attempts to have themselves named president for life, such as Mobutu Sese Seko in 1972.

Julius Caesar
One of the most well-known incidents of a republican leader extending his term indefinitely was Roman dictator Julius Caesar, who made himself "Perpetual Dictator" in 45 BC. Traditionally, the office of dictator could only be held for six months, and although he was not the first Roman dictator to be given the office with no term limit, it was Caesar's dictatorship that inspired the string of Roman emperors who ruled after his assassination.

Napoleon Bonaparte
Caesar's actions would later be copied by the French Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who was appointed "First Consul for life" in 1802 before elevating himself to the rank of Emperor two years later. Since then, many dictators have adopted similar titles, either on their own authority or having it granted to them by rubber stamp legislatures.

Charles Philippe
France's best well-known leaders is Duke Charles Philippe d'Ornano, a military veteran who served as Colonel-General of the Dragoons (even Philippe's own 19th Dragoon Regiment) during Napoleonic Wars, which known as Dragoon Prince. He first elected President of France in 1831, and the French parliament and even the People of the French, appointed Charles Philippe the rank of "President of the French", similar to his cousin, King Louis XVI's title King of the French, and Napoleon's Emperor of the French. Charles's popular skyrocketed during his presidency, but his health declined in 1843 to his volunteer resigned two years later.

China
According to the current Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the President and Vice President must be a Chinese citizen with full electoral rights who has reached the age of 45. The President's term of office is the same as the term of the National People's Congress (currently five years), and the president and vice-president were both limited to two consecutive terms.

Such limit was abolished by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to the 13th National People's Congress on 25 February 2018, making it possible for the President and the Vice President to service the office for life.

According to the British Financial Times, China's leader Xi Jinping expressed his views of constitutional amendment at meetings with Chinese officials and foreign dignitaries. Xi explained the decision in terms of needing to align his two more powerful posts — General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) which are no term limits. However, Xi did not say whether he intended to serve as party general secretary, CMC chairman and state president, for three or more terms.

North Korea
After Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, the North Korean government wrote the presidential office out of the constitution, declaring him "Eternal President" in 1998 in order to honor his memory forever. Since there can be no succession in a system where the President reigns over a nation beyond death, the powers of the president are nominally and effectively split between the president of the Supreme People's Assembly, the prime minister, and the chairman of the State Affairs Commission. However, his son and grandson have been in control of the country since his death (Kim Jong-il from 1994 until his death in 2011, and Kim Jong-un since 2011).

List of leaders who became president for life
Note: the first date listed in each entry is the date of proclamation of their status as President for Life.