Duumvirate - Examples

Examples

It has been suggested that Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev represent a modern Russian duumvirate, sometimes referred as тандемократия, "tandemocracy", a portmanteau of "tandem" and "democracy" (see Sovereign democracy). When they agreed to swap jobs in November 2011, with Putin retaking his old position of president which Medvedev had held for four years (because Putin was constitutionally barred from having a third term in a row), many in Russia called this "castling" ("рокировка" - "rokirovka") - after the move in chess when the king and a castle swap sides. This "castling" was followed by protests, seen by some as "tandem malaise" - a feeling amongst sections of the population that they were fed up with the tandem. For most of Medvedev's presidency, Putin and he were seen as being roughly equal, but with the "castling" it has become clear that Putin had the upper hand the whole time.

The tiny European nation of Andorra is nominally a duumvirate, as it is ruled by two co-princes, one of whom is François Hollande, the President of France, the other of whom is Joan Enric Vives i Sicília, Bishop of the Diocese of Urgell, although the Andorran prime minister wields de facto power as the head of government. Duumvirates in history include the city-states of Carthage, ruled by two mayors (Suffets), and Ancient Rome, ruled by two Consuls. Sparta was also ruled by two kings, thus a duumvirate.

Some political parties have duumvirates, sometimes, such as is the case of Lindsey German and John Rees in the Socialist Workers Party in Britain.

The First Whitlam Ministry in Australia is sometimes called the "Duumvirate" because it consisted entirely of the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, and his deputy, Lance Barnard, who between them split up all ministerial and quasi-ministerial positions for two weeks in December 1972.