View source for Elective monarchy

{{Short description|Monarchy ruled by an elected ruler}}
{{Monarchism |expanded=types}}

An '''elective monarchy''' is a [[monarchy]] ruled by a monarch who is [[election|elected]], in contrast to a [[hereditary monarchy]] in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, and the electors vary from case to case. Historically, it was common for elective [[Monarchy|monarchies]] to transform into hereditary ones (whether legally or ''de facto'') by repeated election of the previous rulers' children, or for hereditary monarchies to acquire elective or semi-elective succession laws, particularly following dynastic crises.

==Evolution==
Many kingdoms were officially elective historically, though the candidates were typically only from the family of the deceased monarch. Eventually, however, most elected monarchies introduced [[hereditary succession]], guaranteeing that the title and office stayed within the royal family and specifying, more or less precisely, the order of succession.<ref name="63–84">{{Cite journal|url = https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1005078532251|doi = 10.1023/A:1005078532251|year = 2000|last1 = Kurrild-Klitgaard|first1 = Peter|title = The Constitutional Economics of Autocratic Succession|journal = Public Choice|volume = 103|issue = 1|pages = 63–84|s2cid = 154097838|access-date = 2021-02-21|archive-date = 2021-02-25|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210225000327/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1005078532251|url-status = live|url-access = subscription}}</ref>
Today, almost all monarchies are hereditary monarchies in which the monarchs come from one [[royal family]] with the office of [[monarch|sovereign]] being passed from one family member to another upon the death or [[abdication]] of the incumbent.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

==Historical examples==
===Europe===
====Ancient Greece====
The kings of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richard |first1=Gabriel A. |title=Philip II of Macedonia: Greater Than Alexander |date=2010 |publisher=Potomac Books, Inc |isbn=978-1597975193 |page=45}}</ref> and of [[Epirus (ancient state)|Epirus]] were elected by the army, which was similar in composition to the [[Ecclesia (ancient Athens)|Ecclesia]] of the ''[[Athenian democracy#Etymology|Demos]]'', the assembly of all free [[classical Athens|Athenian]] citizens. Military service often was linked with citizenship among the male members of the royal house.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Ancient Rome and Byzantium====
In the ancient [[Roman Kingdom]] the kings were elected by the [[Roman assemblies]]. When a king died, the senate would appoint an ''interrex'' to oversee the election for a new king.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allen M. Ward, Fritz M. Heichelheim, Cedric A. Yeo |title=History of the Roman People |date=2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9780205846795 |page=36}}</ref> Once the Roman kings were overthrown, there remained an absolute prohibition for royal establishment in the Roman constitution, a prohibition which formally remained in place during imperial times,{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} both classical [[Roman Empire|Roman]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]]. In practice, however, Imperial Rome was a monarchy. During the [[Principate]] (27 BC to 284 AD), which was the foundational stage of Roman imperialism, Roman monarchs would often take care to disguise their ''de facto'' position with the ''de jure'' apparatus of republicanism.  This was particularly the case for [[Augustus]], the first Emperor, who established the Principate. Whilst given many titles (including "Augustus", i.e. "majestic") he described himself as ''princeps senatus'', or merely "first among senators". The illusion of being elected from the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] continued.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adrastos Omissi |title=Emperors and Usurpers in the Later Roman Empire Civil War, Panegyric, and the Construction of Legitimacy |date=2018 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=9780192558268 |pages=13–14}}</ref> Over time the principle weakened as [[Roman Republic|republican government]] passed into distant history, and the Empire became functionally an absolute monarchy. The office of Roman and Byzantine emperor remained vaguely elective (albeit with the election procedure never strictly defined, but generally understood to be a matter for the Senate). For instance, whilst the first five Emperors were all [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|descended from Julius Caesar]], in each case their position was proclaimed, not inherited as of right. [[Claudius]], the fourth Emperor, in particular stands out, being "elected" to office once the [[Praetorian Guard]] had made it clear he was their candidate.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Accordingly, heredity never was, and could never be, formally established in law. And whilst the later, more overtly authoritarian [[Dominate]] period further stripped the republican veneer from the constitution, Emperors succeeded by a mixture of proclamation by the Legions or Senate as much as by blood (though sons did succeed fathers).{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

In order to bypass the prohibition on heredity and ensure dynastic continuity, many reigning Byzantine emperors had their heirs crowned co-emperor so that the throne could not be considered vacant at their own death and thus the need for succession by election would not arise.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Great Britain====
A system of elective monarchy existed in [[Anglo-Saxon England]] (see [[Witenagemot]]).<ref name=halden/>

[[John of England]] was chosen as King of England by a council of nobles and royal advisors at the death of his brother, [[Richard I]], in 1199 because the heir by strict primogeniture, [[Arthur of Brittany]], was a child at that time. This affirmed the principle of elective monarchy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Figgis |first1=John Neville |title=The Divine Right of Kings |date=1914 |publisher=CUP Archive |pages=79–80}}</ref>

In 14th, 15th, late 17th and early 18th century England, the evolving relations between the Crown and [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] resulted in a monarchy with both hereditary and quasi-elective elements<ref>{{cite book |last1=Christopher Edward Taucar |title=The British System of Government and Its Historical Development |date=2014 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |isbn=978-0773596566 |pages=275–276}}</ref> – at least as between various contenders with some dynastic claim for the throne. [[Henry IV of England]] was chosen by Parliament in 1399 to replace [[Richard II of England|Richard II]]. Richard was childless, and the [[Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March|Earl of March]], the next in line to the throne, was a young child at the time, so Parliament bypassed him in favour of Henry, who had led a revolt against Richard. Parliament also confirmed depositions during the [[Wars of the Roses]], as well as Henry VIII's settlements of the crown. During the [[Exclusion Crisis]], King Charles II strongly opposed any such idea.

Following the [[Glorious Revolution]], Parliament enacted the [[Succession to the Crown Act 1707|Act of Succession]], whose effect was to disinherit the Stuarts and replace them by the [[Hanoverians]], whose dynastic claim was far more remote. [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary II]] were chosen by Parliament to replace [[James II of England|James II]]. (Mary was James' daughter, William was James' nephew, and William and Mary were succeeded by Mary's younger sister [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne]].) Parliament passed [[Act of Settlement 1701|laws]] in the late 17th and early 18th centuries which explicitly excluded Catholics (and thus the male descendants of James II) from the [[succession to the British throne|order of succession]]. The [[Succession to the Crown Act 2013]], replaced male-preference primogeniture with absolute primogeniture and ended disqualification of a person who married a Roman Catholic from succession.

In Scotland, the [[Declaration of Arbroath]] of 1320 asserted the rights of the nobles to choose a king if required, which implied elective monarchy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bob Harris |last2=Alan R. MacDonald |title=Scotland: the making and unmaking of the nation, {{circa|1100-1707}}, Volume 2 |date=2007 |publisher=Dundee University Press |isbn=978-1845860288 |page=71}}</ref> [[Tanistry]] was also the system of royal succession until King Malcolm II in the early 11th century introduced direct inheritance. The Isle of Man also used tanistry.<ref>{{cite book |last1=James Panton |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy |date=2011 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810874978 |page=471}}</ref>

====Ireland====
{{main|Tanistry}}
In Ireland, from the beginning of recorded history<ref>In ''Early Irish laws and institution'' (1934) Eoin MacNeill stated that, according to the annal evidence, tanistry originated only about a century after the Anglo-Norman invasion, p. 148.</ref> until the mid-16th/early 17th century,<ref>''Case of Tanistry'' (1608), Davis 28 180 E.R 516</ref> succession was determined by an elective system based on patrilineal relationship known as [[tanistry]].<ref name=EB1911-Tanistry>
{{EB1911 |inline=y
 |wstitle=Tanistry
 |volume=26 |page=398
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</ref>

====Dutch Republic====
In the [[Dutch Republic]] of the 17th and 18th centuries there was the office of the [[Stadtholder]], whose powers fell short of those of a monarch, and which was elective. Each of the seven Dutch provinces could separately elect its own Stadtholder, and it did not have to be the same person in all of them. In theory anyone could be elected Stadtholder, though in practice it was restricted to members of the [[House of Orange]]. There was no obligation to elect a Stadtholder at all, and the leaders of the Dutch Republican faction, such as [[Johan van Oldenbarnevelt|Oldenbarnevelt]] and [[Johan de Witt|De Witt]], repeatedly tried to abolish the office of Stadtholder or leave it vacant – which it was for several decades of Dutch history. Conversely, the House of Orange and its adherents tried to increase the powers of the Stadtholder to approximate those of a monarch, to make it officially hereditary (which it became in the later part of the 18th century) and finally to transform it into a full-fledged monarchy – as it was in 1815.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Gaul/France====
The [[Gauls|Gallic tribes]] were each ruled by a ''rix'', which can be translated as king, who were elected for terms of one year or longer. Candidates were drawn from relatives of past kings.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Freeman |first1=Philip |title=The Philosopher and the Druids: A Journey Among the Ancient Celts |date=2006 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=0743289064 |page=95}}</ref>

The Frankish kingdom was at least partly elective. Merovingian kings were elected, while Carolingian kings were elected at times. In the 10th century Western Frankish royal elections switched between different lineages before settling on the Capetians.<ref name="halden">{{cite book |last1=Halden |first1=Peter |title=Family Power: Kinship, War and Political Orders in Eurasia, 500–2018 |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1108495929 |pages=66–67}}</ref> [[Medieval France]] was an elective monarchy at the time of the first [[House of Capet|Capet]]ian kings; the kings however took the habit of, during their reign, having their son elected as co-king and successor during their reigns. The election soon became a mere formality and vanished after the reign of [[Philip II of France|Philip II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Williston |title=On the Increase of Royal Power in France Under Philip Augustus, 1179-1223 |date=1888 |publisher=Gressner & Schramm |pages=4–7}}</ref>

After declaring the throne vacant, the French Chamber of Deputies voted 229–33 to declare [[Louis-Philippe of France]] as [[King of the French]] during the [[July Revolution]] of 1830,<ref>{{cite book |last1=John S.C. Abbott |title=Louis Philippe |date=2019 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3734074752 |pages=151–152}}</ref> creating an elective monarchy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gino Raymond |title=Historical Dictionary of France |date=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810862562 |page=52 |edition=2, revised}}</ref> France briefly had again a kind of elective monarchy<ref>{{cite book |last1=John Burley Waring |title=The state, a sequel to the 'Universal Church'; together with a suppl. 'Record of thoughts', and some essays |date=1874 |page=2}}</ref> when [[Napoleon III]] was first elected President of France and then transformed himself into an Emperor.

====Holy Roman Empire====
{{Further|Imperial election}}
The [[Holy Roman Empire]], beginning with its predecessor Eastern Francia,<ref name=halden/> is perhaps the best-known example of an elective monarchy. However, from 1440 to 1740, a Habsburg was always elected [[Holy Roman Emperor|emperor]], the throne becoming unofficially hereditary.<ref name="The Emperor: Qualifications"/> During that period, the emperor was elected from within the [[House of Habsburg]] by a small council of nobles called [[prince-elector]]s. The secular electoral seats were hereditary.  However, spiritual electors (and other prince-(arch)bishops) were usually elected by the [[cathedral chapter]]s as religious leaders, but simultaneously ruled as monarch (prince) of a territory of [[imperial immediacy]] (which usually comprised a part of their diocesan territory). Thus the [[prince-bishopric]]s were elective monarchies too. The same holds true for prince-abbacies, whose princess-abbesses or [[prince-abbot]]s were elected by a [[college (canon law)|college]] of clerics and imperially appointed as princely rulers in a pertaining territory.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Bohemia====
Since medieval times, the [[King of Bohemia]] was elected by the [[Estate (land)|Estate]]s of [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown]]. Since 1526, when [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] assumed the Bohemian Crown, it was always held by the [[Habsburg]] branch who later became [[Holy Roman Emperor]] and who expected this situation to go on indefinitely. In 1618 the Bohemians chose to exercise in practice their legal right to choose a King at their discretion, despite having already elected [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]] as king, and bestowed the Bohemian Crown on [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine]] – "The Winter King". However, the Habsburgs regarded this as an act of rebellion, re-imposed their rule over Bohemia in the [[Battle of the White Mountain]] and in the aftermath abolished the Bohemian Elective Monarchy and made exclusive Habsburg rule the de jure as well as de facto situation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mahoney |first1=William |title=The History of the Czech Republic and Slovakia |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0313363061 |pages=73–74}}</ref> The attempt to make Frederick V King of Bohemia is regarded as a catalyst for the [[Thirty Years War]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Hungary====
[[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Austria in 1848-49: being a history of the late political movements in Vienna, Milan, Venice, and Prague; with details of the campaigns of Lombardy and Novara; a full account of the Revolution in Hungary; and Historical sketches of the Austrian Government and the princes of the empire: 2 |date=1852 |publisher=Low |page=23}}</ref> was an elective monarchy until 1687. This elective right carried on for another two more decades in the [[Principality of Transylvania (1571–1711)|Principality of Transylvania]] which ''de jure'' continued to belong to the [[Lands of the Hungarian Crown]] but had split from Hungary when the childless King [[Louis II of Hungary|Louis II]] died after the [[Battle of Mohács]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roșu |first1=Felicia |title=Elective Monarchy in Transylvania and Poland-Lithuania, 1569-1587 |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0192506436 |pages=24–31}}</ref>

====Iberia====
[[Visigothic kingdom|Visigothic Hispania]] elected the king from the relatives of past kings, in accordance with the Germanic traditions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keefe |first1=Eugene K. |title=Area Handbook for Spain |date=1976 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |isbn=0160015677 |page=16}}</ref> In practice, the Visigoth kings appointed their eldest sons to manage the kingdom's affairs, so that when the king died the eldest son was politically skilled enough to secure the throne.<ref name=afon>{{cite book |last1=E. Olsen |title=The Calabrian Charlatan, 1598–1603 Messianic Nationalism in Early Modern Europe |date=2002 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=9780230597143 |page=41}}</ref> In the 5th century, hereditary succession was increasingly stable until the Frankish invasions against the Visigoths led to a period of crisis in which the Visigoths reverted to elections. After the crisis was over in the 6th century, the family of Leovigild attempted to revive hereditary succession until Swintila was overthrown and the Fourth Council of Toledo formally declared elective succession as the principle of succession in 633.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Joseph F. O'Callaghan |title=A History of Medieval Spain |date=1983 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9780801492648 |page=58}}</ref>

The Kingship of Aragon was initially elected by the "rich men" barons. Later this right was limited to the Cortes confirming the succession of the heir.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thomas Henry Dyer |title=Modern Europe: From the Fall of Constantinople to the Establishment of the German Empire, A.D. 1453-1871 |date=1877 |publisher=Bell |page=63 |edition=2}}</ref>

During the 19th century, more precisely between 1870 and 1873, an attempt of such a system took place in Spain. After the [[Glorious Revolution (Spain)|Glorious Revolution]] and [[Isabella II of Spain|Isabella II]]'s subsequent deposition in 1868 a new parliament was constituted through direct male suffrage. It was then decided that a democratically elected monarch was needed in Spain. The debates regarding Isabella's succession took place until October 1869, when [[Amadeo I of Spain|Amadeo I]] was finally chosen. Nevertheless, his reign lasted until 11 October 1873, when he abdicated citing his inability to solve the problems Spain was going through, after which the parliament proclaimed a [[First Spanish Republic|republic]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Portugal's monarchy contained the remnants of the elective principle in requiring reciprocal oaths, the assent of the Cortes and acclamation before acceding to the throne.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Malyn Newitt |title=The Braganzas: The Rise and Fall of the Ruling Dynasties of Portugal and Brazil, 1640–1910 |date=2019 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1789141658 |page=14}}</ref> Portugal's first king Afonso I followed Visigothic precedent by appointing his son as co-ruler to establish a hereditary line of succession, but whenever there was doubt on succession, the elective principle would resume.<ref name=afon/> The Cortes affirmed the crown as elective when it elevated King John in 1385.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume XIX |date=1890 |page=544}}</ref> In Portugal, on 6 April 1385 in the aftermath of [[1383–1385 Crisis]], the [[Portuguese Cortes|Council of the Kingdom]] elected [[John I of Portugal|John I]], then Master of the [[Order of Aviz]], as [[King of Portugal]]. His half-brother [[Ferdinand I of Portugal|Ferdinand I]] had died without a male heir in October 1383, and different factions made strenuous efforts to secure the throne for [[Beatrice of Portugal|Princess Beatrice]], Ferdinand's only daughter and [[Queen consort of Castile]] and [[Queen consort of Leon|León]], or for either of her uncles [[Infante John, Duke of Valencia de Campos]] and [[Infante Denis, Lord of Cifuentes]]. The Council elected instead the younger (and illegitimate) son of [[Peter I of Portugal|Peter I]], thus avoiding a ''[[jure uxoris]]'' Castilian king.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Kingdom of Jerusalem====
In the Crusader [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]], the kingship was partially elected and partially hereditary. During the height of the kingdom in the mid-12th century there was a royal family and a relatively clear line of succession. Nevertheless, the king was elected, or at least recognized, by the [[Haute Cour of Jerusalem|Haute Cour]]. Here the king was considered a {{lang|la|[[primus inter pares]]}} (first among equals), and in his absence his duties were performed by his [[officers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem|seneschal]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth====
{{main|Royal elections in Poland}}
[[File:Potega Rzeczypospolitej u zenitu Zlota wolnosc Elekcja 1573.JPG|thumb|300px|right|''The Republic at the Zenith of Its Power. [[Golden Liberty]]. The [[Royal elections in Poland|Royal Election]] of 1573'', by [[Jan Matejko]]]]
The tradition of electing the country's ruler, which occurred when there was no clear heir to the throne, dates to the very beginning of Polish statehood. The election privilege, exercised during the gatherings known as ''[[wiec]]'', was usually limited to the most powerful nobles ([[Magnates of Poland and Lithuania|magnates]]) or officials, and was heavily influenced by local traditions and strength of the ruler.<ref name="bardach6263">Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, ''Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego'' (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987), p.62-63</ref>

In [[Poland]], after the death of the last [[Piast]] in 1370, Polish kings were initially elected by a small council; gradually, this privilege was granted to all members of the ''[[szlachta]]'' (Polish nobility). Kings of Poland and Grand Dukes of Lithuania during the times of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] (1569–1795) were elected by gatherings of crowds of nobles at a field in [[Wola]], today a district in [[Warsaw]]. Since in Poland, all sons of a noble were nobles, and not only the eldest, every one of an estimated 500,000 nobles could potentially have participated in such elections in person – by far the most extensive franchise of any European country at the time. During the election period, the function of the king was performed by an [[Interrex (Poland)|interrex]] (usually in the person of the [[primate of Poland]]). This unique Polish election was termed the [[Free election (Polish throne)|free election]] (''wolna elekcja'').{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} Although the elective principle was already established in Polish political culture in the late Middle Ages, the rules changed significantly in the 1570s, and the principles developed in that period lasted until the [[Partitions of Poland]].{{sfn|Roșu|2017|p=10}} There have been thirteen royal elections in Poland–Lithuania from 1573 to 1764.{{sfn|Roșu|2017|p=10}} Roșu (2017) marked the [[1576 Polish–Lithuanian royal election|1575/1576 Polish–Lithuanian royal election]] as the most significant for several reasons. First, 'the citizens of the commonwealth were forced to ''de facto'' depose their [[Henry III of France|first elected king]]&nbsp;– thus applying the right of disobedience they had inscribed in their public records only two years before.' Second, it resulted in two candidates being proclaimed the winner, and in subsequent events the nobility was able to confirm their majority choice for [[Stephen Báthory]] and have it recognised, while avoiding war with [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II of Habsburg]].{{sfn|Roșu|2017|p=12}}

====Scandinavia====
Scandinavian kingship, according to the Germanic tradition, was elected upon the death of the previous king.<ref name="63–84"/> The selection was not always limited to the heirs of the previous king (e.g. in Sweden when the royal house was changing between the houses of Eric and Sverker between generations). Originally, kings were supposed to be elected from among the descendants of a previous king, which was connected to descent from gods. There could also be [[Diarchy|joint rule]] between multiple kings. Disputed succession was common because of a large number of sons sired by kings. However, when single rule appeared in the 9th century, civil wars grew in frequency throughout the region. Later, Christianisation led to the promulgation of primogeniture in Norway in 1163 and Denmark in 1170, but the elective idea still persisted in the requirement to be certified by a local assembly and subsequently the magnates would still elect the new king, albeit while the incumbent king was still alive. This demonstrated the enduring power of the nobles.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Phillip Pulsiano |last2=Kirsten Wolf |title=Routledge Revivals: Medieval Scandinavia (1993): An Encyclopedia |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1351665018 |page=621}}</ref>

Originally, the [[Monarchy of Sweden|Kings of Sweden]] were elected by all free men at the [[Stones of Mora|Mora]] [[Thing (assembly)|Thing]]. Elective monarchy continued until 1544, when the [[Riksdag of the Estates]] designated the [[House of Vasa|heirs]] of King [[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustav Vasa]] as the heirs to the throne. The [[Monarchy of Denmark|Danish monarchy]] was also officially elective, although the eldest son of the reigning monarch was usually elected. This continued until 1660, when a hereditary and [[absolute monarchy]] was instituted by [[Frederick III of Denmark|Frederick III]]. Though the [[monarchy of Norway]] was originally hereditary, it too became elective in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Candidates had to be of royal blood, but the kingship was elected by a council of noblemen, rather than automatically passing to the eldest son. In 1905 [[Haakon VII of Norway|Prince Carl]] was elected King of the newly independent Norway by the [[Storting]] after [[1905 Norwegian monarchy referendum|a referendum]] resolved in favor of monarchy.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

The Scandinavian kingdoms were united under the Danish crown by [[Margaret I of Denmark]] in 1389, but many of her successors had the united kingdoms split up as Sweden elected a different king than Denmark and Norway upon succession. The election was usually contested through a Danish invasion of Sweden until [[Christian II of Denmark]] after his reconquest of Sweden had many of those voting against him executed in the [[Stockholm Bloodbath]] (1520), which ended much of the support for the Danish king on the Swedish throne.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

In 1810, the Swedish [[Riksdag of the Estates|Riksdag]] elected the French Marshall and [[Principality of Pontecorvo#Princes of Pontecorvo|Prince of Pontecorvo]] [[Jean Bernadotte]] to be the new [[Crown Prince]], since it was apparent that the Swedish branch of the House of Holstein-Gottorp would die with the childless King [[Charles XIII of Sweden|Charles XIII]]. Bernadotte eventually ascended the throne as [[Charles XIV John of Sweden]] and founded the still current [[House of Bernadotte]]. In this case the elective aspect in the choice of Monarch was especially prominent, since Bernadotte had been a French commoner with no previous connection to Sweden and not the most remote of dynastic claims to the Swedish throne – his being chosen derived solely from urgent political and military considerations of the crisis time of the [[Napoleonic Wars]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Sovereign Military Order of Malta====
The [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]], formerly known as the [[Knights Hospitaller]] or the Knights of Malta, remains a [[Sovereignty|sovereign subject]] of [[international law]] since it was exiled to Rome from Malta during the [[French occupation of Malta]] under the [[First French Republic]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Theutenberg |first=Bo J. |author-link=:sv:Bo Johnson Theutenberg |date=2003 |title=The Holy See, the Order of Malta and International Law |publisher=Johnny Hagberg and Skara stiftshistoriska sällskap |url=http://www.theutenberg.se/pdf/the_holy_see_the_order_of_malta_and_international_law.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123151822/http://www.theutenberg.se/pdf/the_holy_see_the_order_of_malta_and_international_law.pdf |archive-date=2015-11-23 |isbn=91-974235-6-4}}</ref> The Order is ruled by the [[List of Princes and Grand Masters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Prince and Grand Master]], who is elected for life by the Council Complete of State. The Prince and Grand Master holds the rank of Prince, bestowed by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1607 and holds the precedence of a cardinal of the Church since 1630.<ref>{{cite book |last= Sire |first= H.J.A. |date= 1994 |title= The Knights of Malta |publisher= Yale University Press |page= 221 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KhLJcYiV3YAC&pg=PA221 |isbn= 0300068859 |access-date= 2020-09-23 |archive-date= 2022-05-15 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220515032800/https://books.google.com/books?id=KhLJcYiV3YAC&pg=PA221 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Noonan Jr. | first=James-Charles | date=1996 | title=The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church | publisher=Viking | page=[https://archive.org/details/churchvisiblecer0000noon/page/135 135] | isbn=0-670-86745-4 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/churchvisiblecer0000noon/page/135 }}</ref> The Council that elects the prince includes members of the Sovereign Council and other high-ranking office-holders and representatives of the Order's worldwide entities. The Sovereign Council, including the Grand Commander, the Grand Chancellor, the Grand Hospitaller, and the Receiver of the Common Treasure, aid the prince in governing the order.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/sovereign-council/ |website=Order of Malta |language=en-US |access-date=2018-02-23 |archive-date=2018-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020073202/https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/sovereign-council/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Venice====
The [[Republic of Venice]] was ruled from 697 to 1797 by a [[Doge of Venice|doge]], who normally ruled for life, though a few were forced from office. His powers were never those of an absolute monarch, but he was the Republic's [[Chief magistrate|highest official]] and powerful within restrictions and levels of oversight that varied in different periods. The election process began with the [[Great Council of Venice|Great Council]] of more than 2000 Venetian aristocrats and employed an elaborate system designed to prevent one family or alliance from dominating the process. It used smaller nominating groups that were reduced in number by the drawing of lots and required a [[supermajority]] for election.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

===Africa===
==== Regency of Algiers ====
{{main|Regency of Algiers}}
The [[Regency of Algiers]] (from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century) was an elective monarchy, whose [[Regency of Algiers#Dey of Algiers|dey]] was elected, depending on the period, by the [[Regency of Algiers#Diwân council|Divan of Algiers]] or by the Taïfa of the raïs (Assembly of the corsairs). The elected deys also bore the title of governor-sultan of Algiers or sultan of Algiers.

====Mali Empire====
In Africa, the [[Mali Empire]] functioned as both a constitutional and elective monarchy. The [[Mansa (title)|mansa]], or emperor, had to be approved by the Great Assembly known as the [[Gbara]], despite hereditary claims.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Kongo====
The [[Kingdom of Kongo]] was a purer example of an elective monarchy, where blood claims had even less influence.  Nobles elected a king's successor, and it was common for the successor to be of a different family than his predecessor.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

This form of elective monarchy existed in the kingdom from its inception around 1400 until its complete disintegration in the early 20th century.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====West Africa====
In the pre-colonial period, a number of [[West Africa]]n rulers, such as the kings and chieftains of the [[Ashanti Empire]] and those of [[Ife]] and the [[Oyo Empire]], were elected from amongst the various [[royal family|royal families]] of their polities by colleges of noblemen known as [[kingmaker]]s. This practice has continued to the present day.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

===Asia===
====Afghanistan====
{{Further|Loya Jirga}}
In [[Afghanistan]], {{lang|ps-Latn|loya}} jirgas have been reportedly organized since at least the early 18th century when the [[Hotak dynasty|Hotaki]] and [[Durrani dynasty|Durrani]] dynasties rose to power.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/opinion/11krakauer.html?scp=8&sq=jon%20krakauer&st=cse |title=To Save Afghanistan, Look to Its Past |author=Jon Krakauer |newspaper=New York Times |date=September 11, 2009 |access-date=2014-10-29 |archive-date=2021-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508182434/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/opinion/11krakauer.html?scp=8&sq=jon%20krakauer&st=cse |url-status=live }}</ref>
The ancient [[Aryan]] tribes, who are hypothesized to have spoken [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]], came down in intermittent waves from [[Central Asia]] and Afghanistan which is a common myth. They practiced a sort of jirga system with two types of councils – ''{{transliteration|ps|simite}}'' and ''{{transliteration|ps|sabhā}}''. The ''{{transliteration|ps|simite}}'' (summit) comprised elders and tribal chiefs. The king also joined sessions of the ''{{transliteration|ps|simite}}''. {{transliteration|ps|Sabhā}} was a sort of rural council. In India they are referred to as ''Samiti'' and ''Sabha''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Persia/Iran====
The [[Parthian Empire]] (248 BC–224 AD), also known as the Arsacid Empire, is considered to be the oldest elective monarchy in Asia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rawlinson |first1=George |title=A Short History of Parthia |date=4 March 2018 |publisher=Perennial Press |isbn=9781531263249 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srJ4DwAAQBAJ&q=Parthian+elective+monarchy&pg=PT51 |access-date=26 November 2020 |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515032801/https://books.google.com/books?id=srJ4DwAAQBAJ&q=Parthian+elective+monarchy&pg=PT51 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[King of Kings]] has been required to undergo an assembly of the nobles called [[Parliament|Mahestān]], as a vote of approval before being allowed to ascend to the imperial throne or to be removed from the power.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Other monarchs, such as the former [[Pahlavi dynasty|Shahs of Iran]], have been required to undergo a parliamentary vote of approval before being allowed to ascend to the throne.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Mongol Empire====
In the [[Mongol Empire]], the [[Great Khan]] was chosen by the [[Kurultai]]. This was often convened in the capital. Other critical leadership positions were also assigned.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dynastic China : an elementary history|author=Tan, Koon San|isbn=978-9839541885|location=Kuala Lumpur|oclc=898313910|date = 15 August 2014}}</ref>

====Korea====
The ancient Korean kingdom of [[Silla]] elected its first king by a conference of tribal and village elders in 57 BC.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sung Chul Yang |title=The North And South Korean Political Systems: A Comparative Analysis |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1000232127 |page=82}}</ref> [[Unified Silla]]'s kings were elected by the aristocracy whose powers were on par with the king.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hugh Dyson Walker |title=East Asia: A New History |date=2012 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=978-1477265161 |pages=204–205, 457}}</ref> In the kingdom of Goguryeo, the ruler was originally chosen from among the heads of the five tribes, most often the Sono tribe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=James H. Grayson |title=Korea - A Religious History |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1136869259 |page=17}}</ref>

====Siam/Thailand====
There were several occasions that the [[Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932)|Kingdom of Siam]] and [[Thailand]] turned to a semi-elective monarchy system to settle the succession of the crown among disputed heirs:

* In 1824, Phutthaloetla Naphalai died suddenly without having named a successor to [[Front Palace|viceroy]] [[Maha Senanurak]], who had died 16 July 1817. According to the traditions of royal succession, the viceroy or [[uparaja]] was [[heir presumptive]]. If there were none, then an ''[[ad hoc]]'' ''[[senabodi]]'' consisting of senior officials present at the death of a king, would elect a successor.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/thailand/history-rattanakosin.htm
|title= Rattanakosin Period (1782 -present)|access-date= June 5, 2013 |date=  August 18, 2013 |work= Thailand Introduction
|publisher= GlobalSecurity.org|quote= If there was no uparaja at the time of the king's death—and this was frequently the case—the choice of a new monarch drawn from the royal family was left to the Senabodi, the council of senior officials, princes, and Buddhist prelates that assembled at the death of a king. It was such a council that chose Nang Klao's successor.}}</ref> As a result of enormous support from senior and influential noble, [[Nangklao|Chetsadabodin]] was elected as the successor.

* In 1867, as Mongkut had not designated who would succeed him, the choice fell to a council to decide. The council led by Prince Deves, Mongkut's eldest half-brother, then chose Chulalongkorn as Mongkut's successor. However, Chulalongkorn was only 15 and so the council choose [[Si Suriyawongse]] to become the regent until Chulalongkorn came of age.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chakrabongse |first=Chula |url=http://archive.org/details/lordsoflifehisto0000chak |title=Lords of Life; a history of the Kings of Thailand |date=1967 |publisher=London: Alvin Redman |others=Internet Archive}}</ref>

* On 2 March 1935, Prince Ananda Mahidol was elected by the National Assembly and the Thai government to succeed his uncle, King [[Prajadhipok]], as the eighth king of the Chakri dynasty, because [[Prajadhipok]], the previous king, had not named an heir before his abdication.

===Oceania===
Several [[Māori people|Māori]] [[iwi|tribes]] of the central [[North Island]] of [[New Zealand]] elected [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]] as their monarch in 1858. The [[Māori King movement]] or Kiingitanga has continued to the present. The current Māori monarch (i.e. monarch of the Kiingitanga movement, not of all Māori) is Kuīni (Queen) [[Nga wai hono i te po]]. While in principle the position is not hereditary, in practice every Māori monarch thus far has been a child of the previous monarch.

The [[Hawaiian Kingdom]] could be considered a ''de facto'' example. From 1864 until the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, it was constitutionally a [[hereditary monarchy]] utilizing [[male-preference primogeniture]]. However, the Constitutions of [[1864 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom|1864]] and [[1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom|1887]], and the draft constitution of 1893, all provided that, in the event of the extinction of the royal line, the Legislature would elect a "native [[aliʻi]]" as the new monarch and stirps of a new dynasty. In practice, however, during the entire time from 1864 until the abolition of the monarchy, the throne was never passed from parent to child, as every Hawaiian monarch who reigned during that period died without leaving issue. Following the 1872 death of [[Kamehameha V|King Kamehameha V]], a non-binding referendum was held, in which [[Lunalilo|William Charles Lunalilo]] won; he was subsequently elected king by the legislature in 1873. [[Kalākaua|King Kalākaua]] was elected by the legislature in 1874, after Lunalilo's death. However, when Kalākaua died in 1891, the crown demised to the collateral line of his sister, [[Liliʻuokalani|Queen Liliʻuokalani]]. Prior to 1864, the Hawaiian King-in-Council appointed the heir to the Hawaiian throne.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

===The Americas===

====Mexico====
The [[Tlatoani]]meh of the [[Aztec Empire]] were chosen by a council of elders, nobles, and priests. He would be selected from a pool of four candidates.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Costa Rica====
The ''mánkeme'' (king) of the [[Kingdom of Nicoya]] was elected by a council of elders known as the ''monéxico''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====Chile and Argentina====

French explorer [[Orélie-Antoine de Tounens]] claimed to be elected by the [[Mapuches|Mapuche]] to be the Great [[Toqui]], Supreme Chieftain of the Mapuches, possibly in the belief that their cause might be better served with a European acting on their behalf. He later proclaimed himself as the King of [[Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia|Araucanía and Patagonia]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

====United States====
An attempt to create an elective monarchy in the [[United States]] failed. [[Alexander Hamilton]] argued in a long speech before the [[Philadelphia Convention|Constitutional Convention of 1787]] that the [[President of the United States]] should be an elective monarch, ruling for "good behavior" (i.e., [[President for life|for life]], unless [[impeachment|impeached]]) and with extensive powers. Hamilton believed that elective monarchs had sufficient power domestically to resist foreign corruption, yet there was enough domestic control over their behavior to prevent tyranny at home.<ref name="The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, Volume 9"/> His proposal was resoundingly voted down in favor of a four-year term with the possibility of reelection.

====Haiti====
The crown of the [[Empire of Haiti (1804–1806)|Empire of Haiti]], established in 1804, was also elective according to its 1805 constitution.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti/history/earlyhaiti/1805-const.htm|title=Haiti: 1805 Constitution|website=faculty.webster.edu|access-date=2016-09-11|archive-date=2015-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915080544/http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti/history/earlyhaiti/1805-const.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Extraordinary election ==
A hereditary monarchy may occasionally use election to fill a vacant throne. For example, the royal family may become extinct; depending on how precisely the succession to the throne is defined in law, several candidates with equally, or almost equally, strong claims could emerge, with an election being held to choose from among them. This differs from a formally elective monarchy in that it is an extraordinary measure, and with the new monarch the succession again becomes hereditary.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Alternatively, the monarch may be deposed, as in a [[revolution]]. While sometimes a monarch may be forced to abdicate in favour of his or her heir, on other occasions the royal family as a whole has been rejected, the throne going to an elected candidate. Examples of extraordinary election are:
* [[Michael of Russia]], chosen by a [[Zemsky Sobor]] (national assembly) in 1613 after the extinction of the [[Rurikid dynasty]] and the end of the [[Time of Troubles]]. The resulting [[Romanov dynasty]] was an old [[boyar]] house with close ties to the former royal family, and Michael's father, [[Patriarch Philaret of Moscow|Feodor Romanov]], was at the time a [[Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia]] under the monastic name of Filaret, in effect holding a position of [[interrex]]. Later, Patriarch Filaret, a skilled politician in his own right, became effectively a co-ruler and sometimes a regent for his weak and not very healthy son.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* In 1971 seven individual Emirates in the [[Arabian Peninsula]] united to form the [[United Arab Emirates]] and became a federation. Upon its formation, Sheikh [[Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan]] of [[Abu Dhabi]] was elected as the head of the state and Ra'is (President) of the union by the ruling monarchs of the other six Emirates, while Zayed himself voted for [[Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum]], then ruler of [[Dubai]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cpc.gov.ae/en-us/TheUae/Pages/LateSheikhZayed.aspx|title=The UAE|access-date=2019-12-13|archive-date=2020-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409232839/https://www.cpc.gov.ae/en-us/TheUae/Pages/LateSheikhZayed.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.khaleejtimes.com/nation/dubai/when-sheikh-mohammed-met-his-second-father-sheikh-zayed|title=Sheikh Mohammed recalls meeting which paved way for UAE|access-date=2019-12-13|archive-date=2022-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515032806/https://www.khaleejtimes.com/article/sheikh-mohammed-recalls-meeting-which-paved-way-for-uae|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Gopala]], the first emperor of the [[Pala Empire]], was chosen by independent regional warchiefs in the 8th century. This arrangement was common in many contemporary tribal societies in the region.<ref name="Nitish2011">{{cite book | author=Nitish K. Sengupta | title=Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVSh_TyJ0YoC&pg=PA40 | date=1 January 2011 | publisher=Penguin Books India | isbn=978-0-14-341678-4 | page=40 | access-date=26 May 2021 | archive-date=2 May 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502013923/https://books.google.com/books?id=kVSh_TyJ0YoC&pg=PA40 | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Invitation ==
In the past; new polities or countries in internal turmoil sometimes selected and invited some person to become their monarch. The selected person might have had little or nothing to do with his prospective kingdom; he might have had associations with a current great power or with a current regional power, or might appear as a true outsider, (hopefully) unbiased in matters of internal politics. (The concept of "invitation" may discreetly gloss over intense lobbying or diplomatic maneuvering in some cases.) By selecting a foreign prince or aristocrat, nations could expect to gain diplomatic links and a figurehead accustomed to the trappings of courts and ceremonial duties. Newly established states in the 19th and early 20th centuries established trends in the selection and appointment of newly minted monarchs.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

At the start of the 20th century, the first monarchs of several newly independent nations were elected by parliaments: [[Norway]] is the prime example. Previously, following precedent set in newly independent [[Greece]], new nations without a well-established hereditary [[royal family]] often chose their own monarchs from among the established [[:Category:European royal families|royal families of Europe]], rather than elevate a member of the local power establishment, in the hope that a stable [[hereditary monarchy]] would eventually emerge from the process. The first king of [[Belgium]], as well as the now-deposed royal families of Greece, [[Bulgaria]], [[Albania]] (unsuccessfully) and [[Romania]], were originally appointed in this manner. On 9 October 1918 the Parliament of newly independent [[Finland]] elected [[Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse]], brother-in-law of the German Emperor [[Wilhelm II]], as [[Kingdom of Finland (1918)|King of Finland]] – but soon afterwards, this move was foiled by the German defeat in [[WWI]] and the demise of Monarchy in Germany itself, and Finland opted to become a Republic instead.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Examples include:

* 862: According to tradition, various tribes of northern [[Ruthenia|Rus']] invited [[Rurik]], a chief of their former Varangian foes, to re-establish order: his descendants ruled in Kiev, Muscovy and Russia until 1610. The legend of an invitation echoes the habit of later invitations to [[Rurikids]] and others to rule in Pskov<ref>
{{cite book
| editor1-last = Blockmans
| editor1-first = Wim
| editor1-link = Wim Blockmans
| editor2-last = Krom
| editor2-first = Mikhail
| editor3-last = Wubs-Mrozewicz
| editor3-first = Justyna
| title = The Routledge Handbook of Maritime Trade around Europe 1300–1600: Commercial Networks and Urban Autonomy
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RUUlDgAAQBAJ
| series = Routledge History Handbooks
| publisher = Taylor & Francis
| date = 2017
| isbn = 9781315278551
| access-date = 2017-07-18
| quote = The Pskov men invited princes to Pskov whose professional armoured cavalry was very important for a city that had constant wars with the Livonian Order. [...] The princely power grew during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries while the prince himself usually was a protégé of the grand prince of Moscow. [...] However, the right that was especially valued by Pskov men was that to expel princes whom they disliked.
}}
</ref> and in Novgorod.<ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Parker
| first1 = Geoffrey
| chapter = 8: Princes, Bishops and Republics: Cities and City-States in Russia
| title = Sovereign City: The City-state Through History
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEvTt7eGzFUC
| series = Globalities Series
| location = London
| publisher = Reaktion Books
| date = 2004
| page = 124
| isbn = 9781861892195
| access-date = 2017-07-18
| quote = From 1075 the people of Novgorod 'invited' the prince to take the throne and it is clear that the princes were now there only so long as they satisfied the Novgorodians and obeyed their laws.
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite book
| last1 = Plokhy
| first1 = Serhii
| author-link1 = Serhii Plokhii
| chapter = 4: The rise of Muscovy
| title = The Origins of the Slavic Nations: Premodern Identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pCdUmCWxwJ8C
| location = Cambridge
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| date = 2006
| page = 137
| isbn = 9781139458924
| access-date = 2017-07-18
| quote = On the Novgorod and Pskov communities' practice of inviting princes from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, see Anna Khoroshkevich, 'Istoricheskie sud'by belorusskikh i ukrainskikh zemel' v XIV – nachale XVI v.,' in Vladimir Pashuto, Boris Floria, and Khoroshkevich, ''Drevnerusskoe nasledia i istoricheskie sud'by vostochnogo slavianstva'' (Moscow, 1982), pp. 140–141.
| archive-date = 2021-05-12
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210512084737/https://books.google.com/books?id=pCdUmCWxwJ8C
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
* 1573: The Polish ''[[szlachta]]'' broke with tradition by looking beyond Central Europe for a candidate and electing the French Prince [[Henry III of France|Henry, Duke of Anjou]] as King of Poland.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1810: Sweden elected the French Napoleonic Marshal Jean Bernadotte as Crown Prince: he became King [[Charles XIV John of Sweden]] in 1818.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1831: Belgium selected a German Prince of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]] as King [[Leopold I of Belgium|Leopold I]], the first King of the Belgians.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1832: European Great Power diplomats selected the German Prince Otto of [[House of Wittelsbach|Bavaria]] to become King [[Otto of Greece]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1863: The Greek National Assembly elected the Danish Prince William of [[House of Glücksburg|Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg]] as King [[George I of Greece|George I]] of the Hellenes.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1863: The [[Conservative Party (Mexico)|Conservative Party of Mexico]] offered the crown of the [[Second Mexican Empire]] to [[Maximilian I of Mexico|Maximilian]], younger brother of [[Emperor of Austria|Emperor]] [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
[[File:Dell'Acqua Ernennung Maximilians zum Kaiser Mexikos.jpg|thumb|Offering of the Mexican crown to [[Maximilian I of Mexico|Maximilian of Habsburg]].]]
* 1866: Romania elected the German Prince Karl of [[Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] as its Ruling Prince (he later became King [[Carol I of Romania]]).{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1870: In the wake of political turmoil in Spain, the Spanish Cortes re-established the Spanish monarchy under a new royal house, electing the Italian Prince Amedeo of [[House of Savoy|Savoy]] as King [[Amadeo I of Spain]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1879: The Bulgarian Grand National Assembly elected the Russian-sponsored German Prince [[Alexander of Battenberg]] as its reigning ''knyaz'' (prince).{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1887: The Bulgarian Grand National Assembly elected the Austro-Hungarian Prince [[Ferdinand I of Bulgaria|Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry]] as Prince (later Tsar) of Bulgaria.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1905: Norway, newly independent of Sweden, elected Prince Carl of Denmark as its first modern independent monarch: [[Haakon VII of Norway]]{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1914: The European powers selected the German Prince [[William of Wied]] as the ruler of the [[Principality of Albania]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1918: The German-occupied [[Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)|Kingdom of Lithuania]] voted to offer the throne to the German [[Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach|Prince Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach]], who would have become King Mindaugas II.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* 1918: [[Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse|Frederick Charles Louis Constantine, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse]], was elected to be [[Kingdom of Finland (1918)|King of Finland]] by the [[Parliament of Finland|Finnish Parliament]], but never reigned and abdicated on December 14 the same year.
* 1918: During the end of the [[World War I|First World War]], there was an attempt by the [[German Empire]] to recognize [[Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg|Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg]] as the Duke of the [[United Baltic Duchy]]. However, the Regency Council only lasted less than a month in November, and was recognized by no other nation than Germany.

==Current elective monarchies==
Currently, the world's only true elective monarchies are:

===Cambodia=== 
Article 13 of the [[Cambodia|Cambodian]] Constitution stipulates that the [[Monarchy of Cambodia|monarch]] is chosen for a life term by the 9-member [[Royal Council of the Throne]], the composition of which includes the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, the two Patriarchs of the country’s two main Buddhist Sangha Nikayas, the 1st and 2nd Deputy Presidents of the Senate and the 1st and 2nd Deputy Speakers of the National Assembly. Article 14 of the Constitution further states that the royal candidate for the throne must be at least 30 years old and a descendant of the late King [[Ang Duong]], King [[Norodom of Cambodia|Norodom]] or King [[Sisowath of Cambodia|Sisowath]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=The Secretariat of the Constitution Council |date=July 2015 |title=Faolex Fao |url=https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/cam117198.pdf |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=FAO}}</ref>

===Holy See=== 
In the [[Holy See]] and the associated [[Vatican City|Vatican City State]], the [[Pope]] is elected in a [[Papal conclave|conclave]] by the [[College of Cardinals]], generally from among their number.

===Malaysia===
{{see also|Succession to the Malaysian thrones|Adat Perpatih||Yamtuan Besar}} 
The ''[[Yang di-Pertuan Agong]]'' (King) of [[Malaysia]] is elected to a five-year term. Nine hereditary rulers from the [[Monarchies of Malaysia|Malay States]] form a [[Conference of Rulers]] to determine the next king via secret ballot. The position has to date been ''de facto'' rotated amongst the state rulers, originally based on seniority. The ''[[Yang di-Pertuan Agong]]'' shall not be re-elected unless the rotation succession was complete.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules for royal succession - The Malaysian Bar |url=https://www.malaysianbar.org.my/article/news/legal-and-general-news/legal-news/rules-for-royal-succession |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.malaysianbar.org.my}}</ref>

*Additionally, the Malaysian state of [[Negeri Sembilan]] is itself an elective monarchy, where the [[Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan|''Yang di-Pertuan Besar'' of Negeri Sembilan]] is selected by a council of [[Undang|ruling chiefs]]. The ruling chiefs themselves are elected by the chieftain. Male candidates are determined based on [[matrilineal]] clan due to the influence of [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]] culture. The system was partially the basis for the federal monarchy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yang di–Pertuan Agong: Monarchy Within Democracy - The Malaysian Bar |url=https://www.malaysianbar.org.my/article/news/legal-and-general-news/general-news/yang-di-pertuan-agong-monarchy-within-democracy |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.malaysianbar.org.my}}</ref>
*The [[Sultan of Perak]] is selected from amongst the most senior male princes descending from the 18th Sultan of Perak, Sultan Ahmadin. The Sultan, ''Raja Muda'' (Crown Prince), and ''Raja Di-Hilir'' (Deputy Crown Prince) are selected by the Dewan Negara of Perak. A son of the reigning Sultan cannot become ''Raja Muda'' if there is a more senior prince descended from the previous Sultan; this is possible should the senior prince relinquish his right to become ''Raja Muda''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rules for royal succession - The Malaysian Bar |url=https://www.malaysianbar.org.my/article/news/legal-and-general-news/legal-news/rules-for-royal-succession |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.malaysianbar.org.my}}</ref>

===United Arab Emirates=== 
The [[President of the United Arab Emirates|president]] is elected by the [[Federal Supreme Council]] with a term of five years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302800701|title=Khalifa bin Zayed re-elected President of UAE|date=11 June 2019 |access-date=2019-12-05|archive-date=2019-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205132514/https://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395302800701|url-status=live}}</ref> Since its formation, the position has been a ''de facto'' hereditary position to the Al Nahyan sheikhs of [[Abu Dhabi]] by consensus of the Federal Supreme Council. Likewise, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE is a position held by the Al Maktoum sheikhs of [[Dubai]]. Elections are held every 5 years. The position of the ruler of each emirate of the [[United Arab Emirates]] is determined by consensus of the respective ruling royal family of that emirate.<ref>{{cite book |date=29 April 2014 |title=UAE: How to Invest, Start and Run Profitable Business in the UAE |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JldwAwAAQBAJ&q=uae+elective+monarchy&pg=PA10 |location=Washington DC |publisher=International Business Publications |page=41 |isbn=9781433084829 |access-date=26 November 2020 |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515032802/https://books.google.com/books?id=JldwAwAAQBAJ&q=uae+elective+monarchy&pg=PA10 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Countries and Territories of the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TsoJhzc426cC&q=uae+elective+monarchy&pg=PA456 |page=456 |access-date=2020-11-26 |archive-date=2022-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515032802/https://books.google.com/books?id=TsoJhzc426cC&q=uae+elective+monarchy&pg=PA456 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Similar forms===
* [[Andorra]] can be considered a semi-elective [[principality]]. Andorra's two heads of state are [[Spain]]'s [[Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell]] and the [[Count of Foix]]. The title of Count was merged with the French crown in 1609, meaning that all French kings from then on became Co-Prince. France relinquished control upon the formation of the [[French First Republic|First Republic]], briefly leaving Andorra under a clerical monarchy, but [[Napoleon]] reclaimed the seat. Since [[Napoleon III]]'s deposition and the formation of the [[French Third Republic]], the French co-prince of Andorra has been the (now democratically elected) [[President of France]], as they are considered the unofficial successor of the Counts of Foix. The Andorran authorities and people have no say in the election of the President of France, leaving Andorra in the unique position of having a monarch who is democratically elected by the citizenry of another state.
* [[Eswatini]] has a form of quasi-elective monarchy. No king can appoint his successor. Instead, the royal family decides which of his wives shall be "[[Great Wife]]" and "[[Indlovukazi]]" (She-Elephant / Queen Mother). The son of this "Great Wife" will automatically become the next king. The eldest son is never appointed successor, as he has other ceremonial roles.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* [[Nigeria]] has a system in which [[Nigerian traditional rulers]] (or "royal fathers", e.g. the [[Oba (ruler)|Oba]]s, [[Eze]]s and [[Emir]]s) are usually elected by councils of [[kingmaker]]s from almost endless pools of contending cousins who are eligible for the elections because they all claim descent from founding monarchs or other royals. Each title is therefore held for life by one of these dynastic cousins in turn, often through rotation.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* The [[cacique]] of the [[Ngöbe people]] of [[Costa Rica]] and [[Panama]] is appointed for life by a council of 13 elders. The latest election was in 2013 after the death of the previous cacique at around 100 years old.<ref>{{cite news|title=Elección de un cacique en tiempos modernos|url=http://www.diarioextra.com/Dnew/noticiaDetalle/40815|agency=Diario Extra|access-date=2019-03-28|archive-date=2019-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328072347/http://www.diarioextra.com/Dnew/noticiaDetalle/40815|url-status=live}}</ref> The current cacique is Costa Rican-born Pedro Palacios, son of the previous cacique Pedro Bejarano.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brus malis se viste de fiesta tras elección de nuevo líder indígena|url=http://actualidadcr.com/index.php/nacionales/739-brus-malis-se-viste-de-fiesta-tras-eleccion-de-nuevo-lider-indigena|agency=Actualidad CR|access-date=2019-03-28|archive-date=2016-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305145442/http://actualidadcr.com/index.php/nacionales/739-brus-malis-se-viste-de-fiesta-tras-eleccion-de-nuevo-lider-indigena|url-status=live}}</ref>
*While [[Samoa]] has been a [[parliamentary republic]] since independence in 1962, it was commonly mistaken for an elective monarchy for most of its existence. The [[Constitution of Samoa]] provides that the Head of State be elected for a five-year term by the ''[[Fono]]'', the Samoan parliament. Articles 18 and 45 of the Constitution provide, respectively, that any Member of Parliament may be elected head of state, and that any Samoan citizen may be elected to Parliament, although 47 out of the 49 seats in the ''Fono'' are reserved for ''[[Fa'amatai|matai]]'', or chiefs (the other two are reserved for non-Samoans).<ref name="paclii"/> However, most of the confusion stemmed from a special clause which named [[Malietoa Tanumafili II]] and [[Tupua Tamasese Mea{{okina}}ole]], who were two of the four paramount chiefs (''Tama-a-Aiga''), as joint [[President for life|presidents for life]], only reverting to the normal rule of electing the head of state for five years upon Malietoa's death in 2007. In addition, the Samoan head of state is referred to as "[[His Highness]]",<ref name="head-of-state-samoa"/> and an unwritten constitutional convention dictates that the President be elected from among the four paramount chiefs.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* [[Saudi Arabia]]'s throne, while hereditary, is not determined by a succession law but rather by consensus of the [[House of Saud]] as to who will be [[Succession to the Saudi Arabian throne|Crown Prince]] of [[Saudi Arabia]]; consensus may change depending on the Crown Prince's actions or influence, creating strong incentive for the Crown Prince to assert his power. Since 2007, the process of establishing the consensus of the House has been institutionalized in the form of the [[Allegiance Council]], comprising the most powerful senior princes, which has the power to disapprove the King's nominee for Crown Prince and substitute its own by simple majority vote.<ref name="allegiance">{{cite web|title=The Allegiance Institution Law|url=http://www.saudiembassy.net/archive/2006/transcript/Page4.aspx|publisher=Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC|date=20 October 2006|access-date=2 May 2011|archive-date=5 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105143201/http://www.saudiembassy.net/archive/2006/transcript/Page4.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> In effect, this makes the Saudi monarchy elective within the House of Saud, as the king's eldest son has not become Crown Prince since the death of King [[Ibn Saud|Abdulaziz]] in 1953. However, it was only in 2015, through the accession of [[Muhammad bin Nayef]], that a member of the house who was not a son of Abdulaziz attained the position (all prior Crown Princes had been chosen from among Abdulaziz's sons). Upon Prince Muhammad's removal, Prince [[Mohammed bin Salman|Muhammad bin Salman]] became the first Crown Prince since [[Saud of Saudi Arabia|Saud]] to hold the position during the reign of his father. {{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}
* The [[Māori King Movement]] in [[New Zealand]] chooses a Maori monarch, elected by the [[Kaumātua]] of various New Zealand [[iwi]] (tribes). However, every Maori monarch to date has been succeeded by their child, making the position hereditary in effect.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
* [[Wallis and Futuna]] (territories of the [[France|French Republic]]) have traditional heads of the three regions who are elected.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

==See also==
* [[Elective dictatorship]]
* [[President for life]]
* [[Tanistry]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=

<!--unused<ref name="Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940–1943">{{cite book|last=Holland|first=James|title=Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940–1943|url=https://archive.org/details/fortressmaltaisl00holl|url-access=registration|publisher=Miramax Books|year=2003|isbn=1-4013-5186-7}}</ref>-->

<ref name="head-of-state-samoa">{{Cite web |url=http://www.head-of-state-samoa.ws/pages/welcome.html |title=Official website of the head of state of Samoa |access-date=2012-02-19 |archive-date=2012-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220005757/http://www.head-of-state-samoa.ws/pages/welcome.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="paclii">[http://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/cotisows1960535/ Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708171858/http://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act/cotisows1960535/ |date=July 8, 2007 }}</ref>

<ref name="The Emperor: Qualifications">{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/hre.htm#Qualifications |title=The Emperor: Qualifications |work=The Holy Roman Empire |publisher=Heraldica |access-date=2008-02-20 |archive-date=2016-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208010816/http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/hre.htm#Qualifications |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, Volume 9">{{cite book|last=Hamilton|first=Alexander|title=The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, Volume 9|year=1962|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=0-231-08903-1}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* {{cite web
    |title=Official Denmark – The Royal House
    |url=http://www.um.dk/publikationer/um/english/denmark/kap1/1-1.asp
    |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227145937/http://www.um.dk/publikationer/um/english/denmark/kap1/1-1.asp
    |archive-date=2009-02-27
    |last=Worsøe
    |first=Hans H.
    |publisher=The Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    |access-date=2008-01-02
}}
* {{cite web
 |title       = The Noble Republic, 1572–1795
 |work        = Poland – The Historical Setting
 |url         = http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/longhist3.html
 |publisher   = Polish Academic Information Center, [[University at Buffalo]]
 |access-date  = 2008-01-02
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604230420/http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/longhist3.html
 |archive-date = 2011-06-04
}}
* {{cite book
 |title       = Constitutions, Elections and Legislatures of Poland, 1493–1993
 |last        = Jędruch
 |first       = Jacek
 |year        = 1998
 |publisher   = EJJ Books
 |isbn        = 0-7818-0637-2
 |url         = http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/JJ.html
 |access-date  = 2008-01-02
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060505194332/http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/JJ.html
 |archive-date = 2006-05-05
}}
* {{cite news
    |title=Norway's elective monarchy
    |work=The New York Times
    |date=November 16, 1905
    |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9802EFDD143DE733A25755C1A9679D946497D6CF#
    |access-date=2008-01-03
}}

{{Monarchies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elective Monarchy}}
[[Category:Elective monarchy| ]]
[[Category:Monarchy]]
[[Category:Political systems]]