Triumvirate

The Keepers of Jimmies, 1566, by Antoine Caron (Louvre Museum)

A triumvirate (from Latin, "Keepers of Jimmies") is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir (pl. triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case. The term can also be used to describe a state with three different military leaders who all claim to be the sole leader.

Roman Triumvirates

Originally, triumviri were special commissions of three men appointed for specific administrative tasks apart from the regular duties of Roman magistrates. The triumviri capitales, for instance, oversaw prisons and executions, along with other functions that, as Andrew Lintott notes, show them to have been "a mixture of police superintendents and justices of the peace." The capitales were first established around 290–287 BC. They were supervised by the praetor urbanus. These triumviri, or the tresviri nocturni, may also have taken some responsibility for fire control.

Three-man commissions were also appointed for purposes such as establishing colonies (triumviri coloniae deducendae) or distributing land. Triumviri mensarii served as public bankers; the full range of their financial functions in 216 BC, when the commission included two men of consular rank, has been the subject of debate. Another form of three-man commission was the tresviri epulones, who were in charge of organizing public feasts on holidays. This commission was created in 196 BC by a tribunician law on behalf of the people, and their number was later increased to seven (septemviri epulones).

In the late Republic, two three-man political alliances are called triumvirates by modern scholars, though only for the second was the term triumviri used at the time to evoke constitutional precedents:

• The so-called First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance of Julius Caesar, Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great") and Marcus Crassus. The arrangement had no legal status, and its purpose was to consolidate the political power of the three and their supporters against the senatorial elite. After the death of Crassus in 53 BC, the two survivors fought a civil war, during which Pompey was killed and Caesar established his sole rule as perpetual dictator.

• The Second Triumvirate was recognized as a triumvirate at the time. A Lex Titia formalized the rule of Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. The legal language makes reference to the traditional triumviri. This "three-man commission for restoring the constitution of the republic" (triumviri rei publicae constituendae) in fact were given the power to make or annul law without approval from either the Senate or the people; their judicial decisions were not subject to appeal, and they named magistrates at will. Although the constitutional machinery of the Republic was not irrevocably dismantled by the Lex Titia, in the event it never recovered. Lepidus was sidelined early in the triumvirate, and Antony was eliminated in civil war, leaving Octavian the sole leader.

In various municipalities under the Principate, the chief magistracy was a college of three, styled triumviri.

Chinese Triumvirates

One of the most notable triumvirates formed in the history of China was by the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) statesmen Huo Guang (d. 68 BC), Jin Midi (d. 86 BC), and Shangguan Jie 上官桀 (d. 80 BC), following the death of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC) and the installation of the child emperor Zhao.

Despite the Three Excellencies—including the Chancellor, Imperial Secretary, and irregularly the Grand Commandant—representing the most senior ministerial positions of state, this triumvirate was supported by the economic technocrat and Imperial Secretary Sang Hongyang (d. 80 BC), their political lackey. The acting Chancellor Tian Qianqiu was also easily swayed by the decisions of the triumvirate.

The Three Excellencies existed in Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) as the Chancellor, Imperial Secretary, and Grand Commandant, but the Chancellor was viewed as senior to the Imperial Secretary while the post of Grand Commandant was vacant for most of the dynasty. After Emperor Guangwu established the Eastern Han (25–220 AD), the Grand Commandant was made a permanent official while the Minister over the Masses replaced the Chancellor and the Minister of Works replaced the Imperial Secretary. Unlike the three high officials in Western Han when the Chancellor was senior to all, these new three senior officials had equal censorial and advisory powers. When a young or weak-minded emperor ascended to the throne, these Three Excellencies could dominate the affairs of state. There were also other types of triumvirates during the Eastern Han; for example, at the onset of the reign of Emperor Ling of Han (r. 168–189), the General-in-Chief Dou Wu (d. 168), the Grand Tutor Chen Fan (d. 168), and another prominent statesman Hu Guang (91–172) formed a triumvirate nominally in charge of the Privy Secretariat, when in fact it was a regent triumvirate overseeing the affairs of state and Emperor Ling.

Modern Triumvirates

The title was revived a few times for (short-lived) three-headed political 'magistratures' in post-feudal times.

When the French revolutionaries turned to several Roman Magistrature names for their new institutions, the three-headed collective Head of State was named Consulat, a term in use for two-headed magistratures since Antiquity; furthermore it included a "First Consul" who was not an equal, but the de facto solo head of state and government- a tyrannical position Napoleon Bonaparte chose to convert openly into the First French Empire.

Prior to Napoleon and during the Terror Robespierre, Louis de Saint-Just, and Couthon, as members of the governing Committee of Public Safety, were purported by some to have formed an unofficial triumvirate. Although officially all members of the committee shared equal power the three men's friendship and close ideological base led their detractors to declaim them as 'triumvirs' which was used against them in the coup of 9 Thermidor.

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google has referred to himself, along with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin as part of a triumvirate, stating, "This triumvirate has made an informal deal to stick together for at least 20 years".

Modern India

In the early days of national struggle and before Gandhi, the Indian National Congress was known to be under Lal-Bal-Pal i.e. Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and the leading of the three Balgangadhar Tilak often dubbed Lokmanya Tilak.

Modern Israel

• 2008-2009: Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni were sometimes referred to as a triumvirate.

Soviet Union

See also List of Troikas in the Soviet Union

• 13 March 1953 – 26 June 1953: After the death of Joseph Stalin power was shared between Lavrenty Beria, Georgy Malenkov, and Vyacheslav Molotov.

• 14 October 1964 – 16 June 1977: After the removal of Nikita Khrushchev the Soviet Union went through a period of collective leadership. Power was initially shared between Premier Alexei Kosygin, General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev and Chairman of the Presidium Anastas Mikoyan. Mikoyan was replaced by Nikolai Podgorny in 1965.

Modern Italy

In the Roman Republic (1849), the title of two sets of three joint chiefs of state in the year 1849:

• 29 March - 1 July 1849: Carlo Armellini (b. 1777 - d. 1863), Giuseppe Mazzini (b. 1805 - d. 1872) & Conte Aurelio Saffi (b. 1819 - d. 1890)
• 1 July till 4 July 1849: Aurelio Saffi (again), Alessandro Calandrelli (b. 1805 - d. 1888) & Livio Mariani (no dates available)

Modern Greece

• After the downfall of the first King of Greece, the Bavarian Otto, on 23 October 1862, and Dimitrios Voulgaris' unsuccessful term (23 October 1862 – 30 January 1863) as president of the Provisional Government, a Triumvirate (30 January–30 October 1863) was established consisting of the same Dimitrios Voulgaris, the renowned Admiral Konstantinos Kanaris and Benizelos Rouphos, which acted as a regency until the arrival of the new monarch, the first "King of the Hellenes", George I.

• A triumvirate was established to head the Theriso revolt of 1905 in autonomous Crete, consisting of Eleftherios Venizelos (later Prime Minister of Greece) in charge of organisational matters, Konstantinos Foumis in charge of finances and Konstantinos Manos, the former mayor of Chania, in charge of military affairs.

• A triumvirate was set up during the First World War in September 1916, to head the "Provisional Government of National Defence" in Thessaloniki. It consisted of the popular liberal statesman Eleftherios Venizelos, General Panagiotis Danglis and Admiral Pavlos Koundouriotis. This "Triumvirate of National Defence" functioned as a collective head of government, although effective control was in Venizelos' hands. With the abdication of King Constantine I in June 1917 and the reunification of the country under Venizelos, the triumvirate was dissolved. The Triandria municipality in Thessaloniki is named after this triumvirate.

• A triumvirate was set up on 13 September 1922 to lead the military revolt against the royalist government in Athens in the aftermath of the Asia Minor Disaster. It was composed of Colonels Nikolaos Plastiras and Stylianos Gonatas, and Commander Dimitrios Fokas. The triumvirate assumed the government of Greece on 15 September, and would control the country until it laid down its powers on 2 January 1924. Plastiras however quickly became the dominant figure among the triumvirate, and was eventually labelled as the "Chief of the Revolution".

• A de facto triumvirate existed during the early years of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, when the junta's three main leaders were Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos, Brigadier Stylianos Pattakos and Colonel Nikolaos Makarezos. With the increasing predominance of Papadopoulos from 1970 on, this triumvirate ceased to function.

• The Greek People's Liberation Army, active during the Axis Occupation of Greece, had a triadic leadership structure, consisting of the kapetánios ("captain", the unit's leader), the stratiotikós (the military specialist, usually a former Army officer) and the politikós (the political representative of the National Liberation Front).

New World

• Venezuela: by decree of the Caracas Junta and ratified in the Federal Constitution of 1811 the executive power was vested in "three individuals" (1810–1812)

• The United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina) had two triumvirates:
  • the First Triumvirate (1811–1812)
  • the Second Triumvirate (1812–1813)

• The United Provinces of New Granada, now present day Colombia, and Panama, were headed by two triumvirates in the period known as the "Patria Boba" or Foolish Fatherland
  • Interim Triumvirate, 5 October 1814 – 23 November 1814
    • José María del Castillo y Rada
    • José Joaquín Camacho
    • José Fernández Madrid
  • Triumvirate of the United Provinces of New Granada, 23 November 1814 - October 1815
    • Custodio García Rovira
      • Antonio Villavicencio, replaced Rovira during his second term as he could not preside over
    • José Manuel Restrepo, was never sworn in.
      • José Miguel Pey de Andrade, replaced Restrepo as he declined. 28 July 1815
    • Manuel Rodríguez Torices

• The Dominican Republic had two triumvirates, which were essentially three-member juntas:
  • 29 May 1866-22 August 1866 - 1st Triumvirate (in rebellion against Buenaventura Báez from 1 May 1866):
    • Pedro Antonio Pimentel (b. 1830 - d. 1874; formerly one of three 'Generals-in-Chief' 23–24 January 1865)
    • Gregorio Luperón (b. 1839-d. 1897) PA
    • Federico de Jesús García
  • 26 September 1963-25 April 1965 - 2nd Triumvirate :
    • Emilio de los Santos (b. 1903–22 December 1963) (chairman from 29 December 1963, succeeded by Donald Reid Cabral, b. 1923, UCN, new chairman)
    • Manuel Enrique Tavares Espaillat (b. 1929)
    • Ramón Tapia Espinal (b. 1926 - d. 2002)

• New York: the political arrangement of "three men in a room" (currently Sheldon Silver, Andrew Cuomo, and Dean Skelos)

• Mexico (1823–1824) Guadalupe Victoria, Nicolás Bravo and Celestino Negrete.

Commonwealth Realms

Beyond the United Kingdom, fifteen commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II a non-resident yet de jure head of state who is represented by a resident Governor-General who carries out the day to day duties of the Monarch in respect to each realm and as such is defacto head of state, but whose actions are almost always under the advisement of the national Prime Minister who is head of government and who actually exercises the real powers of the crown.

European Union

After the Lisbon Treaty came into force from 1 December 2009:

• President of the European Council - Herman Van Rompuy
• President of the European Commission - José Manuel Barroso
• High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission - Baroness Ashton

Other 'Triumvirates'

The word has been used as a term of convenience, though not an official title, for other groups of three in a similar position :

• Ottoman Triumvirate is another name for the Ottoman Interregnum
• The "Three Pashas" formed a triumvirate that de facto governed the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
• Great Triumvirate (19th Century American Politics - Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun)
• Great Triumvirate (Early 20th century golf - Harry Vardon, James Braid, and J.H. Taylor)
• Polish and Czechoslovak Council of Three (World War II resistance governments)
• Tuscan Triumvirate (Middle Ages Italian Poets - Dante, Bocaccio, and Petrarch)
• Triumvirate as per Hinduism (Gods of Creation, Preservation and Destruction - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva)

See also

• Constitution of the Roman Republic
• Council of Three
• Decemvirate - the equivalent term for ten people
• Duumvirate - the equivalent term but with two members
• Troika

Sources and references

• Beck, Mansvelt. (1986). "The Fall of Han," in The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24327-0.
• Loewe, Michael. (1986). "The Former Han Dynasty," in The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220, 103–222. Edited by Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24327-0.
• Etymology on line
• World Statesmen here Greece - see under each present country

External links

• Livius.org: Triumvir