Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before officially assuming an office. Most of the time an oath of office is taken before assuming an office for the state or for some religion. It is usually administered at an inauguration, coronation, enthronement, or other ceremony of taking up office.
Oaths of office are usually a statement of loyalty to a constitution or other legal text, as well as an oath to the state or religion the office holder will be serving. It is often considered treason or a high crime to betray a sworn oath of office.
see also: oath of allegiance, oath of enlistment
Germany
The oath of office of the President, Chancellor, and the members of the federal government of Germany is as follows:
- I swear (or affirm) that I will dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the German people, promote their welfare, protect them from harm, uphold and defend the Basic Law and the laws of the Federation, perform my duties conscientiously, and do justice to all. So help me God.
The religious affirmation may be omitted. The first chancellor to do this was Gerhard Schröder in 1998.
Each of the 16 Länder (states) has its own oath of office for the Governors and Ministers, also for the state employees.
The oath for soldiers in Germany reads as follows:
- I swear (conscripts: vow) to serve loyally the Federal Republic of Germany and to defend bravely the justice and freedom of the German people. So help me God (the religious affirmation is not added for conscripts since the vow is not an actual oath).
The oath for federal employees:
- I swear to protect the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany and all valid laws within the Federal Republic and to fulfill my duties of the office faithfully, so help me God.
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Ghana
The oath of office of the President of Ghana is as follows:
- I, (name), having been elected to the high office of President of the Republic of Ghana do in the name of the Almighty God swear (or do solemnly affirm) that I will be faithful and true to the Republic of Ghana; that I will at all times preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana; and that I dedicate myself to the service and well-being of the people of the Republic of Ghana and to do right to all manner of persons.
- I further solemnly swear (or solemnly affirm) that should I at any time break this oath of office I shall submit myself to the laws of the Republic of Ghana and suffer the penalty for it.
For members of the Parliament of Ghana, the oath is:
- I, (name), having been elected a member of Parliament do in the name of the Almighty God swear (or do solemnly affirm) that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic of Ghana as by law established; that I will uphold, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana; and that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge the duties of a member of Parliament.
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Iran
The oath of office for the President of Iran is as follows:
- I, as the President, upon the Holy Koran and in the presence of the Iranian Nation, do hereby swear in the name of Almighty God to safeguard the official Faith, the System of the Islamic Republic and the Constitution of the country; to use all my talents and abilities in the discharge of responsibilities undertaken by me; to devote myself to the service of the people, glory of the country, promotion of religion and morality, support of right and propagation of justice; to refrain from being autocratic; to protect the freedom and dignity of individuals and the rights of the Nation recognized by the Constitution; to spare no efforts in safeguarding the frontiers and the political, economic and cultural freedoms of the country; to guard the power entrusted to me by the Nation as a sacred trust like an honest and faithful trustee, by seeking help from God and following the example of the Prophet of Islam and the sacred Imams, Peace be upon them, and to entrust it to the one elected by the Nation after me.
For members of the Parliament of Iran, the oath is:
- In the presence of the Holy Koran I swear to God Almighty and undertake upon my human dignity to protect the sanctity of Islam and safeguard the achievements of the Islamic Revolution of Iranian people and the essentials of the Islamic Republic, to uphold the trust placed in us by the Nation as a just trustee, to observe piety and honesty in the discharge of my functions as a representative of the people, to remain always faithful and true to the independence and dignity of the country, protection of rights of the Nation and service to people, to defend the Constitution, and to uphold the independence of the country and the freedom and interests of the people in words, writings and comments.
According to the Iranian Constitution, MPs belonging to religious minorities may swear by the holy books of their respective faiths.
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Philippines
The oath of office of the President of the Philippines is as follows:
- I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God. (The last sentence is to be omitted if making an affirmation.)
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Russia
The oath of office of the President of Russia is as follows:
- In performing my duties as the President of the Russian Federation, I pledge to respect and protect the rights and liberties of every citizen; to observe and protect the Constitution of the Russian Federation; to protect the sovereignty and independence, security and integrity of the state and to serve the people faithfully.
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Singapore
The oath of office of the President of Singapore is as follows:
- I, (name), having been elected President of the Republic of Singapore, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully discharge my duties as such to the best of my ability without fear or favor, affection or ill-will, and without regard to any previous affiliation with any political party, and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic, and that I will preserve, protect, and defend its Constitution.
For members of the Parliament of Singapore, it is:
- I, (name), having been elected as a Member of the Parliament of Singapore, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully discharge my duties as such to the best of my ability, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic of Singapore, and that I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore.
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South Africa
The oath of office of the President of South Africa is as follows:
- In the presence of those assembled here and in full realisation of the high calling I assume as President in the service of the Republic of South Africa I, (name), do hereby swear (or solemnly affirm) to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa, and do solemnly and sincerely promise at all times to promote that which will advance and to oppose all that may harm the Republic; to obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other Law of the Republic; to discharge my duties with all my strength and talents to the best of my knowledge and ability and true to the dictates of my conscience; to do justice to all; and to devote myself to the well-being of the Republic and all its people. (So help me God)
For members of the Parliament of South Africa, the oath is:
- I, (name), do hereby swear (or solemnly affirm) to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa and solemnly promise to perform my functions as a member of the National Assembly/National Council of Provinces to the best of my ability. (So help me God)
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United States
In the United States, the oath of office for the President of the United States is specified in the U.S. Constitution (Article II, Section 1):
- I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
The oath may be sworn or affirmed. Although not explicitly present in the text of the Constitution, it has been conventional for Presidents to add "so help me God" at the end of the oath, as that is the traditional way of taking any oath. George Washington did this at his inauguration in 1789.
The Constitution specifies in Article VI, clause 3:
- "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
For other officials, including members of Congress, it specifies they "shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support this constitution." At the start of each new U.S. Congress, in January of every odd-numbered year, those newly elected or re-elected Congressmen - the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate - must recite an oath:
- I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
This oath is also taken by the Vice President, members of the Cabinet, and all other civil and military officers and federal employees other than the President. While the oath-taking dates back to the First Congress in 1789, the current oath is a product of the 1860s, drafted by Civil War-era members of Congress intent on ensnaring traitors.
In 1789, the First United States Congress had reworked the constitutional requirement into a simple fourteen-word oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States." It also passed the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established an additional oath taken by Supreme Court justices and district court judges:
- I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me, according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Constitution, and laws of the United States. So help me God.
The outbreak of the Civil War quickly transformed the routine act of oath-taking into one of enormous significance. In April of 1861, a time of uncertain and shifting loyalties, President Abraham Lincoln ordered all federal civilian employees within the executive branch to take an expanded oath. When Congress convened for a brief emergency session in July, members echoed the president's action by enacting legislation requiring employees to take the expanded oath in support of the Union. This oath is the earliest direct predecessor of the modern version of the oath.
When Congress returned for its regular session in December 1861, members who believed that the Union had as much to fear from northern traitors as southern soldiers again revised the oath, adding a new first section known as the "Ironclad Test Oath." The war-inspired Test Oath, signed into law on July 2, 1862, required "every person elected or appointed to any office ... under the Government of the United States ... excepting the President of the United States" to swear or affirm that they had never previously engaged in criminal or disloyal conduct. Those government employees who failed to take the 1862 Test Oath would not receive a salary; those who swore falsely would be prosecuted for perjury and forever denied federal employment.
The 1862 oath's second section incorporated a different rendering of the hastily drafted 1861 oath. Although Congress did not extend coverage of the Ironclad Test Oath to its own members, many took it voluntarily. Angered by those who refused this symbolic act during a wartime crisis, and determined to prevent the eventual return of prewar southern leaders to positions of power in the national government, congressional hard-liners eventually succeeded by 1864 in making the Test Oath mandatory for all members.
The Senate then revised its rules to require that members not only take the Test Oath orally, but also that they "subscribe" to it by signing a printed copy. This condition reflected a wartime practice in which military and civilian authorities required anyone wishing to do business with the federal government to sign a copy of the Test Oath. The current practice of newly sworn senators signing individual pages in an oath book dates from this period.
As tensions cooled during the decade following the Civil War, Congress enacted private legislation permitting particular former Confederates to take only the second section of the 1862 oath. An 1868 public law prescribed this alternative oath for "any person who has participated in the late rebellion, and from whom all legal disabilities arising therefrom have been removed by act of Congress." Northerners immediately pointed to the new law's unfair double standard that required loyal Unionists to take the Test Oath's harsh first section while permitting ex-Confederates to ignore it. In 1884, a new generation of lawmakers quietly repealed the first section of the Test Oath, leaving intact the current affirmation of constitutional allegiance.
See also
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