Vice President Job Description

The candidate who stand for the position of vice president of a country is sometimes viewed as a mere political tool so as to keep opposition within a political party at bay. However, this is not always the case, as the vice president has some duties and powers. Usually the choice of a candidate for the position of vice president is such that it balances the shortcoming of the president. In some countries like America, the person is nominated by the presidential candidate while in other countries, the vice president is elected by the members of the national legislative assembly. Even though the official duties of the vice president are quite limited, the unofficial duties are such that he is kept busy and provides a helping hand to the president. The following paragraphs would give you an idea of the vice president job description, besides his functions.

Job Description of a Vice President

The constitution of every country spells out the powers and duties bestowed on the vice president. Usually there are two major duties which a vice president performs - first in line of succession and the chairperson of the upper house of the national legislative assembly which in case of United States of America is the Senate.

First in the line of succession means in case the incumbent president is not able to perform his or her duties, the vice president takes over as president. Moreover, in the event of death or resignation of the president, the vice president is declared as the president. As such, he or she is the first person who is entitled to assume the responsibilities of the presidency in the absence of the president. So when Richard Nixon resigned as the president of the United States, Gerald Ford took over as the president.

The second major duty of the vice president of any country is presiding as the chairperson of the sittings of the upper house of the national legislative assembly. As per the constitutions of most countries (which have created the position of vice president), the vice president does not take part in the debate which goes on in the assembly. The person only has the power to cast a vote only in case of a tie. The vice president is also responsible for reading out the results which the Electoral College gives, thereby announcing the winner in a presidential election.

Other than the above mentioned constitutional duties, the other functions of the vice president depends on the kind of role which the president wants to give to the vice president. In a presidential form of government where the powers of the president is supreme, the vice president may be allowed to act an advocate of a particular policy of the government such as foreign policy or matters related to health care. He or she may work in the background and advice the president on policy matters. The vice president is also given the responsibility of attending official functions where the president does not think presidential attendance is necessary. Everything varies with the political strength of the person holding the office of the vice president. On the other hand, in a parliamentary form of government, where the president's power is itself limited, the vice president only acts as the chairperson of the upper house.

Vice President Salary

The salary of the vice president of a country is somewhat lower to that of the president. In the United States of America, the salary of the vice president is equal to the Chief Justice of the country and the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives which is US $227,300 per month as per the figures of 2009. However, in other countries like India the salary of the vice president is more than that of the Chief Justice of the country as he comes second in line as per protocol among government officials. Moreover, there are additional benefits which the vice president gets other than the salary.

Thus, the job description of a vice president has shown you exactly what the vice president does. But then, if you want to be the vice president of your country and looks up on it as a great career opportunity, you need to start a political career quite early or you need to create a niche in a particular filed so that the party or person in office recognizes your contribution and acknowledges it.