National public office is elected by the people. This is a remarkable symbol of Athenian democracy. There is no king in Athens, and there is no special bureaucratic class like an authoritarian country. Officials at all levels of the country, regardless of their positions, are not appointed by the monarch, but are directly and democratically elected from the citizens. The national public services in Athens mainly include the following categories:
Consuls: * * There are nine, forming a consular committee. According to the Constitution of Athens, nine consuls respectively exercised the functions of commanding troops, presiding over ceremonies, handling lawsuits and legislation, and communicating between countries.
General: * * There are ten, which form the "Committee of Ten Generals". The general is the highest military post in the country, responsible for leading troops to fight and handling specific military affairs. After the Persian War, the power of the "Ten Generals Committee" was strengthened and became the actual authority of the country.
Members: * * 500 members form a "500-member meeting". The "500-member conference" is the permanent administrative body of the country, that is, the Athens government. Its function is to preside over the citizens' meeting, be responsible for implementing the resolutions of the citizens' meeting, manage the national finance, organize national public activities and handle foreign affairs.
Jurors: * * There are 6000 jurors. Forming a "jury court" and "jury court" is the highest judicial and supervisory institution in the country. Its functions are to hear major litigation cases, participate in national legislation, supervise officials at all levels, and review the resolutions of citizens' congresses.
In addition, there are financial personnel and oil well supervisors who perform professional and technical duties.
All the above-mentioned officials who hold state posts are democratically elected from citizens, and public office is elected by the people. The way of popular election is stipulated by Athens law, and there are two specific ways. One is to raise your hand and throw stones (throw pebbles counted in a designated pot); One is drawing lots. Raise your hand to throw a stone, and make a ruling according to the principle of "the minority is subordinate to the majority" for the election of professional and technical officials. Such as the election of generals, financial officials and oil well supervisors. This kind of election is generally held in public at a citizen's meeting, and the candidate is elected by a majority vote of those present who raise their hands or throw stones. The general is an important position that requires special military capabilities. After the ten generals are elected by the General Assembly, their specific duties will be decided by the majority of the re-voting, and a chief general will be appointed to lead the "Ten Generals Committee". This method of drawing lots follows the principle of equal opportunities for all, and aims to make it possible for all citizens in Athens to directly participate in state management. Draw lots to elect consuls, parliamentarians and jurors. Members and jurors are selected by drawing lots from constituencies. Athens is divided into ten constituencies. In each election, each constituency elects 50 members and 600 jurors according to the allocated quota. All citizens who are eligible to participate in the lucky draw. Winning the lottery is regarded as being elected. Consul is the highest public office in the country. In the heyday of democracy in Athens, the restrictions of property class and family background were abolished and opened to all citizens. Citizens running for consul must first obtain the qualifications of candidates, and finally draw lots from many candidates to decide. Winning the lottery is regarded as being elected.
Although the lottery method is equal in principle, it is accidental to be elected by lottery. In order to prevent people who are not suitable for public office from being elected, the law stipulates that all citizens who participate in the lottery must undergo qualification examination in advance. Check whether they have civil rights, good conduct, good health, served in military service, defaulted on national debt and so on. Only those who pass the exam can take part in the lucky draw. The examination of consular candidates is particularly strict. Every candidate must accept critical questions from any citizen. After being elected consul by lot, he must also take an oath and make a promise to all citizens. Be loyal to your duties and don't accept bribes. Otherwise, you must sacrifice a portrait made of gold as punishment. At the end of his term of office, all public actions, records and documents of the consul were examined by a special committee composed of citizens. If you make a serious mistake, you will be severely punished or even executed.
The democratically elected system in Athens not only stipulated the way of democratic election of state officials, but also limited the term of office of officials. The term of office of a consul, parliamentarian, juror, general, etc. Limited to one year, new people must be elected at the expiration of the period. If other citizens have not held public office, those who have held such public office may not run for election continuously. Therefore, during the democratic political period in Athens, few people or people held public office for a long time. There is neither a hereditary system in which the father dies and the son succeeds, nor a lifelong system in which officials are employed.
The elected system in Athens ensured that Athenian citizens "took turns to manage state affairs" under the principle of equality. Generally speaking, there are only 30,000 to 40,000 fully qualified citizens in Athens, and public office is re-elected once a year, so that all citizens have the opportunity to hold public office in the country. According to ancient Greek literature, every citizen can hold public office in one or several countries in his life. Members of parliament elect 500 people every year, and every citizen will have a chance in his life; Jurors choose 6000 people every year, with a large number and a short period, and every citizen has to change once every three or four years. Although only nine consuls are elected each year, it is possible to hold this position as long as there is an opportunity. This "rule by turns" embodies that citizens are in charge of state power, and also embodies the simple and democratic spirit of Athens' state management system.
The principle of equality in Athens' elected system is also reflected in the performance of public officials' duties. The "500-person meeting" is very typical in the way of exercising government functions. How did the 500 members elected by lottery participate in handling state affairs? According to the law, 500 members of parliament are divided into 10 "fifty-member groups" with 50 members, and each "fifty-member group" takes turns to govern. The order of adjudication is decided by drawing lots, and the adjudication time is limited to about 36 days. Within the ruling "fifty-member group", according to the principle of equality, one person is determined to take turns as chairman by drawing lots every morning. The chairman presides over the work of the "fifty-member group" and is also responsible for keeping the national seal and the key to the national treasury. If there is a meeting of "500 people" or a citizens' assembly, he will be the ex officio chairman of the assembly, that is, the head of the Athens government. It's just that the term of office of this head of government is short, only one day and one night. In other words, in a year, the highest position of the Athens government was held by more than 300 citizens in turn by drawing lots. The "jury court" also follows the principle of equality when exercising judicial power. According to the description of comedian aristophanes, 6,000 jurors are ordinary citizens. Among them are farmers, craftsmen, businessmen, sailors and old people, and quite a few of them are poor. When trying a case, the 6,000 jurors who make up the "jury court" are divided into ten juries, each with 1500 jurors. The remaining 65,438+0,000 people are mobile and used in emergencies. The trial of the case is conducted independently by the jury, and each jury arranges the case in turn according to the order, and does not know what kind of case to accept in advance. The order of handling cases and the cases accepted shall be decided by drawing lots before the court session. The purpose of this is to "prevent fraud" and ensure that the trial can be conducted fairly under the principle of equality.
The public office election system in Athens is an important part of Athenian democracy. This system has been implemented in Athens for two or three hundred years, starting with democratic politics. Later, with the decline of democracy in Athens, although it was abolished, the principle of "the minority is subordinate to the majority" and the method of voting by show of hands and drawing lots were inherited by future generations. Later democratic political life not only followed this principle, but also made democratic decisions by raising hands, voting and drawing lots when dealing with various specific affairs. This is the unique contribution of the ancient Greeks to human civilization.