Washington consented to the demands of James Madison and the United States House of Representatives that the title be altered to "Mr. Adams' efforts were met with widespread derision and perplexion Thomas Jefferson called them "the most superlatively ridiculous thing I ever heard of", while Benjamin Franklin considered it "absolutely mad". On further consideration, Adams deemed even Highness insufficient and instead proposed that the executive, both the president and the vice president (i.e., himself), be styled Majesty to prevent the "great danger" of an executive with insufficient dignity. Adams and Richard Henry Lee both feared that cabals of powerful senators would unduly influence a weak executive, and saw an exalted title as a way of strengthening the presidency. the President of Pennsylvania), at that time often enjoyed the style of Excellency Adams said the president "would be leveled with colonial governors or with functionaries from German princedoms" if he were to use the style of Excellency. Others favored the variant of Electoral Highness or the lesser Excellency, the latter of which was vociferously opposed by Adams, who contended that it was far beneath the presidential dignity, as the executives of the states, some of which were also titled "President" (e.g. Adams and Lee were among the most outspoken proponents of an exalted presidential title. There Adams agitated for the adoption of the style of Highness (as well as the title of Protector of Their Liberties) for the President. Vice President John Adams, in his role as President of the United States Senate, organized a congressional committee. Lee's motion asked congress to consider "what titles it will be proper to annex to the offices of President and Vice President of the United States – if any other than those given in the Constitution". The question of a presidential title was being debated in Congress at the time, however, having become official legislative business with Richard Henry Lee's motion of April 23, 1789. When George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States on April 30, 1789, the administering of the oath of office ended with the proclamation: "Long live George Washington, President of the United States." No title other than the name of the office of the executive was officially used at the inauguration. The 1787 Constitution of the United States did not specify the manner of address for the president. George Washington, the first President of the United States The speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is addressed as président de la Chambre des communes in French and as Mr. It also has a long history of usage as the title of the presiding officers of legislative and judicial bodies. It is the conventional translation of non- English titles such as Monsieur le Président for the president of the French Republic. President" has subsequently been used by governments to refer to their heads of state. President" and Madam President may apply to a person holding the title of president or presiding over certain other governmental bodies. In authoritarian regimes, a dictator or leader of a one-party state may also be called a president. Botswana and South Africa), and semi-presidential republics, the role of the president is more prominent, encompassing also (in most cases) the functions of the head of government. In presidential, selected parliamentary (e.g. In parliamentary republics, they are usually, but not always, limited to those of the head of state and are thus largely ceremonial. The functions exercised by a president vary according to the form of government. President is a common title for the head of state in most republics.