The
Roman magistrates were elected officials in
Ancient Rome. During the
period of the
Roman Kingdom, the
King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate. His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief
priest,
lawgiver,
judge, and the sole commander of the
army. When the king died, his power reverted to the
Roman Senate, which then chose an
Interrex to facilitate the election of a new king. During the transition from
monarchy to republic, the constitutional balance of power shifted from the executive (the
Roman king) to the Roman Senate. When the
Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC, the powers that had been held by the king were transferred to the
Roman consuls, of which two were to be elected each year. Magistrates of the republic were elected by the
people of Rome, and were each vested with a degree of power, called "major powers" (
maior potestas).
Dictators had more "major powers" than any other magistrate, and after the Dictator was the
censor, and then the
consul, and then the
praetor, and then the
curule aedile, and then the
quaestor. Any magistrate could obstruct ("
veto") an action that was being taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree of magisterial powers. By definition,
plebeian tribunes and
plebeian aediles were technically not magistrates since they were elected only by the
plebeians, and as such, they were independent of all other powerful magistrates.