Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy
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Sons of Anarchy

The President is the elected leader of a motorcycle club which can be either a charter president or the club president as a whole depending on the membership size.

Profile[]

There are several club Presidents shown in the series from different clubs, which have different degrees of power and authority that depend largely on the club size and/or internal club structures. Although Presidents are considered the highest power and leader of any club or charter, they cannot make decisions unilaterally and in most cases they had to be voted and agreed upon by the group, with the President also voting himself and officializing the results based on the voting, which is in many clubs followed with a gavel swing.

For the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club the President is always seated at the head of the table during club meetings, with the Vice President sitting to his left and the Sergeant-at-Arms sitting to his right. On the FX original Sons of Anarchy, the President of SAMCRO, the Mother Chapter, is also the National President, and holds a degree of authority over the other chapters in the United States. SAMCRO's interaction with SAMBEL during the series' third season showed that the President of SAMCRO also has some authority over chapters in other countries.

The power of the SAMCRO President over other charters, however, seems to have limits, when then President Clay Morrow learned of drug trafficking by SAMTAZ as a source of income, he demanded that the operations stopped. SAMTAZ President Armando refused, and ultimately the issue had to be resolved through internal voting, which Clay could not override.

When later President Jax Teller murdered fellow President Jury White, the Presidents of several charters held a meeting along with Jax in order to discuss the facts and punitive action for the SAMCRO President. The meeting's resolution, however, was non binding and more recommendatory in nature and had to be ratified by the SAMCRO charter through internal voting. Jax had nonetheless agreed with the sanctions and recommended his charter to follow suit. It is also implied that the decreed punishment while not obligatory is sufficiently damning on a reputation level that it cannot be easily ignored.

For the Mayans Motorcycle Club the dynamics seem to be largely similar although with some notable differences. Club founder Marcus Alvarez held the rank of "El Padrino" being the highest authority of the entire club. He is, however, never seen downright overriding the decisions of other charter President, so it is not fully known whether he held such power, although greatly implied to be the case based on his reputation. Nonetheless, he held enough sway and often travelled to other charters for oversight and counselling purposes, giving him a rather firm grip over the club's matters on a national level. In some demonstrations of power, Alvarez at some point threatened to call another charter as back up, implying that any request for additional muscle made by him had to be followed. He also held power over a protegee club like Calaveras Motorcycle Club, being able to strip its then President of its power and then name a new one, although considering the Calaveras status at the time, it can be argued that such dynamics were not exclusively of the Mayans only.

Following Alvarez's departure from the club, he divided his power evenly on three new authorities the Reyes de los Mayas or simply known as the Kings. Said kinds being Obispo Losa, Oscar Ramos, Canche. The three Kings are thus considered the highest authorities of the entire Mayans club and could make decisions for the entire club. The three King system placed a new set of balances and checks of power, and in case of disputes between the Kings, they had to be negotiated to the end. A King could not be overriden in any capacity, even if the other two Kings demanded something entirely else, any disagreeing King reserved the right to follow through or not and could not be forced otherwise. However, any such decision by a King had to be ratified by the respective charter in question. Because of the rank's importance, sidestepping any King was obviously considered a great offence by them, which could spark fatal retaliation if deemed necessary. In situations of turmoil between the Kings, the "lesser" charters had the freedom to choose with whom to align with if any.

Most other Club Presidents seen, preside over largely small clubs in general, therefore granting them largely unilateral power over their organizations. It is never shown how these clubs hold their decision, although it is hinted that they too, do to some extent held votes before finalizing any decision, although this may vary from club to club.

List of known Presidents[]

SAMCRO[]

  • John Teller - One of the First 9, founder and first President of SAMCRO. Murdered and replaced by Clay Morrow.
  • Clay Morrow - One of the First 9, second President of SAMCRO after the murder of John Teller. Excommunicated in the penultimate episode of season 5 and killed by Jax Teller in season 6.
  • Jax Teller - Son of John Teller, named President after Clay Morrow's excommunication.
  • Bobby Munson - Named interim President at the end of season 6 in preparation for Jax going back to prison.
  • Chibs Telford - Was made President right before Jax's death in Papa's Goods.

SAMBEL[]

SAMDINO[]

  • Les Packer - Former President. Became inactive from the club in 2021 due to going through chemotherapy for cancer. Is mentioned to have died in 2023.
  • Thomas "Doc" Harper - Former acting President. Killed by Dondo in 2022 during the second war with the Mayans.
  • Isaac Packer - Former President. Killed by Ezekiel "EZ" Reyes in 2023 during the second war with the Mayans.

Mayans Motorcycle Club[]

Other[]

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