Holding office

A judge, a minister, a mayor, a company director or the signatory of a contract acts in a role that others conferred and can revoke; the authority is legitimate because of how it was given and to whom. Decision support already runs through these offices, and administrative decisions are increasingly prepared by systems. What is held is the office itself: the person who signs is the one who can be recused, removed, impeached or voted out, and the one to whom a citizen may address a complaint. Legitimacy is a relation between persons and institutions, and no benchmark measures it.