Chris

There are two essential tasks performed at the top of any modern nation state - head of state and head of government. These positions may or may not be held by the same person and one or other of them may be partially or entirely ceremonial in nature, as executive functions may be located in one sphere or the other. Exactly what you call the roles is a secondary issue. Kim Jong Un is styled ‘Supreme Leader’ rather than ‘king’ but nonetheless he is a hereditary monarch with absolute power not unlike some former European kings (notably in France, and that ultimately didn’t end well for them). The powers of the President of the USA are not unlike those of a British constitutional monarch of the 18th century, though they are defined by a written constitution rather than a millennium of tradition and precedent.