DOGE of Venice (697 – 1797)

When the new Department of Government Efficiency was ‘created’ by Donald Trump, with Elon Musk as its head, my mind immediately went to the Doge of Venice. Here’s what Wikipedia says:

The Doge of Venice (/doʊdʒ/ DOHJ) was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697 CE to 1797 CE). The word Doge derives from the Latin Dux, meaning “leader,” and Venetian Italian for “duke”, highest official of the republic of Venice for over 1,000 years. Originally referring to any military leader, becoming in the Late Roman Empire the title for a leader of an expeditionary force formed by detachments (vexillationes) from the frontier army (limitanei), separate from, but subject to, the governor of a province, authorized to conduct operations beyond provincial boundaries.

The Doge of Venice acted as both the head of state and head of the Venetian oligarchy. Doges were elected for life through a complex voting process.

There, does that put everything into perspective for you?