Yes, a king, I say. Sort of like a human version of an HQ--if he is killed, there is no dar, and some other limitations should be applied as well. Total chaos should ensue of the king is dispatched.
Where does the king live, you ask? In a castle, up on a hill somewhere. It should be out of gv reach, but for a very long and perilous drive. Bombers can hit it, but the flak should be rediculous.
Here's the kicker--the kind should be an actual player. The choosing of the king should be largely random, with no vote or anything like that (he's not a president, afterall). Names of candidate kings should be submitted by players as nominations. After that, the name is drawn from a hat. Once chosen, the king should sit on the thrown until abdication, death, or coup d'etat.
If the king isn't online, a secondary king will serve until the real king logs in--kings should obviously be chosen from a pool of players who are online often.
The king will have total control of all ships, will be able to alocate resources to make bases rebuild faster, and will be able to banish players from his country to another. Such banishments will last no more than 24 hours.
This is a great idea.