He had power, and lots of it... if he was a "figurehead" it was only because he was doing the bidding of the man they called "Father." To anyone who didn't know about that guy, though, he looked like he was pulling all the strings. And the military... it ran the country. There were bases and headquarters all over, and we were constantly at war or threat of war with neighboring countries. Since its founding, Amestris grew by fighting and absorbing the nations around it.