Head of government

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Not to be confused with Head of state.

Executive heads of government, from left to right, top to bottom:
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In the

autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet
, a group of ministers or secretaries who lead executive departments.

In diplomacy, "head of government" is differentiated from "head of state".[1][2][3][4]

The authority of a head of government, such as a president, chancellor, or prime minister, and the relationship between that position and other state institutions, such as the relation between the head of state and of the legislature, varies greatly among sovereign states, depending largely on the particular system of the government that has been chosen, won, or evolved over time.

In most

constitutional advice from the head of government or under specific provisions in a constitution.[5]

In

absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government.[6] The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy
, according to the constitution (or other basic laws) of the particular state.

In

semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature with the specifics provided by each country's constitution.[7] A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958. In France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. However, the president must choose someone who can act effectively as an executive, but who also enjoys the support of France's legislature, the National Assembly
, to be able to pass legislation.

In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party but the majority in the National Assembly is of a different party. Given that the majority party has greater control over state funding and

primary legislation, the president is in effect forced to choose a prime minister from the opposition party to ensure an effective, functioning legislature. In this case, known as cohabitation
, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the president's influence largely restricted to foreign affairs.

In

transition.[8][9]

In

Swiss Federal Council
, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments.

Titles of respective heads of government

The most common title for a head of government is

ex officio
or by ad hoc cumulation, such as a ruling monarch exercising all powers himself) but otherwise has formal precedence over the head of government and other ministers, whether he is their actual political superior (ruling monarch, executive president) or rather theoretical or ceremonial in character (constitutional monarch, non-executive president). Various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question.

As political chief

In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, where there is an elected legislative body checking the head of government, include the following. Some of these titles relate to governments below the national level (e.g. states or provinces).

Alternative English terms and renderings

Equivalent titles in other languages

  • Akan: ɔmampanyin
  • Albanian: Kryeministër
  • prime minister of Bangladesh
    and other countries
    • প্রধানমন্ত্রী/ Pradhan Mantri (literally: Prime Minister, official)
    • সরকার প্রধান/ Sarkar Pradhan (literally: Head of the Government, informal)
  • Bambara: minisiriɲɛmɔgɔ
  • Basque:
  • Bulgarian: Министър-председател (transliteration: Ministar-predsedatel, literally 'Minister President')
  • Catalan:
    • For Andorra: Cap de Govern del Principat d'Andorra (literally: 'Head of Government of the Principality of Andorra')
    • For the
      President/-a del Govern Balear
    • For
      President/-a de la Generalitat de Catalunya
      (literally: 'President of the Generalitat of Catalonia')
    • For
      President/-a de la Generalitat Valenciana
      (literally: 'President of the Valencian Generalitat')
    • The terms 'head of government' and 'prime minister', generically: cap de govern and primer ministre or primera ministra, respectively
  • Chinese:
    • For the
      premier of China
      : 总理 (zǒnglǐ)
  • Czech: Předseda vlády (literally: 'Chairman of the Government')
  • Danish:
    • For the head of government of Nordic states: Statsminister (literally: 'Minister of the State')
    • For the head of government of non-Nordic states: Premierminister (literally: 'Prime Minister')
    • For the head of government of the autonomous territory of Faroe Islands: Lagmand (literally: 'Lawman")
    • For the head of government of the autonomous territory of Greenland: Landsstyreformand (literally: 'land governance chairman')
  • Dutch:
  • Estonian: Peaminister
  • Ewe: Dukplɔlagã
  • Pääministeri
  • Filipino
  • French:
  • Presidente/-a da Xunta de Galicia
    (literally, 'President of the Council of Galicia')
  • German:
    • For Germany and Austria: Chancellor of Germany; Chancellor of Austria: Bundeskanzler (masc.) / Bundeskanzlerin (fem.)
    • For
      Schweizerischer Bundesrat
      (literally, the 'Swiss Federal Council', considered the head of government as a group)
    • The term 'head of government,' generically: Regierungschef/-in
    • The term 'prime minister,' generically: Ministerpräsident/-in; or Premierminister/-in
    • historically: Leitender Minister ('Senior Minister')
  • Greek: Πρωθυπουργός (transliteration: Prothipourgos)
  • Hausa: Firayam Minista
  • Hebrew:
  • Hindi/Hindustani/Urdu
    :
    • The term 'head of government', generically: शासनप्रमुख (translit. Śāsanapramukha), literally:'Chief of government'
    • The term 'Prime Minister', generically: प्रधानमन्त्री (translit. Pradhānamantrī), literally:'Chief of Ministers/Prime Minister'
    • The other Hindustani term generically used for 'Prime Minister'(now used officially only in Pakistan with Urdu as official language) : वज़ीर-ए-आज़म/وزیر اعظم (translit. Wazīr-ē-Āzam), lit.:'Grand Vizier/Prime Minister'
      prime minister of India (Indira Gandhi) and the president of the United States (Richard Nixon
      ) in 1971
    • For 'Prime Minister of India' : भारतीय प्रधानमन्त्री/भारत के प्रधानमन्त्री (translit. Bhāratiya Pradhānamantrī/Bhārat Kē Pradhānamantrī), translation:'Indian Prime Minister/Prime Minister of India'(this term is used by the Government of the Union and the State Governments of India, under the umbrella of "Hindi Language");
    • For 'Prime Minister of Pakistan': وزیر اعظم پاکستان/پاکستان کے وزیر اعظم (translit. Wazīr-ē-Āzam Pākistān/Pākistān Kē Wazīr-ē-Āzam), This is the term used in India and Pakistan under the umbrella of Urdu, the Hindi term being, पाकिस्तानी प्रधानमन्त्री/पाकिस्तान के प्रधानमन्त्री (translit.Pākistānī Pradhānamantrī/Pākistān Kē Pradhānamantrī)
    • Historically, various terms like Pradhānamantrī, Pradhān, Pantapradhān, Sadr-ē-Riyāsat, Sadr, Wazīr-ē-Āzam, Wazīr-ē-Ālā, Mahāmantrī, Wazīr-ē-Khazānā, Pēśwā, Dīwān, Dīwān Sāhib, Dīwān Bahādur, Dīwān Pramukh, Sadr-ul-Maham, Pantapramukh, Ālāmantrī, etc. have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the prime minister, some of these titles were also used by the sovereign of various kingdoms.
  • Hungarian: Miniszterelnök
  • Irish: Leader of Ireland: Taoiseach
  • Italian:
    • For the head of government of Italy: Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri della Repubblica Italiana (literally, 'President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic')
    • When referring to other prime ministers: Primo ministro or Prima ministra (masculine and feminine forms; literally 'prime minister')
    • For
      Consiglio Federale
      (literally, the 'Federal Council', considered the head of government as a group)
  • Japanese:
    • For the head of government of Japan (Prime Minister): 内閣総理大臣 (Naikaku Sōri-Daijin) or 首相 (Shushō)
  • Khmer:
    • For the prime minister of Cambodia: នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី (Neayuk rothmontrey)
  • Korean:
    • For the president of South Korea: Daetongryung[10]
    • For the prime minister of South Korea: Chongni(총리) or Gukmu Chongni(국무총리)
  • Latvian:
    • For the head of government of Latvia: Ministru prezidents (literally, 'Minister President')
    • When referring to other prime ministers: Premjerministrs
  • Lingala
    : Premier ministre
  • Lithuanian: Ministras pirmininkas
  • Luganda
    : Ssaabaminisita
  • Malay:
    • In
      Menteri Besar
      "first minister" in the sultanates and other monarchic states.
  • Maltese: In Malta, the head of government is "Prim Ministru".
  • prime minister of New Zealand
    .)
  • Norwegian: Statsminister
  • Polish:
    • For the head of government of Poland: Prezes Rady Ministrów ('President of Council of Ministers', literally: 'Chairman of the Council of Ministers')
    • For the term 'prime minister' in general: Premier (also, informally, to the head of government of Poland)
  • Portuguese:
  • Romanian: Prim-ministru
  • Russian: Prem'yer-ministr
  • Scotland:
    • Scottish Gaelic: Prìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba (literally First Minister of Scotland)
  • Sinhalese: ශ්‍රී ලංකා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය Shri Lanka Agramathya (literally: 'Sri Lanka Prime Minister')
  • Slovak: Predseda vlády (literally: 'Chairman of the Government')
  • Slovene: Predsednik Vlade (literally: 'Chairman of the Government')
  • Spanish:
    • For the head of government of Spain: Presidente/-a del gobierno de España (literally: 'President of the Government')
    • When referring to other prime ministers: Primer ministro or Primera Ministra (masculine and feminine forms; literally 'prime minister')
    • The term 'head of government', generically: jefe del gobierno
  • Swahili: Sultan
  • Swedish: Statsminister ("prime minister", literally: "state minister")
  • Thai:
    • For the head of government (Prime Minister) of Thailand: Nayok rathamontri
  • Turkish: Başbakan
  • Yoruba: adari igbimọ ijọba

Under a dominant head of state

In a broader sense, a head of government can be used loosely when referring to various comparable positions under a dominant head of state (especially is the case of ancient or feudal eras, so the term "head of government", in this case, could be considered a contradiction in terms). In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch and holds no more power than the monarch allows. Some such titles are diwan,

wasir or vizier
.

However, just because the head of state is the

Wilhelm I
, serves as an example showing that possession of formal powers does not equal political influence.

Indirectly referred as the head of state

In some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion. Such titles include the following:

Combined heads of state and government

President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil and President Christina Kirchner of Argentina in 2015.

In some models the head of state and head of government are one and the same. These include:

An alternative formula is a single chief political body (e.g., presidium) which collectively leads the government and provides (e.g. by turns) the ceremonial Head of state. The only state in which this system is currently employed is Switzerland but other countries such as Uruguay have employed it in the past. This system is described as the directorial system.

See Head of state for further explanation of these cases.

Parliamentary heads of government

The heads of government of five members of the Commonwealth of Nations at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. From left to right, Mackenzie King (Canada), Jan Smuts (South Africa), Winston Churchill (United Kingdom), Peter Fraser (New Zealand), and John Curtin (Australia).

In parliamentary systems, government functions along the following lines:

  • The head of government — usually the leader of the majority party or coalition — forms the government, which is answerable to parliament;
  • Full answerability of government to parliament is achieved through
    • The ability of parliament to pass a
      vote of no confidence
      .
    • The ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government.
    • Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget (or
      British House of Commons
      ) that exercises the major elements of control and oversight; however, in some (e.g. Australia, Italy), the government is constitutionally or by convention answerable to both chambers/Houses of Parliament.

All of these requirements directly impact the head of government's role. Consequently, they often play a 'day to day' role in parliament, answering questions and defending the government on the 'floor of the House', while in

semi-presidential
systems they may not be required to play as much of a role in the functioning of parliament.

Appointment

In many countries, the head of government is commissioned by the head of state to form a government, on the basis of the strength of party support in the lower house; in some other states, the head of government is directly elected by parliament. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament (they must resign on becoming ministers).

Removal

Heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by

  • Resignation, following:
    • Defeat in a general election.
    • Defeat in a leadership vote at their party caucus, to be replaced by another member of the same party.
    • Defeat in a parliamentary vote on a major issue, e.g.,
      parliamentary dissolution
      from the head of state and attempt to regain support by popular vote.)
  • Dismissal — some constitutions allow a head of state (or their designated representative, as is the case in some
    Australian Constitutional Crisis
    .
  • Death — in this case, the deputy head of government typically acts as the head of government until a new head of government is appointed.

First among equals or dominating the cabinet?

Constitutions differ in the range and scope of powers granted to the head of government. Some older constitutions; for example, Australia's

1974 Instrument of Government, is a constitutional office with all key executive powers either directly at his or her disposal or indirectly through the collegial Government
, whose members are all appointed and dismissed at the Prime Minister's sole discretion.

Under the

Federal Chancellor of West Germany (later all of Germany), Helmut Kohl, when in power.[citation needed
]

Official residence

Main article: Official residence

The head of government is often provided with an

metonym
or alternative title for 'the government' when the office is politically the highest, e.g. in the UK "Downing Street announced today…"

Well-known official residences of heads of government include:

Similarly, heads of government of federal entities below the level of the sovereign state (often without an actual head of state, at least under international law) may also be given an official residence, sometimes used as an opportunity to display aspirations of statehood:

Usually, the residence of the heads of government is not as prestigious and grand as that of the head of state, even if the head of state only performs ceremonial duties. Even the formal representative of the head of state, such as a governor-general, may well be housed in a grander, palace-type residence. However, this is not the case when both positions are combined into one:

Statistics

See also: Records of heads of state

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heads of government.

Notes

  1. ^ Not to be confused with a hotel, as a grand stately house is also called a hôtel in French.

References

Citations

  1. ^ As in article 7 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents and the United Nations protocol list)
  2. ^ "Heads of state, heads of government, ministers for foreign affairs" (PDF). Protocol and Liaison Service, United Nations. 19 October 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969", International Law Commission, United Nations. Archived 17 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  4. ^ Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents 1973 Archived 1 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine, International Law Commission, United Nations. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Head Of State Vs. Head Of Government: A Guide". The Freeman Online. 26 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  6. ^ "head of state | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  7. S2CID 233668466
    .
  8. New York Times. Archived
    from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019. In China, the political job that matters most is the general secretary of the Communist Party. The party controls the military and domestic security forces, and sets the policies that the government carries out. China's presidency lacks the authority of the American and French presidencies.
  9. ^ "China's 'Chairman of Everything': Behind Xi Jinping's Many Titles". The New York Times. 25 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019. Mr. Xi's most important title is general secretary, the most powerful position in the Communist Party. In China's one-party system, this ranking gives him virtually unchecked authority over the government.
  10. ^ "대통령(大統領)" (in Korean). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Pirimia". Maori Dictionary. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  12. ISBN 9781403990150. Archived
    from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  13. ^ H.R.H. the Prime Minister Archived 12 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Mofa.gov.bh (20 February 2013). Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Sheikh Hasina longest serving female leader in world: Survey". Uniindia.com. 9 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Survey: Sheikh Hasina tops as longest serving female leader in world". 11 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Sheikh Hasina world's longest serving female leader". Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.

Citations

  • Jean Blondel & Ferdinand Muller-Rommel Cabinets in Western Europe (
    ISBN 0-333-46209-2
    )
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