Prime minister

Prime ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries in 2014.

A prime minister is the head of a cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime minister is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet. In a minority of systems, notably in semi-presidential systems of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the head of state.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of government and head of the executive branch. In such systems, the head of state or the head of state's official representative (often the monarch, president, or governor-general) usually holds a largely ceremonial position, although often with reserve powers.

The prime minister is often, but not always, a member of the Legislature or the Lower House thereof and is expected with other ministers to ensure the passage of bills through the legislature. In some monarchies the monarch may also exercise executive powers (known as the royal prerogative) that are constitutionally vested in the crown and may be exercised without the approval of parliament.

As well as being head of government, a prime minister may have other roles or posts—the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for example, is also First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. Prime ministers may take other ministerial posts. For example, during the Second World War, Winston Churchill was also Minister of Defence (although there was then no Ministry of Defence) and in the current cabinet of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu also serves as Minister of Communications, Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation, Economy and Interior.

Etymology

The term prime minister in its French form, premier ministre, is attested in 17th Century sources referring to Cardinal Richelieu after he was named to head the royal council in 1624. The title was however informal and used alongside the equally informal principal ministre d'État ("chief minister of the state") more as a job description. After 1661, Louis XIV and his descendants refused to allow one of their ministers to be more important than the others, so the term was not in use.

The term prime minister in the sense that we know it originated in the 18th century in the United Kingdom when members of parliament disparagingly used the title in reference to Sir Robert Walpole. During the whole of the 18th Century, Britain was involved in a prolonged conflict with France, periodically bursting into all-out war, and Britons took outspoken pride in their "Liberty" as contrasted to the "Tyranny" of French Absolute Monarchy; therefore, being implicitly compared with Richelieu was no compliment to Walpole. Over time, however, the title became honorific and remains so in the 21st century.

History

See also: History of Parliamentarism

Origins

Further information: Chief Minister of England and Chief minister of France

The monarchs of England and the United Kingdom had ministers in whom they placed special trust and who were regarded as the head of the government. Examples were Thomas Cromwell under Henry VIII; William Cecil, Lord Burghley under Elizabeth I; Clarendon under Charles II and Godolphin under Queen Anne. These ministers held a variety of formal posts, but were commonly known as "the minister", the "chief minister", the "first minister" and finally the "prime minister".

The power of these ministers depended entirely on the personal favour of the monarch. Although managing the parliament was among the necessary skills of holding high office, they did not depend on a parliamentary majority for their power. Although there was a cabinet, it was appointed entirely by the monarch, and the monarch usually presided over its meetings.

When the monarch grew tired of a first minister, he or she could be dismissed, or worse: Cromwell was executed and Clarendon driven into exile when they lost favour. Kings sometimes divided power equally between two or more ministers to prevent one minister from becoming too powerful. Late in Anne's reign, for example, the Tory ministers Harley and Viscount Bolingbroke shared power.

Development

The prime ministers of five members of the Commonwealth of Nations at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference.

In the mid 17th century, after the English Civil War (1642–1651), Parliament strengthened its position relative to the monarch then gained more power through the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and passage of the Bill of Rights in 1689. The monarch could no longer establish any law or impose any tax without its permission and thus the House of Commons became a part of the government. It is at this point that a modern style of prime minister begins to emerge.

A tipping point in the evolution of the prime ministership came with the death of Anne in 1714 and the accession of George I to the throne. George spoke no English, spent much of his time at his home in Hanover, and had neither knowledge of, nor interest in, the details of English government. In these circumstances it was inevitable that the king's first minister would become the de facto head of the government.

From 1721 this was the Whig politician Robert Walpole, who held office for twenty-one years. Walpole chaired cabinet meetings, appointed all the other ministers, dispensed the royal patronage and packed the House of Commons with his supporters. Under Walpole, the doctrine of cabinet solidarity developed. Walpole required that no minister other than himself have private dealings with the king, and also that when the cabinet had agreed on a policy, all ministers must defend it in public, or resign. As a later prime minister, Lord Melbourne, said, "It matters not what we say, gentlemen, so long as we all say the same thing."

Walpole always denied that he was "prime minister", and throughout the 18th century parliamentarians and legal scholars continued to deny that any such position was known to the Constitution. George II and George III made strenuous efforts to reclaim the personal power of the monarch, but the increasing complexity and expense of government meant that a minister who could command the loyalty of the Commons was increasingly necessary. The long tenure of the wartime prime minister William Pitt the Younger (1783–1801), combined with the mental illness of George III, consolidated the power of the post. The title was first referred to on government documents during the administration of Benjamin Disraeli but did not appear in the formal British Order of precedence until 1905.

The prestige of British institutions in the 19th century and the growth of the British Empire saw the British model of cabinet government, headed by a prime minister, widely copied, both in other European countries and in British colonial territories as they developed self-government. In some places alternative titles such as "premier", "chief minister", "first minister of state", "president of the council" or "chancellor" were adopted, but the essentials of the office were the same.

Modern usage

By the late 20th century, the majority of the world's countries had a prime minister or equivalent minister, holding office under either a constitutional monarchy or a ceremonial president. The main exceptions to this system have been the United States and the presidential republics in Latin America modelled on the U.S. system, in which the president directly exercises executive authority.

Bahrain's prime minister, Sheikh Khalifah bin Sulman Al Khalifah has been in the post since 1970, making him the longest serving non-elected prime minister.

In republics and in monarchies

The post of prime minister may be encountered both in constitutional monarchies (such as Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Malaysia, Morocco, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), and in parliamentary republics in which the head of state is an elected official (such as Finland, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia (1945-1959), Ireland, Pakistan, Portugal, Montenegro, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Turkey (1923-2018)). See also "First Minister", "Premier", "Chief Minister", "Chancellor", "Taoiseach", "Minister of State (Statsminister)", "President of the Government", "President of the Council of Minister" and "Secretary of State": alternative titles usually equivalent in meaning to, or translated as, "prime minister".

This contrasts with the presidential system, in which the president (or equivalent) is both the head of state and the head of the government. In some presidential and all semi-presidential systems, such as those of France, Russia or South Korea, the prime minister is an official generally appointed by the president but usually approved by the legislature and responsible for carrying out the directives of the president and managing the civil service. The head of government of the People's Republic of China is referred to as the Premier of the State Council and the premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is also appointed by the president, but requires no approval by the legislature.

Appointment of the prime minister of France requires no approval by the parliament either, but the parliament may force the resignation of the government. In these systems, it is possible for the president and the prime minister to be from different political parties if the legislature is controlled by a party different from that of the president. When it arises, such a state of affairs is usually referred to as (political) cohabitation.

Entry into office

In parliamentary systems a prime minister may enter into office by several means.

• The head of state appoints a prime minister, of their personal choice: Example: France, where the President has the power to appoint the Prime Minister of their choice, though the National Assembly can force a government to resign, they cannot nominate or appoint a new candidate.

While in practice most prime ministers under the Westminster system (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, India and the United Kingdom) are the leaders of the largest party or coalition in parliament, technically the appointment of the prime minister is a prerogative exercised by the head of state.

• The head of state appoints a prime minister who has a set timescale within which they must gain a vote of confidence: Example: Italy, Romania, Thailand
• The head of state appoints a prime minister from among the members of Parliament, who then has a set timescale within which they must form a cabinet, and receive the confidence of Parliament after presenting the Cabinet Composition and Legislative Program to Parliament: Example: Israel
• The head of state appoints the leader of the political party with the majority of the seats in the Parliament as Prime Minister, if no party has a majority then the leader of the party with a plurality of seats is given an exploratory mandate to receive the confidence of the parliament within three days, if this is not possible then the leader of the party with the second highest seat number is given the exploratory mandate, if this fails then the leader of the third largest party is given it and so on: Example: Greece, see Prime Minister of Greece
• The head of state nominates a candidate for prime minister who is then submitted to parliament for approval before appointment as prime minister: Example: Spain, where the King sends a nomination to parliament for approval. Also Germany where under the German Basic Law (constitution) the Bundestag votes on a candidate nominated by the federal president. In the Philippines under the 1973 Constitution as amended after martial law, the Prime Minister was elected by the Batasang Pambansâ (Legislature) upon nomination by the President. In these cases, parliament can choose another candidate who then would be appointed by the head of state (or, in the case of the Philippines, outright elect that candidate).
• Parliament nominates a candidate who the head of state is then constitutionally obliged to appoint as prime minister: Example: Ireland, where the President appoints the Taoiseach on the nomination of Dáil Éireann. Also Japan.
• Election by the Legislature: Example: The Philippines under the unamended 1973 Constitution, where the prime minister was supposed to be elected by the Batasang Pambansâ; these provisions were never used because the Philippines was under martial law at the time. Also Vanuatu.
• Direct election by popular vote: Example: Israel, 1996–2001, where the prime minister was elected in a general election, with no regard to political affiliation.
• Nomination by a state office holder other than the head of state or his/her representative: Example: Under the modern Swedish Instrument of Government, the power to appoint someone to form a government has been moved from the monarch to the Speaker of Parliament and the parliament itself. The speaker nominates a candidate, who is then elected to prime minister (statsminister) by the parliament if an absolute majority of the members of parliament does not vote no (i.e. he can be elected even if more MP:s vote no than yes).

Constitutional basis for the Position in Countries

John A. Macdonald (1815–1891), first Canadian prime minister.

The position, power and status of prime ministers differ depending on the age of the constitution.

Australia's constitution makes no mention of a Prime Minister of Australia and the office only exists by convention, based on the British model.

Bangladesh's constitution clearly outlines the functions and powers of the Prime Minister, and also details the process of his/her appointment and dismissal.

The People's Republic of China constitution set a premier just one place below the National People's Congress in China. Premier read as (Simplified Chinese: 总理; pinyin: Zŏnglĭ) in Chinese.

Canada's constitution, being a 'mixed' or hybrid constitution (a constitution that is partly formally codified and partly uncodified) originally did not make any reference whatsoever to a prime minister, with her or his specific duties and method of appointment instead dictated by "convention". In the Constitution Act, 1982, passing reference to a "Prime Minister of Canada" is added, though only regarding the composition of conferences of federal and provincial first ministers.

Czech Republic's constitution clearly outlines the functions and powers of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and also details the process of his/her appointment and dismissal.

France's constitution (1958) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of France.

Germany's Basic Law (1949) lists the powers, functions and duties of the federal chancellor.

Greece's constitution (1975) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Greece.

Hungary's constitution (2012) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Hungary.

India's constitution (1950) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of India. In India, the Prime Ministerial candidate must be a member of parliament either Lok Sabha (Lower House) or Rajya Sabha (Upper House). No parliamentary vote takes place on who is forming a government.

Ireland's constitution (1937), provides for the office of Taoiseach in detail, listing powers, functions and duties.

Italy's constitution (1948) lists the powers, functions and duties of the President of the Council of Ministers.

Japan's constitution (1946) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Japan.

The Republic of Korea's constitution (1987) sections 86-87 list the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea.

Malta's constitution (1964) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Malta.

Malaysia's constitution (1957) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Norway's constitution (1814) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Norway

Pakistan's constitution (1973) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Spain's constitution (1978) regulates the appointment, dismissal, powers, functions and duties of the President of the Government.

Thailand's constitution (1932) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Thailand.

Taiwan's constitution (1946) lists the powers, functions and duties of the President of the Executive Yuan.

The United Kingdom's constitution, being uncodified and largely unwritten, makes no mention of a prime minister. Though it had de facto existed for centuries, its first mention in official state documents did not occur until the first decade of the twentieth century. Accordingly, it is often said "not to exist", indeed there are several instances of parliament declaring this to be the case. The prime minister sits in the cabinet solely by virtue of occupying another office, either First Lord of the Treasury (office in commission), or more rarely Chancellor of the Exchequer (the last of whom was Balfour in 1905). However as the government will have to outline its legislative programme to parliament in, for example, the Speech from the Throne, the speech is sometimes used to test parliamentary support. A defeat of the Speech is taken to mean a loss of confidence and so requires either a new draft, resignation, or a request for a dissolution of parliament. Until the early 20th century governments when defeated in a general election remained in power until their Speech from the Throne was defeated and then resigned. No government has done so for one hundred years, though Edward Heath in 1974 did delay his resignation while he explored whether he could form a government with Liberal party support.

In such systems unwritten (and unenforceable) constitutional conventions often outline the order in which people are asked to form a government. If the prime minister resigns after a general election, the monarch usually asks the leader of the opposition to form a government. Where however a resignation occurs during a parliament session (unless the government has itself collapsed) the monarch will ask another member of the government to form a government. While previously the monarch had some leeway in whom to ask, all British political parties now elect their leaders (until 1965 the Conservatives chose their leader by informal consultation). The last time the monarch had a choice over the appointment occurred in 1963 when the Earl of Home was asked to become Prime Minister ahead of Rab Butler.

During the period between the time it is clear that the incumbent government has been defeated at a general election, and the actual swearing-in of the new prime minister by the monarch, governor-general, or president, that person is referred to as the "prime minister-elect" or "prime minister-designate". Neither term is strictly correct from a constitutional point of view, but they have wide acceptance. In a situation in which a ruling party elects or appoints a new leader, the incoming leader will usually be referred as "prime minister-in-waiting". An example or this situation was in 2016 in the United Kingdom when Theresa May was elected leader of the Conservative Party while David Cameron was still prime minister.

Ukraine's constitution (1996) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Exit from office

Most prime ministers in parliamentary systems are not appointed for a specific term in office and in effect may remain in power through a number of elections and parliaments. For example, Margaret Thatcher was only ever appointed prime minister on one occasion, in 1979. She remained continuously in power until 1990, though she used the assembly of each House of Commons after a general election to reshuffle her cabinet.

Some states, however, do have a term of office of the prime minister linked to the period in office of the parliament. Hence the Irish Taoiseach is formally 'renominated' after every general election. (Some constitutional experts have questioned whether this process is actually in keeping with the provisions of the Irish constitution, which appear to suggest that a taoiseach should remain in office, without the requirement of a renomination, unless s/he has clearly lost the general election.) The position of prime minister is normally chosen from the political party that commands majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.

In parliamentary systems, governments are generally required to have the confidence of the lower house of parliament (though a small minority of parliaments, by giving a right to block supply to upper houses, in effect make the cabinet responsible to both houses, though in reality upper houses, even when they have the power, rarely exercise it). Where they lose a vote of confidence, have a motion of no confidence passed against them, or where they lose supply, most constitutional systems require either:

1. a letter of resignation or
2. a request for parliamentary dissolution.

The latter in effect allows the government to appeal the opposition of parliament to the electorate. However, in many jurisdictions a head of state may refuse a parliamentary dissolution, requiring the resignation of the prime minister and his or her government. In most modern parliamentary systems, the prime minister is the person who decides when to request a parliamentary dissolution.

Older constitutions often vest this power in the cabinet. In the United Kingdom, for example, the tradition whereby it is the prime minister who requests a dissolution of parliament dates back to 1918. Prior to then, it was the entire government that made the request. Similarly, though the modern 1937 Irish constitution grants to the Taoiseach the right to make the request, the earlier 1922 Irish Free State Constitution vested the power in the Executive Council (the then name for the Irish cabinet).

In Australia, the Prime Minister is expected to step down if s/he loses the majority support of his/her party under a spill motion as have many such as Tony Abbott, Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull.

Titles

In the Russian constitution the prime minister is actually titled Chairman of the government while the Irish prime minister is called the Taoiseach (which is rendered into English as prime minister), and in Israel he is Rosh HaMemshalah meaning "head of the government". In many cases, though commonly used, "prime minister" is not the official title of the office-holder; the Spanish prime minister is the President of the Government (Presidente del Gobierno).

Other common forms include president of the council of ministers (for example in Italy, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), President of the Executive Council, or Minister-President. In the Nordic countries the prime minister is called Statsminister, meaning "Minister of State". In federations, the head of government of subnational entities such as provinces is most commonly known as the premier, chief minister, governor or minister-president.

The convention in the English language is to call nearly all national heads of government "prime minister" (sometimes modified to the equivalent term of "premier") except in the cases where the head of state and head of government are fused into one position, usually a presidency, regardless of the correct title of the head of government as applied in his or her respective country. The few exceptions to the rule are Germany and Austria, whose heads of government titles are almost always translated as Chancellor; Monaco, whose head of government is referred to as the Minister of State; and Vatican City, for which the head of government is titled the Secretary of State. In the case of Ireland, the head of government is occasionally referred to as the Taoiseach by English speakers. A stand-out case is the President of Iran, who is not actually a head of state, but the head of the government of Iran. He is referred to as "president" in both the Persian and English languages.

In non-Commonwealth countries the prime minister may be entitled to the style of Excellency like a president. In some Commonwealth countries prime ministers and former prime ministers are styled Right Honourable due to their position, for example in the Prime Minister of Canada. In the United Kingdom the prime minister and former prime ministers may appear to also be styled Right Honourable, however this is not due to their position as head of government but as a privilege of being current members of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.

In the UK, where devolved government is in place, the leaders of the Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh Governments are styled First Minister. Between 1921 and 1972, when Northern Ireland was a Majority Rule Parliament the head of government would be known as the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.In India, the Prime Minister is referred to as Pradhan Mantri, meaning "prime minister". In Pakistan, the prime minister is referred to as Wazir-e-Azam, meaning "Grand Vizier".

Organisational structure

Main article: Cabinet department

The Prime Minister's executive office is usually called the Office of the Prime Minister in the case of the Canada and other Commonwealth countries, it is called Cabinet Office in United Kingdom. Some Prime Minister's office do include the role of Cabinet. In other countries, it is called the Prime Minister's Department or the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as for Australia. In Israel, the Prime Minister's executive office is officially titled the "Prime Minister's Office" in English, but the original Hebrew term can also be translated as the Prime Minister's Ministry.

Description of the role

Wilfried Martens, who served as Prime Minister of Belgium, described his role as follows:

First of all the Prime Minister must listen a lot, and when deep disagreements occur, he must suggest a solution to the matter. This can be done in different ways. Sometimes during the discussion, I note the elements of the problem and think of a proposal I can formulate to the Council (cabinet), the Secretary taking notes. The Ministers then insist on changing game ages. The Prime Minister can also make a proposal which leaves enough room for amendments in order to keep the current discussion on the right tracks. When a solution must be found in order to reach a consensus, he can force one or two Ministers to join or resign.

Lists of prime ministers

For a more comprehensive list, see List of current prime ministers.

Countries with prime ministers (blue) and those that formerly had that position (dark red).

The following table groups the list of past and present prime ministers and details information available in those lists.

Government	List starts	Parties shown	Term given by years or dates	Incumbent
Abkhazia	1995	-	dates	Valeri Bganba
Afghanistan	1927	-	years	Abdullah Abdullah
Albania (List)	1912	-	years	Edi Rama
Algeria	1962	yes	years	Ahmed Ouyahia
Andorra	1982	-	years	Antoni Martí
Angola	1975	-	dates	(Post abolished)
Anguilla	1976	yes	dates	Victor Banks
Antigua and Barbuda	1981	-	years	Gaston Browne
Argentina	1993	yes	dates	Marcos Peña
Armenia	1918	yes	dates	Nikol Pashinyan
Artsakh	1992	no	dates	(Post abolished)
Aruba	1986	-	dates	Evelyn Wever-Croes
Australia (List)	1901	yes	dates	Scott Morrison
Austria	1918	yes	years	Sebastian Kurz
Azerbaijan	1918	yes	dates	Novruz Mammadov
Bahamas	1967	-	dates	Hubert Minnis
Bahrain	1970	-	years	Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa
Bangladesh	1971	yes	dates	Sheikh Hasina
Barbados	1954	yes	dates	Mia Mottley
Belarus	1919	-	dates	Syarhey Rumas
Belgium	1831	yes	dates	Charles Michel
Belize	1973	yes	years	Dean Barrow
Benin	1957	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Bermuda	1968	yes	dates	Edward David Burt
Bhutan	1952	-	dates	Dasho Tshering Wangchuk
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1943	-	dates	Denis Zvizdić
Botswana	1965	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Brazil	1847	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
British Virgin Islands	1967	yes	dates	Orlando Smith
Brunei	1984	no	dates	Hassanal Bolkiah
Bulgaria	1879	yes	dates	Boyko Borisov
Burkina Faso	1971	-	dates	Paul Kaba Thieba
Burundi	1961	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Cambodia	1945	-	years	Hun Sen
Cameroon	1960	-	dates	Philémon Yang
Canada (List)	1867	yes	dates	Justin Trudeau
Cape Verde	1975	yes	dates	Ulisses Correia e Silva
Cayman Islands	1992	yes	dates	Alden McLaughlin
Central African Republic	1958	-	dates	Simplice Sarandji
Chad	1978	-	dates	(Post abolished)
People's Republic of China (List)	1949	-	dates	Li Keqiang
Comoros	1957	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Congo (Brazzaville)	1957	yes	dates	Clément Mouamba
Congo (Kinshasa) (List)	1960	yes	dates	Bruno Tshibala
Cook Islands	1965	yes	dates	Henry Puna
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	1957	yes	dates	Amadou Gon Coulibaly
Croatia	1939	-	dates	Andrej Plenković
Cuba	1940	-	dates	Raúl Castro
Curaçao	2010	-	dates	Eugene Rhuggenaath
Northern Cyprus	1983	yes	dates	Tufan Erhürman
Czech Republic	1993	-	years	Andrej Babiš
Denmark (List)	1848	-	years	Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Djibouti	1977	-	dates	Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed
Dominica	1960	-	dates	Roosevelt Skerrit
East Timor	2002	yes	dates	Mari Alkatiri
Egypt (List)	1878	-	years	Moustafa Madbouly
Equatorial Guinea	1963	-	dates	Francisco Pascual Obama Asue
Estonia	1918	-	dates	Jüri Ratas
Ethiopia	1942	yes	dates	Abiy Ahmed
Faroe Islands	1946	-	years	Aksel V. Johannesen
Fiji	1966	-	dates	Frank Bainimarama
Finland	1917	yes	years	Juha Sipilä
France (List)	1589	-	years	Édouard Philippe
Gabon	1957	yes	dates	Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet
The Gambia	1961	-	dates	(Post abolished)
Georgia	1918	yes	dates	Mamuka Bakhtadze
Germany (List)	1871/1949	yes	dates	Angela Merkel
Ghana	1957	-	dates	(Post abolished)
Gibraltar	1964	yes	dates	Fabian Picardo
Greece (List)	1833	-	dates	Alexis Tsipras
Greenland	1979	-	years	Kim Kielsen
Grenada	1954	-	years	Keith Mitchell
Guernsey	2007	-	dates	Gavin St Pier
Guinea	1972	-	dates	Ibrahima Kassory Fofana
Guinea-Bissau	1973	-	dates	Aristides Gomes
Guyana	1953	-	dates	Moses Nagamootoo
Haiti	1988	-	dates	Jean-Henry Céant
Hungary (List)	1848	-	dates	Viktor Orbán
Iceland	1904	-	dates	Katrín Jakobsdóttir
India (List)	1947	yes	dates	Narendra Modi
Indonesia	1945	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Iran (List)	1824	-	years	(Post abolished)
Iraq	1920	-	years	Haider al-Abadi
Ireland	1937	yes	dates	Leo Varadkar
Israel (List)	1948	-	years	Benjamin Netanyahu
Italy (List)	1861	-	years	Giuseppe Conte
Jamaica	1959	-	years	Andrew Holness
Japan (List)	1885	-	dates	Shinzō Abe
Jersey	2005	-	dates	John Le Fondré Jr
Jordan	1944	-	dates	Omar Razzaz
Kazakhstan	1920	-	years	Bakhytzhan Sagintayev
Kenya	1963	-	dates	(Post abolished)
North Korea	1948	-	years	Pak Pong-ju
South Korea (List)	1948	-	years	Lee Nak-yeon
Kosovo	1945	yes	dates	Ramush Haradinaj
Kuwait	1962	yes	dates	Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah
Kyrgyzstan	1924	-	dates	Muhammetkaliy Abulgaziyev
Laos	1941	-	years	Thongloun Sisoulith
Latvia	1918	yes	dates	Māris Kučinskis
Lebanon	1926	-	dates	Saad Hariri
Lesotho	1965	yes	dates	Tom Thabane
Libya	1951	-	dates	Abdullah al-Thani / Fayez al-Sarraj
Liechtenstein	1921	yes	dates	Adrian Hasler
Lithuania	1918	yes	dates	Saulius Skvernelis
Luxembourg	1959	-	years	Xavier Bettel
Macedonia	1943	yes	dates	Zoran Zaev
Madagascar	1833	-	dates	Christian Ntsay
Malawi	1963	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Malaysia	1957	yes	years	Mahathir Mohamad
Mali	1957	yes	dates	Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga
Malta	1921	yes	years	Joseph Muscat
Isle of Man	1986	-	years	Howard Quayle
Mauritania	1957	yes	dates	Yahya Ould Hademine
Mauritius	1961	yes	dates	Pravind Jugnauth
Moldova	1990	-	dates	Pavel Filip
Monaco	1911	n/a	dates	Serge Telle
Mongolia	1912	yes	dates	Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh
Montenegro	1879	yes	dates	Duško Marković
Montserrat	1960	yes	dates	Donaldson Romeo
Morocco	1955	yes	years	Saadeddine Othmani
Mozambique	1974	yes	dates	Carlos Agostinho do Rosário
Myanmar (Burma)	1948	yes	dates	Aung San Suu Kyi (as State Counsellor)
Namibia	1990	yes	dates	Saara Kuugongelwa
Nepal	1803	-	dates	Khadga Prasad Oli
Netherlands (List)	1848	yes	dates	Mark Rutte
New Zealand (List)	1856	yes	dates	Jacinda Ardern
Newfoundland	1855	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Niger	1958	yes	dates	Brigi Rafini
Nigeria	1960	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Niue	1974	-	dates	Sir Toke Talagi
Norfolk Island	1896	2015	dates	(Post abolished)
Norway	1814	yes	years	Erna Solberg
Pakistan (List)	1947	yes	dates	Imran Khan
Palestinian National Authority	2003	yes	dates	Rami Hamdallah
Papua New Guinea	1975	yes	years	Peter O'Neill
Peru	1975	yes	dates	César Villanueva
Philippines	1899	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Poland (List)	1918	-	dates	Mateusz Morawiecki
Portugal (List)	1834	yes	dates	António Costa
Qatar	1970	-	dates	Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani
Romania	1862	-	years	Viorica Dăncilă
Russia (List)	1864/1905	yes	dates	Dmitry Medvedev
Rwanda	1960	yes	dates	Édouard Ngirente
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1960	-	dates	Timothy Harris
Saint Lucia	1960	-	dates	Allen Chastanet
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1956	-	dates	Ralph Gonsalves
Samoa	1875	yes	dates	Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
São Tomé and Principe	1974	yes	dates	Patrice Trovoada
Saudi Arabia	1953	no	dates	Salman
Senegal	1957	yes	dates	Mohamed Dionne
Serbia	1805	yes	years	Ana Brnabić
Seychelles	1970	yes	years	(Post abolished)
Sierra Leone	1954	yes	dates	David J. Francis
Singapore	1959	-	dates	Lee Hsien Loong
Sint Maarten	2010	-	dates	Leona Marlin-Romeo
Slovakia	1993	-	dates	Peter Pellegrini
Slovenia	1943	yes	years	Marjan Šarec
Solomon Islands	1949	yes	dates	Rick Houenipwela
Somalia	1949	yes	dates	Hassan Ali Khayre
South Africa	1910	-	dates	(Post abolished)
South Ossetia	1991	-	dates	Erik Pukhayev
Spain (List)	1705	yes	years	Pedro Sánchez
Sri Lanka (List)	1948	-	dates	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Sudan	1952	yes	dates	Motazz Moussa
Suriname	1949	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Swaziland	1967	-	years	Vincent Mhlanga (acting)
Sweden (List)	1876	yes	years	Stefan Löfven
Syria	1920	-	dates	Imad Khamis
Taiwan (Republic of China) (List)	1911	-	dates	William Lai
Tajikistan	1924	-	dates	Kokhir Rasulzoda
Tanzania	1960	yes	dates	Kassim Majaliwa
Thailand (List)	1932	yes	dates	Prayut Chan-o-cha
Togo	1956	yes	dates	Komi Sélom Klassou
Tokelau	1992	-	dates	Afega Gaualofa
Tonga	1876	-	years	ʻAkilisi Pōhiva
Transnistria	2012	yes	dates	Aleksandr Martynov
Trinidad and Tobago	1956	-	dates	Keith Rowley
Tunisia	1969	-	dates	Youssef Chahed
Turkey (List)	1920	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Turkmenistan	1924	-	dates	(Post abolished)
Turks and Caicos Islands	1976	yes	dates	Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson
Tuvalu	1975	n/a	dates	Enele Sopoaga
Uganda	1961	yes	dates	Ruhakana Rugunda
Ukraine (List)	1917	-	dates	Volodymyr Groysman
United Arab Emirates	1971	-	years	Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
United Kingdom (List)	1721	yes	dates	Theresa May
Uruguay	No List (post established 1919)	-	-	(post abolished)
Uzbekistan	1924	-	dates	Abdulla Aripov
Vanuatu	1980	yes	dates	Charlot Salwai
Vatican	1644	-	years	Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Vietnam	1976	yes	dates	Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
Yemen	1990	yes	years	Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr
Western Sahara	1976	no	years	Abdelkader Taleb Oumar
Zambia	1964	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Zimbabwe	1923	-	dates	(Post abolished)

See also

• Chancellor
• Chief Minister
• Governor-General
• Head of government
• Head of state
• Monarch
• President
• Prime ministerial government

Lists

• List of current heads of state and government
• List of democracy and election-related topics

Further reading

• Andrew Blick and George Jones, Premiership: the development, nature and power of the office of the British Prime Minister (Imprint Academic, Exeter, 2010)
• Michael Foley, The British Presidency (Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2000)
• Peter Hennessy, The Prime Minister: The office and its holders since 1945 (Penguin, London, 2001)
• Paul Langford, Prime Ministers and Parliaments: the long view, Walpole to Blair, The Annual History of Parliament Lecture, 2005, Parliamentary History, 25 (2006)
• Brian Carroll, Australia's Prime Ministers: From Barton to Howard (Rosenberg Publishing, 2004)
• James Manor, Nehru to the Nineties: The Changing Office of Prime Minister in India (C. Hurst & Co., 1994)
• Jagdish Chandra Sharma, Indian Prime Ministership: A Comprehensive Study (Concept Publishing Company, 2002)