[citation needed] The prime minister is appointed by the president of Senegal, who is directly elected for a five-year term.

The prime minister, in turn, appoints the Cabinet of Senegal, after consultation with the president.

On 6 April 2019, after being reappointed by President Macky Sall, Prime Minister Mohammed Dionne announced that President Sall had tasked him with enacting various government reforms, including the elimination of the job of prime minister.

Sall's goal was to remove the "intermediary level" of prime minister to allow the president to take a more hands-on approach to governing.

[1] In November 2021, Macky Sall announced the return of the post of prime minister suppressed since 2019.