Prime minister

In parliamentary systems of government (be they constitutional monarchies or parliamentary republics), the Prime Minister (or occasionally a similar post with a different title, such as the Chancellor of Germany) is the most powerful politician and the functional leader of the state, by virtue of commanding the confidence of the legislature.

The head of state is typically a ceremonial officer, though they may exercise reserve powers to check the Prime Minister in unusual situations.

Under some presidential systems, such as South Korea and Peru, the prime minister is the leader or the most senior member of the cabinet, but not the head of government.

The term "prime minister" was used as (vazîr-i aʾzam) or the Grand Vizier in 8th century by the Abbasid caliphate.

[1][2][3] in 17th century sources referring to Cardinal Richelieu,[4] after he was named premier ministre to head the French royal council in 1624.

The title was used alongside the principal ministre d'État ("chief minister of the state") more as a job description.

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.

They both had an official title of Grand Vizier simply the Head of the Government which is called Prime Minister nowadays.

This title as head of government or the administration existed in ancient China as Grand Chancellor (Chinese: 宰相; pinyin: Zǎixiàng), sometimes translated as "prime minister", existed since 685 BCE and ancient Japan Chancellor of the Realm (太政大臣 Daijō-daijin) since the 7th century CE.

The monarch could dismiss the minister at any time, or worse: Cromwell was executed and Clarendon driven into exile when they lost favour.

Late in Anne's reign, for example, the Tory ministers Harley and Viscount Bolingbroke shared power.

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.

[10] 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.

[11][12] 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 British government.

Walpole chaired cabinet meetings, appointed all the other ministers, dispensed the royal patronage and packed the House of Commons with his supporters.

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 "prime minister" 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 post of prime minister may be encountered both in constitutional monarchies (such as Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Malaysia, Morocco, Spain,[note 2] 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 Bangladesh, Finland, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia (1945–66), Ireland, Nigeria (1960–66), Pakistan, Montenegro, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Turkey (1923–2018) and Italy).

In some presidential and all semi-presidential systems, such as those of Algeria, Argentina, China, France, Poland, Russia, South Korea or Ukraine, 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.

In older, convention-based parliamentary systems, prime ministers are not appointed for a specific term in office and in effect may remain in power through a number of elections and parliaments.

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 the United Kingdom, for example, the tradition whereby it is the prime minister who requests a dissolution of parliament dates back to 1918.

Some systems, such as Germany and Spain, require motions of no confidence to be constructive: i.e., they must include the name of an alternative prime minister; if the motion of no confidence is successful, the alternative prime minister automatically takes office in place of the incumbent government, which cannot appeal this replacement to the electorate.

In Australia, the prime minister is expected to step down if they lose the majority support of their party under a spill motion as have many such as Tony Abbott, Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull.

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 codified part originally made no reference whatsoever to a prime minister[20] and still gives no parameters of the office.

The Constitution Act, 1867 only establishes the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, to which all federal ministers (among others) are appointed and with Members[note 3] of which the Monarch or their Governor General normally performs executive government (as King- or Governor-in-Council).

The United Kingdom's constitution, being uncodified and largely unwritten, makes no mention of a prime minister.

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.