Prime Minister
 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1940-1945, 1951-1955)]] In a parliamentary system, such as the Westminster System, generally the Prime Minister is, in practice, the head of the government while the head of state is largely a ceremonial position. In some monarchies the prime minister exercises powers (known as the Royal Prerogative) which are constitutionally vested in the monarch and which can be exercised without the approval of parliament. As well as being Head of Government, a prime minister may have other roles or titles - the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for example, is also First Lord of the Treasury. Sometimes they may combine the post with another ministerial office - for example during the Second World War Winston Churchill was also Minister of Defence.
Prime Ministers in Constitutions Prime Minister of Australia in the 1970s]] The position, power and status of prime ministers differ depending on the age of the constitution in individuals. Britain's constitution, being uncodified and largely unwritten, makes no mention of a prime minister. Though it had de facto existed for centuries, its first official mention in official state documents did not occur until the first decade of the twentieth century. Australia's Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (1900) makes no mention of a prime minister of Australia. The office has a de facto existence at the head of the Executive Council. Ireland's constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann (1937) provided for the office of taoiseach in detail, listing powers, functions and duties. Germany's Basic Law (1949) lists the powers, functions and duties of the federal Chancellor. Exit from OfficeContrary to popular and journalistic myth, most prime ministers in parliamentary systems are not appointed for a specific term of 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 continually 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 on 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 a taoiseach should remain in office, without the requirement of a renomination, unless s/he has clearly lost the general election.) Prime Minister of India from 1966-1977 and 1980-1984]] 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:
Title of Prime Minister The current Taoiseach of Ireland]] A number of different terms are used to describe prime ministers. The German prime minister is actually titled "Federal Chancellor" while the Irish Prime Minister is called the Taoiseach. In many cases, though commonly used, "prime minister" is not the official title of the office-holder; the British prime minister is (usually) "First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service", and the Spanish prime minister is the "President of the Government" (Presidente del Gobierno). Other common forms include president (or chairman) of the Council of Ministers, or of the Executive Council (&c.), or "Minister-President". Articles on prime ministers\n* Prime Minister of Australia\n* Prime Minister of Canada\n* Prime Minister of France\n* Prime Minister of Fiji\n* Chancellor of Germany\n* Prime Minister of India\n* Taoiseach of Ireland\n* Prime Minister of Israel\n* Prime Minister of Japan\n* Prime Minister of the Netherlands\n* Prime Minister of New Zealand\n* Prime Minister of Pakistan\n* Prime Minister of Serbia\n* Prime Minister of Spain\n* Prime Minister of Sweden\n* Prime Minister of the United KingdomLists of prime ministers\nThe following table groups the list of past and present prime ministers and details information available in those lists. {| border=1 cellpadding=1 cellspacing=0\n|-\n|align=center|Country\n|align=center| List starts \n|align=center| Table showsparties? \n|align=center| Term given by years or dates? \n|align=center|Present Incumbent\n|-\n|Afghanistan||1953||-||years||None\n|- \n|Albania||1914||-||years||Fatos Nano\n|-\n|Algeria||1962||yes||years||Ahmed Ouyahia\n|-\n|Angola||1975||-||dates||Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos\n|-\n|Antigua and Barbuda||1981||-||years||Lester Bird\n|-\n|Armenia||1918||yes||dates||Andranik Markaryan\n|-\n|Australia||1901||yes||dates||John Howard\n|-\n|Bahamas||1967||-||dates||Perry Christie\n|-\n|Bangladesh||1971||yes||dates||Andranik Markaryan\n|-\n|Barbados||1954||-||years||Owen Arthur\n|-\n|Belgium||1918||-||dates||Guy Verhofstadt\n|-\n|Belize||1973||yes||years||Said Musa\n|-\n|Bulgaria||1879||-||dates||Simeon Sakskoburggotski\n|-\n|Burkina Faso||1971||-||dates||Paramanga Ernest Yonli\n|-\n|Cameroon||1960||-||dates||Peter Mafany Musonge\n|-\n|Canada||1867||yes||dates||Paul Martin\n|-\n|Cape Verde||1975||-||dates||José Maria Neves\n|-\n|Central African Republic||1958||-||dates||Célestin Gaombalet\n|-\n|Chad||1978||-||dates||Moussa Faki\n|-\n|Cook Islands||1965||yes||dates||Robert Woonton\n|-\n|Croatia||1990||-||dates||Ivo Sanader\n|-\n|Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia||1969||-||years||Vladimír Špidla\n|-\n|Denmark||1848||-||years||Anders Fogh Rasmussen\n|-\n|Djibouti||1977||-||dates||Dileita Mohamed Dileita\n|-\n|Dominica||1960||-||dates||Roosevelt Skerrit\n|-\n|Egypt||1878||-||years||Ahmed Nazif\n|-\n|Equatorial Guinea||1963||-||dates||Miguel Abia Biteo Borico\n|-\n|Fiji||1966||-||dates||Laisenia Qarase\n|-\n|Finland||1917||yes||years||Matti Vanhanen\n|-\n|France||1815||-||years||Jean-Pierre Raffarin\n|-\n|Georgia||1918||yes||dates||Zurab Zhvania\n|-\n|Greece||1833||-||dates||Kostas Karamanlis\n|-\n|Greenland||1979||-||years||Hans Enoksen\n|-\n|Grenada||1954||-||years||Keith Mitchell\n|-\n|Guinea||1972||-||dates||François Lonseny Fall\n|-\n|Guyana||1953||-||dates||Sam Hinds\n|-\n|Hungary||1848||-||dates||Péter Medgyessy\n|-\n|Iceland||1904||-||years||Davíð Oddsson\n|-\n|India||1947||yes||dates||Manmohan Singh\n|-\n|Iraq||1920||-||years||Iyad Allawi\n|-\n|Ireland||1937||yes||years||Bertie Ahern\n|-\n|Israel||1948||-||years||Ariel Sharon\n|-\n|Italy||1861||-||years||Silvio Berlusconi\n|-\n|Jamaica||1959||-||years||Percival Patterson\n|-\n|Japan||1885||-||years||Junichiro Koizumi\n|-\n|Latvia||1990||yes||dates||Indulis Emsis\n|-\n|Lebanon||1926||-||dates||Rafiq Hariri\n|-\n|Lithuania||1990||yes||dates||Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas\n|-\n|Luxembourg||1959||-||years||Jean-Claude Juncker\n|-\n|Malaysia||1957||yes||years||Abdullah Ahmad Badawi\n|-\n|Malta||1921||yes||years||Lawrence Gonzi\n|-\n|Mongolia||1912||yes||dates||Nambaryn Enkhbayar\n|-\n|Myanmar (Burma)||1948||yes||dates||Khin Nyunt\n|-\n|Netherlands||1945||yes||dates||Jan Peter Balkenende\n|-\n|New Zealand||1856||yes||dates||Helen Clark\n|-\n|North Korea||1948||n/a||years||Pak Pong-ju\n|-\n|Norway||1814||-||years||Kjell Magne Bondevik\n|-\n|Pakistan||1947||-||dates||Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain\n|-\n|Papua New Guinea||1975||-||years||Michael Somare\n|-\n|Poland||1917||-||dates||Marek Belka\n|-\n|Portugal||1980||yes||dates||Pedro Santana Lopes\n|-\n|Romania||1862||-||years||Adrian Năstase\n|-\n|Russia||1991||yes||dates||Mikhail Fradkov\n|-\n|Saint Kitts and Nevis||1960||-||dates||Denzil Douglas\n|-\n|Saint Lucia||1960||-||dates||Kenny Anthony\n|-\n|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines||1956||-||dates||Ralph Gonsalves\n|-\n|São Tomé and Principe||1974||yes||dates||Maria das Neves\n|-\n|Serbia||1805||-||years||Vojislav Kostunica\n|-\n|Slovakia||1918||-||dates||Mikuláš Dzurinda\n|-\n|Slovenia||1990||yes||years||Anton Rop\n|-\n|South Africa||1910||-||dates||(Post Abolished)\n|-\n|Spain||1902||yes||years||José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero\n|-\n|Sri Lanka||1948||-||dates||Mahinda Rajapakse\n|-\n|Sweden||1876||yes||years||Göran Persson\n|-\n|Thailand||1932||-||years||Thaksin Shinawatra\n|-\n|Trinidad and Tobago||1956||-||dates||Patrick Manning\n|-\n|Turkey||1923||-||years||Recep Tayyip Erdoğan\n|-\n|Tuvalu||1975||n/a||dates||Saufatu Sopoanga\n|-\n|United Arab Emirates||1971||-||years||Maktoum Bin Rashid al-Maktoum\n|-\n|United Kingdom||1721||yes||dates||Tony Blair\n|-\n|Vietnam||1976||yes||dates||Phan Van Khai\n|-\n|Yemen||1990||yes||years||Abdul Qadir Bajamal\n|} Prime Minister External links
See also\n*President\n*Monarch\n*Governor-General\n*Head of state\n*List of national leaders\n*Heads of state timeline \n\n\n\n\n |
||
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein (1879-1955) |
, 