Editing Politics of Cameroon (section)

==Executive branch==
{{office-table}}
|[[President of Cameroon|President]]
|[[Paul Biya]]
|[[Cameroon People's Democratic Movement]]
|6 November 1982
|-
|[[Prime Minister of Cameroon|Prime Minister]]
|[[Joseph Ngute|Joseph Dion Ngute]]
|[[Cameroon People's Democratic Movement]]
|4 January 2019
|}
[[Image:Paul biya and colin powell.jpg|thumb|left|Cameroon President [[Paul Biya]] (right) with [[Colin Powell]]|alt=Colin Powell and Cameroon president Paul Biya, smiling and talking]]
The 1972 constitution of the '''Republic of Cameroon''' as modified by 1996 reforms provides for a strong central government dominated by the executive. The [[Presidents of Cameroon|president]] is empowered to name and dismiss cabinet members (regardless of parliamentary representation), judges, generals, provincial governors, [[prefect]]s, [[sub-prefect]]s, and heads of Cameroon's [[parastatal]] (about 100 state-controlled) firms, obligate or disburse expenditures, approve or veto regulations, declare states of emergency, and appropriate and spend profits of parastatal firms. The president is not required to consult the National Assembly.  In 2008, a constitutional amendment was passed that eliminated term limits for president.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Cameroon parliament extends Biya's term limit|date=11 April 2008|publisher=France 24|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20080411-cameroon-parliament-paul-biya-term-limit-extension|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008042404/http://www.france24.com/en/20080411-cameroon-parliament-paul-biya-term-limit-extension |archive-date=8 October 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

The judiciary is subordinate to the executive branch's [[Ministry of Justice of Cameroon|Ministry of Justice]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Official Ministry of Justice of Cameroon site |url=http://minjustice.gov.cm/}}</ref> The [[Supreme court]] may review the constitutionality of a law only at the president's request.

All local government officials are employees of the central government's Ministry of Territorial Administration, from which local governments also get most of their budgets.

While the president, the minister of justice, and the president's judicial advisers (the Supreme Court) top the judicial hierarchy, traditional rulers, courts, and councils also exercise functions of government. Traditional courts still play a major role in domestic, property, and [[probate law]]. [[Tribal law]]s and customs are honored in the formal court system when not in conflict with national law. Traditional rulers receive stipends from the national government.