Editing Westminster system (section)

==Role of the head of state==
The [[Head of State|head of state]] or their representative (such as a [[governor-general]]) formally appoints as the [[head of government]] whoever commands the [[Confidence and supply|confidence]] of the [[Lower house|lower]] or [[Unicameralism|sole house]] of the legislature and invites him or her to form a government. In the UK, this is known as [[kissing hands]]. Although the dissolution of the legislature and the call for new elections is formally performed by the head of state, the head of state, by convention, acts according to the wishes of the head of government.

A president, monarch, or governor-general might possess clearly significant [[reserve power]]s. Examples of the use of such powers include the [[Australian constitutional crisis of 1975]] and the Canadian [[King–Byng affair]] in 1926. The [[Lascelles Principles]] were an attempt to create a convention to cover similar situations, but have not been tested in practice. Because of differences in their written constitutions, the formal powers of monarchs, governors-general, and presidents vary greatly from one country to another. However, as sovereigns and governors-general are not elected, and some presidents may not be directly elected by the people, they are often shielded from any public disapproval stemming from unilateral or controversial use of their powers.

In many [[Commonwealth realms]] a governor-general formally represents the monarch, who is usually absent from the realm. In such countries, the identity of the "head of state" may be unclear.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ireland |first=Ian |title=Who is the Australian Head of State? |journal=Research Note |issue=1 |page=1 |publisher=Dept. of the Parliamentary Library |location=Canberra |date=28 August 1995 |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1995-96/96rn01.pdf |issn=1323-5664 |access-date=22 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117075757/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1995-96/96rn01.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}
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