Editing Prime minister (section)

==Overview of the office==

=== In monarchies and in republics ===
[[File:Secretary Pompeo and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (43814329771) (Mahathir cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Mahathir Mohamad]], the [[Prime Minister of Malaysia]] for over 24 years (1981–2003, 2018–2020), is known for his role in modernizing the country's economy.]]
The post of prime minister may be encountered both in constitutional [[monarch]]ies (such as [[Prime Minister of Belgium|Belgium]], [[Prime Minister of Denmark|Denmark]], [[Prime Minister of Japan|Japan]], [[Prime Minister of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], the [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Netherlands]], [[Prime Minister of Norway|Norway]], [[Prime Minister of Malaysia|Malaysia]], [[Prime Minister of Morocco|Morocco]], [[Prime Minister of Spain|Spain]],{{notetag | Although the roles of the Spanish head of government coincide with the definition of a 'prime minister', in Spain the position is in fact referred to as 'the Presidency of the Government'.}} [[Prime Minister of Sweden|Sweden]], [[Prime Minister of Thailand|Thailand]], [[Prime Minister of Canada|Canada]], [[Prime Minister of Australia|Australia]], [[Prime Minister of New Zealand|New Zealand]], and the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]]) and in [[parliamentary republic]]s, in which the head of state is an elected official (such as [[Prime Minister of Bangladesh|Bangladesh]], [[Prime Minister of Finland|Finland]], the [[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Czech Republic]], [[Prime Minister of France|France]], [[Prime Minister of Greece|Greece]], [[Prime Minister of Hungary|Hungary]], [[Prime Minister of India|India]], [[Prime Minister of Indonesia|Indonesia (1945–66)]], [[Taoiseach|Ireland]], [[Prime Minister of Nigeria|Nigeria (1960–66)]], [[Prime Minister of Pakistan|Pakistan]], [[Prime Minister of Montenegro|Montenegro]], [[Prime Minister of Croatia|Croatia]], [[Prime Minister of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Prime Minister of Romania|Romania]], [[Prime Minister of Serbia|Serbia]], [[Prime Minister of Turkey|Turkey (1923–2018)]] and [[Prime Minister of Italy|Italy]]). See also "[[First Minister]]", "[[Premier]]", "[[Chief Minister]]", "[[Chancellor]]", "[[Taoiseach]]", "Minister of State (''Statsminister'')", "President of the Government", "President of the Council of Ministers" and "[[Secretary of State]]": alternative titles usually equivalent in meaning to, or translated as, "prime minister". Both [[Indonesia]] and [[Nigeria]] lost their positions as prime ministers in 1966. [[Brazil]], [[Iran]], the [[Philippines]] and [[Turkey]] also lost their positions as prime ministers. [[Chile]], [[Mexico]], [[Switzerland]] and the [[United States]] never had positions as prime ministers.

This contrasts with the [[presidential system]], in which the [[President (government title)|president]] (or equivalent) is both the head of state and the head of the government. In some [[Presidential system|presidential]] and all [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] systems, such as those of [[Politics of Algeria|Algeria]], [[Politics of Argentina|Argentina]], [[Politics of China|China]], [[Politics of France|France]], [[Politics of Poland|Poland]], [[Politics of Russia|Russia]], [[Politics of South Korea|South Korea]] or [[Politics of Ukraine|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. The [[Premier of the Republic of China|premier]] of the [[Politics of the Republic of China|Republic of China (Taiwan)]] is also appointed by the [[President of the Republic of China|president]] but does not require any approval by the legislature.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

Appointment of the prime minister of France does not require any approval by the parliament either, but the parliament may force the resignation of the government. In these systems, it is possible for the president and the prime minister to be from different political parties if the legislature is controlled by a party different from that of the president. When it arises, such a state of affairs is usually referred to as (political) [[cohabitation (government)|cohabitation]].{{cn|date=August 2023}}

===Entry into office===
In parliamentary systems a prime minister may enter into office by several means.

* The head of state appoints a prime minister, of their personal choice: Example: [[France]], where the president has the power to appoint the prime minister of their choice, though the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] can force a government to resign, they cannot nominate or appoint a new candidate.
:While in practice most prime ministers under the [[Westminster system]] (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, [[Malaysia]], India and the United Kingdom) are the leaders of the largest party or [[Political alliance|coalition]] in parliament, technically the appointment of the prime minister is ''de jure'' exercised by the head of state. 
* The head of state appoints a prime minister who has a set timescale within which they must gain a vote of confidence: Example: [[Italy]], [[Romania]], [[Thailand]]
* The head of state appoints a [[formateur]] from among the members of Parliament, who then has a set timescale within which they must form a cabinet, and receive the confidence of Parliament after presenting the Cabinet Composition and Legislative Program to Parliament, and the formateur becomes prime minister once approved by parliament: Example: Israel
* The head of state appoints the leader of the political party with the majority of the seats in the parliament as prime minister.  If no party has a majority, then the leader of the party with a plurality of seats is given an ''exploratory mandate'' to receive the confidence of the parliament within three days.  If this is not possible, then the leader of the party with the second highest seat number is given the exploratory mandate.  If this fails, then the leader of the third largest party is given it and so on: Example: Greece, see [[Prime Minister of Greece]]
* The head of state ''nominates'' a candidate for prime minister who is then submitted to parliament for approval before appointment as prime minister: Example: Spain, where the King sends a nomination to parliament for approval. Also Germany where under the [[Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany|German Basic Law]] (constitution) the [[Bundestag]] votes on a candidate nominated by the federal president. In the Philippines under the 1973 Constitution as amended after martial law, the prime minister was elected by the [[Batasang Pambansâ]] (Legislature) upon nomination by the president. In these cases, parliament can choose another candidate who then would be appointed by the head of state (or, in the case of the Philippines, outright elect that candidate).
* Parliament ''nominates'' a candidate who the head of state is then constitutionally obliged to appoint as prime minister: Example: [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], where the [[President of Ireland|president]] appoints the [[Taoiseach]] on the nomination of [[Dáil Éireann]]. Also [[Japan]].
* Election by the legislature: Example: [[Solomon Islands]] and [[Vanuatu]]. Also the [[Philippines]] under the unamended 1973 Constitution, where the prime minister was supposed to be elected by the Batasang Pambansâ; these provisions were never used because the Philippines was under martial law at the time.
* Direct election by popular vote: Example: [[Israel]], 1996–2001, where the prime minister was elected in a general election, with no regard to political affiliation.
* Nomination by a state office holder other than the head of state or his or her representative: Example: Under the modern Swedish [[Constitution of Sweden|Instrument of Government]], the power to appoint someone to form a government has been moved from the [[Monarch of Sweden|monarch]] to the speaker of the parliament and the parliament itself. The speaker nominates a candidate, who is then elected to prime minister (''statsminister'') by the parliament if an absolute majority of the members of parliament does not vote no (i.e. the candidate can be elected to the post even if more MP:s vote ''no'' than ''yes'').

===Exit from office===
{{Globalize|section|British Commonwealth countries|date=November 2023}}
In older, convention-based [[parliamentary system]]s, prime ministers are not appointed for a specific term in office and in effect may remain in power through a number of [[election]]s and parliaments. For example, [[Margaret Thatcher]] was only ever appointed prime minister on ''one'' occasion, in 1979. She remained ''continuously'' in power until 1990, though she used the assembly of each [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] after a [[general election]] to [[Cabinet reshuffle|reshuffle her cabinet]].

Newer parliamentary systems that operate based on a codified constitution, however, do have a term of office of the prime minister linked to the period in office of the parliament. Hence, for example, Latvian prime minister [[Krišjānis Kariņš]], who was [[First Kariņš cabinet|first appointed in 2018]], had to be reappointed as head of [[Second Kariņš cabinet|a new government]] following the [[2022 Latvian parliamentary election]].

The position of prime minister is usually chosen from the political party that commands – whether by itself or as the largest member of a coalition – the majority of seats in the lower house of parliament, though this is not a requirement either; for example, following the [[2018 Latvian parliamentary election]], after two failed attempts by larger parties to form a coalition headed by them, the leader of the smallest party in parliament – [[Krišjānis Kariņš]] – was eventually appointed as a compromise candidate. [[Italy]] has seen several emergency [[Technocratic government (Italy)|technocratic governments]], such as [[Ciampi government|Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]]'s and [[Draghi government|Mario Draghi]]'s governments, where the prime minister was a non-partisan expert backed by the [[confidence and supply]] of a [[grand coalition|broad cross-section of the parliament]].

In parliamentary systems, [[government]]s are generally required to have the confidence of the [[Lower house|lower house of parliament]] (though a small minority of parliaments, by giving a right to block [[Loss of supply|supply]] to [[upper house]]s, in effect make the [[Cabinet (government)|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 [[constitution]]al systems require either:

{{ordered list|type=lower-alpha
 |a letter of resignation or
 |a request for parliamentary dissolution.
}}

The latter in effect allows the government to appeal the [[Opposition (parliamentary)|opposition]] of parliament to the [[Constituency|electorate]]. However, in many [[jurisdiction]]s a head of state ''may'' refuse a parliamentary dissolution, requiring the resignation of the prime minister and his or her government. In most modern parliamentary systems, the prime minister is the person who decides when to request a parliamentary dissolution.

Older constitutions often vest this power in the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]]. In the United Kingdom, for example, the tradition whereby it is the prime minister who requests a dissolution of parliament dates back to 1918. Prior to then, it was the ''entire'' government that made the request. Similarly, though the modern 1937 Irish constitution grants to the Taoiseach the right to make the request, the earlier 1922 [[Irish Free State Constitution]] vested the power in the ''[[Executive Council (Commonwealth countries)|Executive Council]]'' (the then name for the Irish cabinet).

Some systems, such as [[Germany]] and [[Spain]], require motions of no confidence to be [[constructive vote of no confidence|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]].

===Organisational structure===
{{Main|Cabinet department}}
The prime minister's executive office is usually called the Office of the Prime Minister or [[Cabinet Office]]. The U.K.’s [[Cabinet Office]] includes the Prime Minister’s Office. Conversely, some Prime Minister's Offices incorporate the role of Cabinet, while Australia’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet joins them at par. In Israel, the prime minister's executive office is officially titled the "Prime Minister's Office" in English, but the original Hebrew term can also be translated as the Prime Minister's Ministry.  The Prime Minister's Department is also used, as is Cabinet Department.

===Description of the role===
[[Wilfried Martens]], who served as Prime Minister of Belgium, described his role as follows:

:First of all the Prime Minister must listen a lot, and when deep disagreements occur, he must suggest a solution to the matter. This can be done in different ways. Sometimes during the discussion, I note the elements of the problem and think of a proposal I can formulate to the Council (cabinet), the Secretary taking notes. The Ministers then insist on changing game ages. The Prime Minister can also make a proposal which leaves enough room for amendments in order to keep the current discussion on the right tracks. When a solution must be found in order to reach a consensus, he can force one or two Ministers to join or resign.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}