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109-827: This article lists the heads of state of Hungary , from the Hungarian Declaration of Independence and the establishment of the Hungarian State in 1849 (during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 ) until the present day. The current head of state of Hungary is President of the Republic Tamás Sulyok , former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court . He was elected on 26 February 2024 and took office on 5 March 2024. For earlier rulers, see Grand Prince of
218-434: A head of government or a cabinet minister or in other cases (possibly as a message, for instance, to distance themselves without rendering offence) just a military officer or civil servant. For non-executive heads of state there is often a degree of censorship by the politically responsible government (such as the head of government ). This means that the government discreetly approves agenda and speeches, especially where
327-536: A legislative branch , and a judicial branch . Executive power is exercised by the president of the republic and the Government . The Government consists of the prime minister and ministers. The prime minister is appointed by the president, and is responsible to Parliament. The government , including the prime minister, can be revoked by the National Assembly , the lower house of Parliament, through
436-723: A semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic . The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular , democratic , and social Republic ". The constitution provides for a separation of powers and proclaims France's "attachment to the Rights of Man and the principles of National Sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789 ". The political system of France consists of an executive branch ,
545-580: A bill (effectively treating the bill as an issue of a confidence vote), under the provisions of article 49.3 of the Constitution. The bill is then considered passed unless the National Assembly votes a motion of no-confidence (French: motion de censure ), in which case the bill is defeated and the government has to resign. As of 2006 , the use of this article was the " First Employment Contract " proposed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin,
654-573: A bill to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality, which are used under the president's discretion. The most extreme non-executive republican head of state is the President of Israel , which holds no reserve powers whatsoever. The least ceremonial powers held by the president are to provide a mandate to attempt to form a government, to approve the dissolution of the Knesset made by
763-518: A ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Since the passage in Sweden of the 1974 Instrument of Government , the Swedish monarch no longer has many of the standard parliamentary system head of state functions that had previously belonged to him or her, as was the case in the preceding 1809 Instrument of Government . Today, the speaker of
872-543: A commission typically composed of senior lawyers or of members of the Parliament. Each of the two chambers of the Parliament often has its own commission, but sometimes they collaborate to create a single Commission nationale mixte paritaire . For example: In addition, the duties of public service limit the power that the executive has over the French Civil Service . For instance, appointments, except for
981-440: A federal constituent or a dependent territory, the same role is fulfilled by the holder of an office corresponding to that of a head of state. For example, in each Canadian province the role is fulfilled by the lieutenant governor , whereas in most British Overseas Territories the powers and duties are performed by the governor . The same applies to Australian states , Indian states , etc. Hong Kong 's constitutional document,
1090-538: A head of state, and determines the extent of its head's executive powers of government or formal representational functions. In terms of protocol : the head of a sovereign , independent state is usually identified as the person who, according to that state's constitution, is the reigning monarch , in the case of a monarchy ; or the president, in the case of a republic . Among the state constitutions (fundamental laws) that establish different political systems, four major types of heads of state can be distinguished: In
1199-429: A host role during a state visit , and the programme may feature playing of the national anthems by a military band , inspection of military troops , official exchange of gifts, and attending a state dinner at the official residence of the host. At home, heads of state are expected to render lustre to various occasions by their presence, such as by attending artistic or sports performances or competitions (often in
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#17327982564121308-487: A law. If Parliament votes "no" to ratification, the ordinance is cancelled. Most of the time, ratification is made implicitly or explicitly through a Parliament act that deals with the subject concerned, rather than by the ratification act itself. The use of ordinances is normally reserved for urgent matters, or for technical, uncontroversial texts (such as the ordinances that converted all sums in French francs to euros in
1417-498: A majority support in the legislature (or, at least, not a majority opposition – a subtle but important difference). It also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. The executive branch is thus said to be responsible (or answerable) to the legislature, with the head of government and cabinet in turn accepting constitutional responsibility for offering constitutional advice to
1526-763: A matter of convention, the presidency has been held simultaneously by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party , the top leader in the one party system . The presidency is officially regarded as an institution of the state rather than an administrative post; theoretically, the President serves at the pleasure of the National People's Congress , the legislature, and is not legally vested to take executive action on its own prerogative. While clear categories do exist, it
1635-583: A mention or signature; and public places, streets, monuments and institutions such as schools are named for current or previous heads of state. In monarchies (e.g., Belgium) there can even be a practice to attribute the adjective "royal" on demand based on existence for a given number of years. However, such political techniques can also be used by leaders without the formal rank of head of state, even party - and other revolutionary leaders without formal state mandate. Heads of state often greet important foreign visitors, particularly visiting heads of state. They assume
1744-461: A motion of censure, forcing the resignation of the government. This, in practice, forces the government to reflect the same political party or coalition which has the majority in the Assembly. Ministers have to answer questions from members of Parliament, both written and oral; this is known as the questions au gouvernement ("questions to the government"). In addition, ministers attend meetings of
1853-528: A motion of no-confidence; this ensures that the prime minister is practically always supported by a majority in the lower house (which, on most topics, has prominence over the upper house). Parliament consists of the National Assembly and the Senate . It passes statutes and votes on the budget; it controls the action of the executive through formal questioning on the floor of the houses of Parliament and by establishing commissions of inquiry. The constitutionality of
1962-407: A move that greatly backfired. Traditionally, the government comprises members of three ranks. Ministers are the most senior members of the government; deputy ministers ( ministres délégués ) assist ministers in particular areas of their portfolio; state secretaries ( secrétaires d'État ) assist ministers in less important areas, and attend government meetings only occasionally. Before the founding of
2071-785: A notable feature of constitutions in the Americas , including those of Argentina , Brazil , Colombia , El Salvador , Mexico and Venezuela ; this is generally attributed to the strong influence of the United States in the region, and as the United States Constitution served as an inspiration and model for the Latin American wars of independence of the early 19th century. Most presidents in such countries are selected by democratic means (popular direct or indirect election); however, like all other systems,
2180-425: A parallel administration, especially (but not only) in all matters that are politically sensitive. Each cabinet is led by a chief-of-staff entitled directeur de cabinet . The state also has distributive services spread throughout French territory, often reflecting divisions into régions or départements . The prefect , the representative of the national government in each région or département , supervises
2289-416: A parliamentary system (such as India, Germany, Austria, Italy and Israel), the head of state is usually titled president and the principal functions of such presidents are mainly ceremonial and symbolic, as opposed to the presidents in a presidential or semi-presidential system. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system. The older the constitution,
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#17327982564122398-439: A referendum to allow him to resume his monarchical powers and duties, but because of the ongoing controversy he ultimately abdicated.) The Belgian constitutional crisis in 1990, when the head of state refused to sign into law a bill permitting abortion, was resolved by the cabinet assuming the power to promulgate the law while he was treated as "unable to reign" for twenty-four hours. These officials are excluded completely from
2507-424: A separate head of government. However, in some parliamentary systems, like South Africa , there is an executive president that is both head of state and head of government. Likewise, in some parliamentary systems the head of state is not the head of government, but still has significant powers, for example Morocco . In contrast, a semi-presidential system , such as France , has both heads of state and government as
2616-507: A theatrical honour box, on a platform, on the front row, at the honours table), expositions, national day celebrations , dedication events, military parades and war remembrances, prominent funerals, visiting different parts of the country and people from different walks of life, and at times performing symbolic acts such as cutting a ribbon , groundbreaking , ship christening , laying the first stone. Some parts of national life receive their regular attention, often on an annual basis, or even in
2725-423: A variety of topics. If necessary, they can establish parliamentary enquiry commissions with broad investigative power. The National Assembly is the principal legislative body. Its 577 deputies are directly elected for five-year terms in local majority votes, and all seats are voted on in each election. The National Assembly may force the resignation of the government by voting a motion of censure. For this reason,
2834-401: Is Michel Barnier since 5 September 2024. The French executive has a limited power to establish regulation or legislation. (See below for how such regulations or legislative items interact with statute law.) Only the president and prime minister sign decrees ( décrets ), which are akin to US executive orders . Decrees can only be taken following certain procedures and with due respect to
2943-667: Is a unitary state , its administrative subdivisions— regions , departments and communes —have various legal functions, and the national government is prohibited from intruding into their normal operations. France was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community , later the European Union . As such, France has transferred part of its sovereignty to European institutions, as provided by its constitution. The French government therefore has to abide by European treaties , directives and regulations . According to
3052-691: Is based upon civil law system which evolved from the Napoleonic Codes . It is divided into the judicial branch (dealing with civil law and criminal law ) and the administrative branch (dealing with appeals against executive decisions), each with their own independent supreme court of appeal: the Court of Cassation for the judicial courts and the Conseil d'Etat for the administrative courts. The French government includes various bodies that check abuses of power and independent agencies. While France
3161-558: Is defined in the constitution as "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" (article 1), and is generally recognised throughout the world as the Japanese head of state. Although the emperor formally appoints the prime minister to office, article 6 of the constitution requires him to appoint the candidate "as designated by the Diet", without any right to decline appointment. He is
3270-560: Is headed by a director, named by the President in Council . The central administration largely stays the same, regardless of the political tendency of the executive in power. In addition, each minister has a private office, which is composed of members whose nomination is politically determined, called the cabinet . Cabinets are quite important and employ numbers of highly qualified staff to follow all administrative and political affairs. They are powerful, and have been sometimes considered as
3379-489: Is required to obtain a nationwide majority of non-blank votes at either the first or second round of balloting, which implies that the president is somewhat supported by at least half of the voting population. As a consequence, the president of France is the pre-eminent figure in French politics. He appoints the prime minister and chairs the Council of Ministers (Cabinet meeting). Though the president may not de jure dismiss
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3488-561: Is sometimes difficult to choose which category some individual heads of state belong to. In reality, the category to which each head of state belongs is assessed not by theory but by practice. Constitutional change in Liechtenstein in 2003 gave its head of state, the Reigning Prince , constitutional powers that included a veto over legislation and power to dismiss the head of government and cabinet. It could be argued that
3597-474: Is the public persona of a state or sovereign state . The specific naming of the head of state depends on the country's form of government and separation of powers ; the head of state may be a ceremonial figurehead or concurrently the head of government and more. In a parliamentary system , such as India or the United Kingdom , the head of state usually has mostly ceremonial powers, with
3706-457: The Basic Law , for example, specifies the chief executive as the head of the special administrative region, in addition to their role as the head of government. These non-sovereign-state heads, nevertheless, have limited or no role in diplomatic affairs, depending on the status and the norms and practices of the territories concerned. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely
3815-526: The Council of Ministers , is chaired by the president and usually takes place at the Élysée Palace . The Council of Ministers is the executive's formal decision-making body since government bills need to be approved by the Council to be introduced in Parliament, some decrees are signed during the meeting ( decrees in Council of Ministers ) and some constitutional powers have to be approved by the Council beforehand to be invoked. The current French prime minister
3924-606: The Fifth Republic in 1958, some ministers of particular political importance were called "Ministers of State" ( ministres d'État ); the practice has continued under the Fifth Republic in a mostly honorific fashion: ministers styled "Minister of State" are of higher importance in the gouvernement and have the ability to deputize for the PM and the authority to hold inter-ministerial meetings. The number of ministries and
4033-564: The French Revolution ; presumption of innocence ; freedom of speech ; freedom of opinion including freedom of religion ; the guarantee of property against arbitrary seizure; the accountability of government agents to the citizenry. France has a semi-presidential system of government, with both a president and a prime minister . The prime minister is responsible to the French Parliament . A presidential candidate
4142-466: The National Assembly ( legislature ) and is thus similar, in principle, to a head of government in a parliamentary system but is also, in addition, recognised as the head of state. The offices of president of Nauru and president of Botswana are similar in this respect to the South African presidency. Panama , during the military dictatorships of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega ,
4251-640: The Reichstag , which was expected, in normal circumstances, to be answerable to the Reichstag. Initially, the president was merely a symbolic figure with the Reichstag dominant; however, persistent political instability, in which governments often lasted only a few months, led to a change in the power structure of the republic, with the president's emergency powers called increasingly into use to prop up governments challenged by critical or even hostile Reichstag votes. By 1932, power had shifted to such an extent that
4360-479: The V-Dem Democracy indices France was in 2023 the 10th most electoral democratic country in the world. A popular referendum approved the constitution of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, greatly strengthening the authority of the presidency and the executive with respect to Parliament. The constitution does not contain a bill of rights in itself, but its preamble mentions that France should follow
4469-496: The Viceroy and Governor-General of India . Head of state is the highest-ranking constitutional position in a sovereign state. A head of state has some or all of the roles listed below, often depending on the constitutional category (above), and does not necessarily regularly exercise the most power or influence of governance. There is usually a formal public ceremony when a person becomes head of state, or some time after. This may be
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4578-413: The constitutionally socialist state type inspired by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its constitutive Soviet republics , real political power belonged to the sole legal party. In these states, there was no formal office of head of state, but rather the leader of the legislative branch was considered to be the closest common equivalent of a head of state as a natural person . In
4687-665: The de facto Soviet leader at the moment. For example, Nikita Khrushchev never headed the Supreme Soviet but was First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (party leader) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers ( head of government ). This may even lead to an institutional variability, as in North Korea , where, after the presidency of party leader Kim Il Sung , the office
4796-420: The de facto leaders of the nation (in practice they divide the leadership of the nation between themselves). Meanwhile, in presidential systems , the head of state is also the head of government. In one-party ruling communist states , the position of president has no tangible powers by itself; however, since such a head of state, as a matter of custom, simultaneously holds the post of General Secretary of
4905-507: The high contracting party with respect to international treaties. The remaining official functions of the sovereign, by constitutional mandate or by unwritten convention, are to open the annual session of the Riksdag, receive foreign ambassadors and sign the letters of credence for Swedish ambassadors, chair the foreign advisory committee, preside at the special Cabinet council when a new prime minister takes office, and to be kept informed by
5014-529: The personification of the Canadian state and is described by the Department of Canadian Heritage as the "personal symbol of allegiance, unity and authority for all Canadians". In many countries, official portraits of the head of state can be found in government offices, courts of law, or other public buildings. The idea, sometimes regulated by law, is to use these portraits to make the public aware of
5123-482: The "imperial model", because the executive officials of the government are answerable solely and exclusively to a presiding, acting head of state, and is selected by and on occasion dismissed by the head of state without reference to the legislature. It is notable that some presidential systems, while not providing for collective executive accountability to the legislature, may require legislative approval for individuals prior to their assumption of cabinet office and empower
5232-427: The 5th Republic: in 1962 when the parliamentary majority of the time voted a motion of censure against the government of George Pompidou. The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament (the cabinet has control over the parliamentary order of business 50% of the time, 2 out of 4 weeks per month). The government can also 'commit its responsibility' on a bill it has proposed (effectively treating
5341-420: The Assembly is usually politically allied to the ministers, such legislation is, in general, very likely to pass (unless there is a hung parliament). However, this is not guaranteed, and, on occasion, the opinion of the majority parliamentarians may differ significantly from those of the executive, which often results in a large number of amendments. The prime minister can commit the government's responsibility on
5450-503: The Communist Party , they are the executive leader with their powers deriving from their status of being the party leader , rather than the office of president. Former French president Charles de Gaulle , while developing the current Constitution of France (1958), said that the head of state should embody l'esprit de la nation ("the spirit of the nation"). Some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of "models". An independent nation state normally has
5559-485: The Constitution have added a reference in the preamble to an Environment charter that has full constitutional value, and a right for citizens to contest the constitutionality of a statute before the Constitutional Council. The foundational principles of the constitution include: the equality of all citizens before law, and the rejection of special class privileges such as those that existed prior to
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#17327982564125668-419: The Constitution puts under the responsibility of legislation, issued by Parliament. Still, Parliament may, through a habilitation law, authorize the executive to issue ordinances ( ordonnances ), with legislative value, in precisely-defined areas. Habilitation laws specify the scope of the ordinance. After the ordinance is issued, the government has to propose a ratifying bill in order that the ordinance becomes
5777-487: The German president, Paul von Hindenburg , was able to dismiss a chancellor and select his own person for the job, even though the outgoing chancellor possessed the confidence of the Reichstag while the new chancellor did not. Subsequently, President von Hindenburg used his power to appoint Adolf Hitler as Chancellor without consulting the Reichstag. Note: The head of state in a "presidential" system may not actually hold
5886-1298: The Hungarians , King of Hungary and List of Hungarian monarchs . Parties Opposition Party After the collapse of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 , the restored Hungarian Kingdom became an integral part of the Austrian Empire until 1867, when dual Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was created and the Hungarian Kingdom was organized as Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen . Parties F48P–Károlyi Parties MSZP/SZKMMP Parties MSZDP Parties KNEP Independent Independent Parties NYKP Parties Independent Parties FKGP MDP Parties MDP – MSZMP Independent Parties MDP – MSZMP Parties MSZP SZDSZ Fidesz Independent Head of state A head of state (or chief of state )
5995-584: The National Assembly and the Senate; the National Assembly is the pre-eminent body. Parliament meets for one nine-month session each year: under special circumstances the president can call an additional session. Although parliamentary powers have diminished from those existing under the Fourth Republic , the National Assembly can still cause a government to fall if an absolute majority of the total Assembly membership votes to censure. It happened once under
6104-520: The Riksdag appoints (following a vote in the Riksdag ) the prime minister and terminates their commission following a vote of no confidence or voluntary resignation. Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. Laws and ordinances are promulgated by two Cabinet members in unison signing "On Behalf of the Government" and the government—not the monarch—is
6213-944: The Soviet Union this position carried such titles as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR ; Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet ; and in the case of the Soviet Russia Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets (pre-1922), and Chairman of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian SFSR (1956–1966). This position may or may not have been held by
6322-464: The activities of the distributive services in his or her jurisdiction. Generally, the services of a certain administration in a région or département are managed by a high-level civil servant, often called director, but not always; for instance, the services of the Trésor public (Treasury) in each département are headed by a treasurer-paymaster general, appointed by the president of the republic. In
6431-461: The approval of each of the six independent realms of which he was monarch. In monarchies with a written constitution, the position of monarch is created under the constitution and could be abolished through a democratic procedure of constitutional amendment. In many cases there are significant procedural hurdles imposed on such a procedure (as in the Constitution of Spain ). In republics with
6540-400: The bill as an issue of a vote of confidence), and unless a motion of no confidence is introduced (within 24 hours after the proposal) and passed (within 48 hours of introduction – thus full procedures last at most 72 hours), the bill is considered adopted without a vote. Members of Parliament enjoy parliamentary immunity . Both assemblies have committees that write reports on
6649-564: The constitution (or customary law) assumes all political responsibility by granting the crown inviolability (in fact also imposing political emasculation) as in the Kingdom of Belgium from its very beginning; in a monarchy this may even be extended to some degree to other members of the dynasty, especially the heir to the throne. Below follows a list of examples from different countries of general provisions in law, which either designate an office as head of state or define its general purpose. In
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#17327982564126758-567: The constitution and statute law. The individual ministers issue ministerial orders ( arrêtés ) in their fields of competence, subordinate to statutes and decrees. Contrary to a sometimes used polemical cliché , that dates from the French Third Republic of 1870–1940, with its decrees-law ( décrets-lois ), neither the president nor the prime minister may rule by decree (outside of the narrow case of presidential emergency powers). The executive cannot issue decrees in areas that
6867-516: The decision by King Leopold III of the Belgians to surrender on behalf of his state to the invading German army in 1940, against the will of his government. Judging that his responsibility to the nation by virtue of his coronation oath required him to act, he believed that his government's decision to fight rather than surrender was mistaken and would damage Belgium. (Leopold's decision proved highly controversial. After World War II , Belgium voted in
6976-399: The disposal of the government. However, various agencies are independent agencies ( autorités administratives indépendantes ) that have been statutorily excluded from the executive's authority, although they belong in the executive branch. These independent agencies have some specialized regulatory power, some executive power, and some quasi-judicial power. They are also often consulted by
7085-626: The division of responsibilities and administrations between them varies from government to government. While the name and exact responsibility of each ministry may change, one generally finds at least: (For more on French ministries, see French government ministers .) The government has a leading role in shaping the agenda of the houses of Parliament. It may propose laws to Parliament, as well as amendments during parliamentary meetings. It may make use of some procedures to speed up parliamentary deliberations. The government holds weekly meetings (usually on Wednesday mornings): this weekly meeting, known as
7194-490: The duty to supply the public with unbiased information. For instance, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) is an independent public corporation. Its resources must come solely from its commercial sales. The majority of the seats in its board are held by representatives of the French press . The government also provides for watchdogs over its own activities; these independent administrative authorities are headed by
7303-449: The executive: they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, within the government. Hence their states' governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majesty's Government or His/Her Excellency's Government . Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist. The Constitution of Japan ( 日本国憲法 , Nihonkoku-Kenpō )
7412-543: The form of official patronage. The Olympic Charter (rule 55.3) of the International Olympic Committee states that the Olympic summer and winter games shall be opened by the head of state of the host nation, by uttering a single formulaic phrase as determined by the charter. As such invitations may be very numerous, such duties are often in part delegated to such persons as a spouse,
7521-417: The former, permanent personnel are civil servants, while normally in the latter, they are contract employees. In addition, the government owns and controls all, or the majority, of shares of some companies, like Electricité de France , SNCF or Areva . Social security organizations, though established by statute and controlled and supervised by the state, are not operated nor directly controlled by
7630-504: The government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a prime minister who is chosen by the president, but who nevertheless must be able to gain support in the National Assembly . Should a president be of one side of the political spectrum and the opposition be in control of the legislature, the president is usually obliged to select someone from
7739-505: The government or the French Parliament seeking advice before regulating by law. They can impose sanctions that are named "administrative sanctions" sanctions administratives . However, their decisions can still be contested in a judicial court or in an administrative court. Some examples of independent agencies: Public media corporations should not be influenced in their news reporting by the executive in power, since they have
7848-477: The head of government's advice. In practice, these decisions are often a formality. The last time the prime minister of the United Kingdom was unilaterally selected by the monarch was in 1963, when Queen Elizabeth II appointed Alec Douglas-Home on the advice of outgoing Prime Minister Harold Macmillan . Politics of France The politics of France take place within the framework of
7957-538: The head of state is notional chief executive include Australia , Austria , Canada , Denmark , India , Italy , Norway , Spain and the United Kingdom . The few exceptions where the head of state is not even the nominal chief executive - and where supreme executive authority is according to the constitution explicitly vested in a cabinet - include the Czech Republic , Ireland , Israel , Japan and Sweden . The head of state usually appoints most or all
8066-559: The head of state. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies , the legitimacy of the unelected head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. Accordingly, at the time of the Glorious Revolution , the English parliament acted of its own authority to name a new king and queen (the joint monarchs Mary II and William III ); likewise, Edward VIII 's abdication required
8175-475: The highest positions (the national directors of agencies and administrations), must be made solely on merit (typically determined in competitive exams) or on time in office. Certain civil servants have statuses that prohibit executive interference; for instance, judges and prosecutors may be named or moved only according to specific procedures. Public researchers and university professors enjoy academic freedom ; by law, they enjoy complete freedom of speech within
8284-447: The houses of Parliament when laws pertaining to their areas of responsibility are being discussed. Government ministers cannot pass legislation without parliamentary approval, though the prime minister may issue autonomous regulations or subordinated regulations ( décrets d'application ) provided they do not infringe on the Parliament domain, as detailed in the constitution. Ministers, however, can propose legislation to Parliament; since
8393-406: The key officials in the government, including the head of government and other cabinet ministers, key judicial figures; and all major office holders in the civil service , foreign service and commissioned officers in the military . In many parliamentary systems, the head of government is appointed with the consent (in practice often decisive) of the legislature, and other figures are appointed on
8502-564: The king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Sardinia , and then the Kingdom of Italy , the Statuto Albertino —the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, but not required by law. Examples of heads of state in parliamentary systems using greater powers than usual, either because of ambiguous constitutions or unprecedented national emergencies, include
8611-694: The last several decades, the departmental conseil général (see "Local Government" below) has taken on new responsibilities and plays an important role in administering government services at the local level. The government also maintains public establishments. These have a relative administrative and financial autonomy, to accomplish a defined mission. They are attached to one or more supervising authorities. These are classified into several categories: Note that in administrations and public establishments of an administrative character operate under public law, while establishments of an industrial and commercial character operate mostly under private law. In consequence, in
8720-414: The leading symbol of the nation, the president in this system acts mostly as a prime minister since the incumbent must be a member of the legislature at the time of the election, answer question sessions in Parliament, avoid motions of no confidence, etc. Semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably (in the president-parliamentary subtype) a requirement that
8829-402: The legislature to remove a president from office (for example, in the United States of America ). In this case the debate centers on confirming them into office, not removing them from office, and does not involve the power to reject or approve proposed cabinet members en bloc , so accountability does not operate in the same sense understood as a parliamentary system. Presidential systems are
8938-515: The majority of states, whether republics or monarchies, executive authority is vested, at least notionally, in the head of state. In presidential systems the head of state is the actual, de facto chief executive officer. Under parliamentary systems the executive authority is exercised by the head of state, but in practice is done so on the advice of the cabinet of ministers. This produces such terms as "Her Majesty's Government" and "His Excellency's Government." Examples of parliamentary systems in which
9047-414: The more constitutional leeway tends to exist for a head of state to exercise greater powers over government, as many older parliamentary system constitutions in fact give heads of state powers and functions akin to presidential or semi-presidential systems, in some cases without containing reference to modern democratic principles of accountability to parliament or even to modern governmental offices. Usually,
9156-476: The national government. Instead, they are managed by the "social partners" ( partenaires sociaux ) – unions of employers such as the MEDEF and unions of employees. Their budget is separate from the national budget. A Shadow Cabinet is sometimes formed by the opposition parties in the National Assembly , though this is uncommon. The Parliament of France, making up the legislative branch , consists of two houses:
9265-409: The nominal chief executive officer , heading the executive branch of the state, and possessing limited executive power. In reality, however, following a process of constitutional evolution, powers are usually only exercised by direction of a cabinet , presided over by a head of government who is answerable to the legislature. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has
9374-713: The office of President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly , while the party leader's post as chairman of the National Defense Commission was simultaneously declared "the highest post of the state", not unlike Deng Xiaoping earlier in the People's Republic of China . In China , under the current country's constitution , the Chinese President is a largely ceremonial office with limited power. However, since 1993, as
9483-404: The opposition to become prime minister, a process known as Cohabitation . President François Mitterrand , a Socialist, for example, was forced to cohabit with the neo-Gaullist (right wing) Jacques Chirac , who became his prime minister from 1986 to 1988. In the French system, in the event of cohabitation, the president is often allowed to set the policy agenda in security and foreign affairs and
9592-518: The ordinary constraints of academia. The government also provides specialized agencies for regulating critical markets or limited resources, and markets set up by regulations. Although, as part of the administration , they are subordinate to the ministers, they often act with a high degree of independence. Each ministry has a central administration ( administration centrale ), generally divided into directorates. These directorates are usually subdivided into divisions or sub-directorates. Each directorate
9701-423: The president's dominance can be severely limited, as they must choose a prime minister and government who reflect the majority in parliament, and who may implement the agenda of the parliamentary majority. When parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum control parliament and the presidency, the power-sharing arrangement is known as cohabitation . Before 2002, cohabitation occurred more commonly, because
9810-704: The presidential model also encompasses people who become head of state by other means, notably through military dictatorship or coup d'état , as often seen in Latin American , Middle Eastern and other presidential regimes. Some of the characteristics of a presidential system, such as a strong dominant political figure with an executive answerable to them, not the legislature can also be found among absolute monarchies , parliamentary monarchies and single party (e.g., Communist ) regimes, but in most cases of dictatorship, their stated constitutional models are applied in name only and not in political theory or practice. In certain states under Marxist–Leninist constitutions of
9919-439: The prime minister and their government are necessarily from the dominant party or coalition in the assembly. In the case of a president and assembly from opposing parties, this leads to the situation known as cohabitation . While motions of censure are periodically proposed by the opposition following government actions that it deems highly inappropriate, they are usually purely rhetorical; party discipline ensures that, throughout
10028-548: The prime minister on matters of state. In contrast, the only contact the president of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach (head of government) to the president. However, the president has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach . The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers , such as referring
10137-401: The prime minister runs the domestic and economic agenda. Other countries evolve into something akin to a semi-presidential system or indeed a full presidential system. Weimar Germany , for example, in its constitution provided for a popularly elected president with theoretically dominant executive powers that were intended to be exercised only in emergencies, and a cabinet appointed by him from
10246-403: The prime minister's proposal. When the president's political party or supporters control parliament , the president is the dominant player in executive action, choosing whomever he wishes for the government, and having it follow his political agenda (parliamentary disagreements do occur, though, even within the same party). However, when the president's political opponents control parliament,
10355-429: The prime minister, and to pardon criminals or to commute their sentence. Some parliamentary republics (like South Africa , Botswana and Kiribati ) have fused the roles of the head of state with the head of government (like in a presidential system), while having the sole executive officer, often called a president, being dependent on the Parliament's confidence to rule (like in a parliamentary system). While also being
10464-420: The prime minister, nevertheless, if the prime minister is from the same political side, they can, in practice, have them resign on demand (De Gaulle is said to have initiated this practice "by requiring undated letters of resignation from his nominees to the premiership," though more recent presidents have not necessarily used this method ). The president appoints the ministers, ministers-delegate and secretaries on
10573-676: The principles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , as well as those of the preamble to the constitution of the Fourth Republic . This has been judged to imply that the principles laid forth in those texts have constitutional value, and that legislation infringing on those principles should be found unconstitutional if a recourse is filed before the Constitutional Council . Also, recent modifications of
10682-485: The statutes is checked by the Constitutional Council , members of which are appointed by the president of the republic, the president of the National Assembly , and the president of the Senate . Former presidents of the Republic can also be members of the Council if they wish (Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Jacques Chirac are the only former presidents to have participated in the Council's work). The independent judiciary
10791-580: The strengthening of the Prince's powers, vis-a-vis the Landtag (legislature), has moved Liechtenstein into the semi-presidential category. Similarly the original powers given to the Greek President under the 1974 Hellenic Republic constitution moved Greece closer to the French semi-presidential model. Another complication exists with South Africa , in which the president is in fact elected by
10900-454: The swearing in at the inauguration of a president of a republic, or the coronation of a monarch. One of the most important roles of the modern head of state is being a living national symbol of the state; in hereditary monarchies this extends to the monarch being a symbol of the unbroken continuity of the state. For instance, the Canadian monarch is described by the government as being
11009-498: The symbolic connection to the government, a practice that dates back to medieval times. Sometimes this practice is taken to excess, and the head of state becomes the principal symbol of the nation, resulting in the emergence of a personality cult where the image of the head of state is the only visual representation of the country, surpassing other symbols such as the flag . Other common representations are on coins , postage and other stamps and banknotes , sometimes by no more than
11118-407: The term of the president was seven years and the term of the National Assembly was five years. With the term of the president shortened to five years, and with the presidential and parliamentary elections separated by only a few months, this is less likely to happen . Emmanuel Macron became president on 14 May 2017, succeeding François Hollande . In the 2022 presidential election President Macron
11227-436: The title of " president " - the name of the system refers to any head of state who actually governs and is not directly dependent on the legislature to remain in office. Some constitutions or fundamental laws provide for a head of state who is not only in theory but in practice chief executive, operating separately from, and independent from, the legislature. This system is known as a "presidential system" and sometimes called
11336-402: The use of ordinances in such contexts as anti-democratic and demeaning to Parliament. Note however that since the National Assembly can dismiss the government through a motion of censure, the government necessarily relies on a majority in Parliament, and this majority would be likely to adopt the controversial law anyway. The general rule is that government agencies and the civil service are at
11445-688: The various laws in force in France). There is also a practice of using ordinances to transpose European Directives into French law, to avoid late transposition of Directives, which happens often and is criticized by the EU Commission . Ordinances are also used to codify law into codes – to rearrange them for the sake of clarity without substantially modifying them. They are also sometimes used to push controversial legislation through, such as when Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin created new forms of work contracts in 2005. The opposition then criticizes
11554-574: Was drawn up under the Allied occupation that followed World War II and was intended to replace the previous militaristic and quasi- absolute monarchy system with a form of liberal democracy parliamentary system . The constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet , who is chaired by the prime minister (articles 65 and 66) and responsible to the Diet (articles 67 and 69). The emperor
11663-633: Was nominally a presidential republic. However, the elected civilian presidents were effectively figureheads with real political power being exercised by the chief of the Panamanian Defense Forces . Historically, at the time of the League of Nations (1920–1946) and the founding of the United Nations (1945), India's head of state was the monarch of the United Kingdom, ruling directly or indirectly as Emperor of India through
11772-415: Was re-elected after beating his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen , in the runoff. He was the first re-elected incumbent French president since 2002. The prime minister leads the government , which comprises junior and senior ministers. It has at its disposal the civil service , government agencies, and the armed forces . The government is responsible to Parliament, and the National Assembly may pass
11881-411: Was vacant for years. The late president was granted the posthumous title (akin to some ancient Far Eastern traditions to give posthumous names and titles to royalty) of " Eternal President " . All substantive power, as party leader, itself not formally created for four years, was inherited by his son Kim Jong Il . The post of president was formally replaced on 5 September 1998, for ceremonial purposes, by
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