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47-492: The Council was implemented by the minister-presidents of the eleven states of Germany within the three Western Allied occupation zones and inaugurated on 1 September 1948. It included 70 state delegates selected by the Landtag parliaments specifically for this purpose (including five non-voting representatives of West Berlin ), many of them state ministers, government officials or legal academics. The deputies could rely on

94-499: A broader sense, a head of government can be used loosely when referring to various comparable positions under a dominant head of state (especially is the case of ancient or feudal eras, so the term "head of government", in this case, could be considered a contradiction in terms). In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch and holds no more power than the monarch allows. Some such titles are diwan, mahamantri , pradhan , wasir or vizier . However, just because

141-423: A constitution. In presidential republics or in absolute monarchies , the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy , according to the constitution (or other basic laws) of the particular state. In semi-presidential systems , the head of government may answer to both

188-728: A draft document prepared by the constitutional Herrenchiemsee convention held in August. The Council was officially opened by North Rhine-Westphalia minister-president Karl Arnold as host. The second speaker was Hessian minister-president Christian Stock as current head of the Ministerial Conference of the Federal States. The site of the opening ceremony was at the great hall of the Museum Koenig in Bonn,

235-422: A head of government is Prime Minister . This is used as a formal title in many states, but may also be an informal generic term to refer to whichever office is considered the principal minister under an otherwise styled head of state , as minister — Latin for servants or subordinates—is a common title for members of a government (but many other titles are in use, e.g. chancellor and secretary of state). Formally

282-440: A head of government, such as a president, chancellor, or prime minister, and the relationship between that position and other state institutions, such as the relation between the head of state and of the legislature, varies greatly among sovereign states, depending largely on the particular system of the government that has been chosen, won, or evolved over time. In most parliamentary systems , including constitutional monarchies ,

329-601: A preliminary decision in view of the "provisional" capital of a West German state, which the minister-presidents at a convention in Düsseldorf on 11 October 1948 decided to locate in Bonn (instead of Frankfurt ). The assembly elected the Christian Democratic politician Konrad Adenauer , former mayor of Cologne , its president. The regular sessions of the Parliamentary Council were held at

376-449: A vote of confidence (in practice the king usually appoints the leader of the winning party as formateur to form a government). The federal ministers later swear an oath of allegiance to the king. The minister-presidents of the regions and linguistic communities are not appointed by the king, but are directly appointed by their respective parliament. Ministers of the regions and linguistic communities are not required to swear allegiance to

423-758: Is alleged that the increased personalisation of leadership in a number of states has led to heads of government becoming themselves "semi-presidential" figures, due in part to media coverage of politics that focuses on the leader and his or her mandate, rather than on parliament; and to the increasing centralisation of power in the hands of the head of government. Such allegations have been made against three former British Prime ministers: Margaret Thatcher , Tony Blair , and Boris Johnson . They were also made against Italian prime ministers Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Renzi , Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau and Federal Chancellor of West Germany (later all of Germany), Helmut Kohl , when in power. The head of government

470-582: Is called the Landeshauptmann (literally 'state captain'), not Ministerpräsident . In the city-state of Vienna the head of the state government is called the Bürgermeister und Landeshauptmann (Mayor and state captain). The term minister-president ( Dutch : minister-president , French : ministre-président , German : Ministerpräsident ) is also used in Belgium to describe

517-406: Is officially referred to as "minister-president", although the informal term "premier" is also frequently used. His responsibilities are defined in the constitution of 1848 as the voorzitter van de ministerraad ('chair of the council of ministers'). The title of minister-president has been in use since 1945 and officially added to the constitution in 1983. In Norway , Vidkun Quisling , head of

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564-466: Is often provided with an official residence , often in the same fashion as heads of state often are. The name of the residence is often used as a metonym or alternative title for 'the government' when the office is politically the highest, e.g. in the UK "Downing Street announced today…" Well-known official residences of heads of government include: Similarly, heads of government of federal entities below

611-719: Is the head of government . "Minister-President" in the Constitution of Latvia of February 15, 1922, arose when the German term Ministerpräsident (minister-president) was translated; the term ministru prezidents (literally 'president of ministers', in Latvian) was coined by the member of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia , Latvian writer Kārlis Skalbe . In the Netherlands the prime minister

658-548: Is used, for instance, as a translation ( calque ) of the German word Ministerpräsident . From 1867 to 1918, the first minister of the government was known as Ministerpräsident (minister-president), before that Staatskanzler (state chancellor). Today the head of the Austrian Federal Government is called the Bundeskanzler (federal chancellor), while the head of a state government

705-641: The Communist Party , the German Party and the Centre Party each sent two delegates. Four of the 65 delegates were women: Elisabeth Selbert (SPD), Friederike Nadig (SPD), Helene Weber (CDU) and Helene Wessel (Centre). The SPD deputy Paul Löbe had served as President of the Reichstag parliament from 1925 until 1932, when he was succeeded by Hermann Göring . The primary purpose of

752-698: The General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party ( top leader in a one-party system) has always held this office since 1993 except for the months of transition . In directorial systems , the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people. A prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council , where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. The most common title for

799-602: The Imperial Chancellor . The title of Hungary's head of government in Hungarian is miniszterelnök which literally translated means "minister-president". However, because "prime minister" or "premier" is the more usual title in a parliamentary system for a head of government in English-speaking nations, miniszterelnök is almost always translated as "prime minister." The Minister president

846-537: The collaborationist government from 1942 to 1945 during the German occupation in World War II , held the title of Minister-President ( Norwegian : ministerpresident ). During the short lived Russian Republic , the role of a Minister-President was established. Alexander Kerensky was chosen to lead the provisional government. Head of government This is an accepted version of this page In

893-421: The executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state , a federated state , or a self-governing colony , autonomous region , or other government who often presides over a cabinet , a group of ministers or secretaries who lead executive departments. In diplomacy , "head of government" is differentiated from " head of state ". The authority of

940-620: The Council was to prepare a new constitution for Germany , thereby drawing lessons from the failure of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism , in order to re-establish a federal state based upon a stable democracy , welfare and the Rechtsstaat maxim. The draft declared human dignity inviolable, and to respect and protect it the duty of all state authority. These basic principles were explicitly declared irreversible by

987-604: The Senate ( Bürgermeister und Präsident des Senates ). On the federal level, the head of the federal government (with an effectively identical function as leader of the cabinet) is called the Chancellor or Federal Chancellor ( Kanzler or Bundeskanzler ). The positions of Minister-president in the German states (during the monarchy days) were mostly established in response to the 1848 German revolutions . The Minister-President of Prussia usually served simultaneously as

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1034-417: The basis of the strength of party support in the lower house; in some other states, the head of government is directly elected by parliament. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament (they must resign on becoming ministers). Heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Constitutions differ in

1081-473: The collegial Government , whose members are all appointed and dismissed at the Prime Minister's sole discretion. Under the unwritten British constitution , the prime minister 's role has evolved, based often on the individual's personal appeal and strength of character, as contrasted between, for example, Winston Churchill as against Clement Attlee , Margaret Thatcher as against John Major . It

1128-503: The council of ministers. It is an alternative term for prime minister , premier , chief minister , or first minister and very similar to the title of president of the council of ministers . In English-speaking countries, similar institutions may be called premiers or first ministers (typically at the subnational level) or prime ministers (typically at the national level). The plural is sometimes formed by adding an s to minister and sometimes by adding an s to president . The term

1175-456: The government and provides (e.g. by turns) the ceremonial Head of state. The only state in which this system is currently employed is Switzerland but other countries such as Uruguay have employed it in the past . This system is described as the directorial system . See Head of state for further explanation of these cases. In parliamentary systems, government functions along the following lines: All of these requirements directly impact

1222-429: The head of government is the de facto political leader of the government, and is answerable to at least one chamber of the legislature. Although there is often a formal reporting relationship to a head of state , the latter usually acts as a figurehead who may take the role of chief executive on limited occasions, either when receiving constitutional advice from the head of government or under specific provisions in

1269-454: The head of government of a Belgian region or linguistic community , but not the head of the Belgian federal government who is referred to as the prime minister ( Dutch : eerste minister , French : premier ministre , German : Premierminister ). According to the Belgian constitution , the federal prime minister is appointed by the king, and approved by the federal parliament with

1316-453: The head of government's role. Consequently, they often play a 'day to day' role in parliament, answering questions and defending the government on the 'floor of the House', while in semi-presidential systems they may not be required to play as much of a role in the functioning of parliament. In many countries, the head of government is commissioned by the head of state to form a government, on

1363-493: The head of state and the legislature with the specifics provided by each country's constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958. In France, the president , the head of state, appoints the prime minister , who is the head of government. However, the president must choose someone who can act effectively as an executive, but who also enjoys

1410-477: The head of state can also be the head of government as well ( ex officio or by ad hoc cumulation, such as a ruling monarch exercising all powers himself) but otherwise has formal precedence over the head of government and other ministers, whether he is their actual political superior (ruling monarch, executive president) or rather theoretical or ceremonial in character (constitutional monarch, non-executive president). Various constitutions use different titles, and even

1457-411: The head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion. Such titles include the following: In some models the head of state and head of government are one and the same. These include: An alternative formula is a single chief political body (e.g., presidium ) which collectively leads

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1504-434: The head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader. A skilled head of government like 19th-century German statesman Otto von Bismarck , Minister President of Prussia and later Chancellor of Germany under Emperor / King Wilhelm I , serves as an example showing that possession of formal powers does not equal political influence. In some cases,

1551-496: The implementation of the Federal Constitutional Court as an separate judicial body, in accordance with the theories of Hans Kelsen . Its preamble stated the obligation to achieve German unity and the draft also provided for the accession of "other parts of Germany", as it was applied to the joining of the former Saar Protectorate in 1957 and German reunification in 1990. The Western Allies insisted on

1598-501: The king but simply take an oath in their respective parliament. See: A Minister President ( Ministerpräsident ) is the head of government in 13 of the 16 States of Germany . Exceptions are the city-states of Berlin , Hamburg and Bremen , where the head of government is called, respectively, the Governing Mayor ( Regierender Bürgermeister ), First Mayor ( Erster Bürgermeister ) and Mayor and President of

1645-426: The level of the sovereign state (often without an actual head of state, at least under international law) may also be given an official residence, sometimes used as an opportunity to display aspirations of statehood: Usually, the residence of the heads of government is not as prestigious and grand as that of the head of state, even if the head of state only performs ceremonial duties. Even the formal representative of

1692-787: The nearby Pedagogical Academy building. The delegates of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) already formed a united faction with their Christian Social (CSU) colleagues from Bavaria , as did the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) together with the Hessian Liberal-Democratic Party and the Democratic People's Party (DVP) from Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern . The 65 voting members included 27 Christian Democrats, 27 Social Democrats (SPD) led by Carlo Schmid , and five Liberals under Theodor Heuss . In addition,

1739-476: The practical reality for the Prime Minister of Belgium and the Prime Minister of Finland . Other states however, make their head of government a central and dominant figure within the cabinet system; Ireland's Taoiseach , for example, alone can decide when to seek a parliamentary dissolution, in contrast to other countries where this is a cabinet decision, with the Prime Minister just one member voting on

1786-530: The prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the president's influence largely restricted to foreign affairs. In communist states , the General Secretary of the Communist Party is the supreme leader, serving as de facto head of state and government. In China , the de jure head of government is the Premier . The Chinese president is legally a ceremonial office , but

1833-407: The range and scope of powers granted to the head of government. Some older constitutions; for example, Australia's 1900 text , and Belgium's 1830 text ; do not mention their prime ministerial offices at all, the offices became a de facto political reality without a formal constitutional status. Some constitutions make a Prime Minister primus inter pares ( first among equals ) and that remains

1880-488: The ratification and the enactment of the first Election Law in preparation of the 1949 federal election , which among others the Basic Law had left it as a remaining task. Minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over

1927-406: The same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, where there is an elected legislative body checking the head of government, include the following. Some of these titles relate to governments below the national level (e.g. states or provinces). In

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1974-462: The so-called eternity clause . To distinguish it, for instance, from the newly established People's Republics behind the Iron Curtain , the draft laid stress on a parliamentary system and references related to notions separation of powers , all bound to the constitution. It included a charter of fundamental rights and the right of access to courts. The Chancellor as head of government

2021-596: The special status of Berlin , which is why the Bundestag MPs from West Berlin were not entitled to vote. The Council adopted the new constitution on 8 May 1949, with 53 votes for and 12 votes against, the Communist, German Party and Centre delegates voted against, as did six out of the eight CSU representatives. It also drafted the Election Law ("Wahlgesetz") for the first Bundestag election of 1949 (which

2068-558: The suggestion. In Israel , while the Government is nominally a collegiate body with a primus inter pares role for the Prime Minister , the Israeli Prime Minister is the dominant figure in the executive branch in practice. The Prime Minister of Sweden , under the 1974 Instrument of Government , is a constitutional office with all key executive powers either directly at his or her disposal or indirectly through

2115-636: The support of France's legislature, the National Assembly , to be able to pass legislation. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party but the majority in the National Assembly is of a different party. Given that the majority party has greater control over state funding and primary legislation , the president is in effect forced to choose a prime minister from the opposition party to ensure an effective, functioning legislature. In this case, known as cohabitation ,

2162-577: Was authorized to draw up the guidelines of policies, while the powers of the President of Germany as head of state were limited. In consequence of the destructive motions in the former Reichstag, the draft implemented the constructive vote of no confidence , whereafter the Chancellor may only be removed from office by the Bundestag parliament if a prospective successor has the support of a majority. The concept of Streitbare Demokratie also included

2209-566: Was later on replaced by the "Bundeswahlgesetz"). The draft was approved by the three Western Supreme Commanders on May 12, as did the state assemblies—except for the Bavarian Landtag for an assumed insufficient realization of the federalism principle, knowing that the consent of two thirds of the state parliaments were enough for the enactment. The Basic Law was then formally signed and promulgated on May 23. The Parliamentary Council disassembled once it had finished its purpose, i.e. after

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