A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime minister is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet. In a minority of systems, notably in semi-presidential systems of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the head of state.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of the government and head of the executive branch. In such systems, the head of state or the head of state's official representative (i.e. the monarch, president, or governor-general) usually holds a largely ceremonial position, although often with reserve powers. The prime minister is often, but not always, a member of parliament and is expected with other ministers to ensure the passage of bills through the legislature. In some monarchies the monarch may also exercise executive powers (known as the royal prerogative) which are constitutionally vested in the crown and can be exercised without the approval of parliament.

As well as being head of government, a prime minister may have other roles or titles—the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for example, is also First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. Prime ministers may take other ministerial posts—for example during the Second World War, Winston Churchill was also Minister of Defence (although there was then no Ministry of Defence). The Prime Minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam, was famous for forming his cabinet entirely of himself and his deputy as soon as the overall result of the 1972 federal election was beyond doubt (see First Whitlam Ministry).

History

The first actual usage of the term prime minister or Premier Ministre was used by Cardinal Richelieu when in 1625 he was named to head the royal council as prime minister of France. Louis XIV and his descendants generally attempted to avoid giving this title to their chief ministers. The term prime minister in the sense that we know it originated in the 18th century in the United Kingdom. Since medieval times monarchs of England and the United Kingdom had ministers in whom they placed special trust and who were regarded as the head of the government. Examples were Thomas Cromwell under Henry VIII; William Cecil, Lord Burghley under Elizabeth I; Clarendon under Charles II and Godolphin under Queen Anne. These ministers held a variety of formal posts, but were commonly known as "the minister", the "chief minister", the "first minister" and finally the "prime minister".

The power of these ministers depended entirely on the personal favour of the monarch. Although managing the parliament was among the necessary skills of holding high office, they did not depend on a parliamentary majority for their power. Although there was a cabinet, it was appointed entirely by the monarch, and the monarch usually presided over its meetings. When the monarch grew tired of a first minister, he or she could be dismissed, or worse: Cromwell was executed and Clarendon driven into exile when they lost favour. Kings sometimes divided power equally between two or more ministers to prevent one minister becoming too powerful. Late in Anne's reign, for example, the Tory ministers Harley and St John shared power.

In the mid 17th century, after the English Civil War and the Protectorate, Parliament had strengthened its position and it emerged even more powerful after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The monarch could not establish any law or impose any tax without its permission. Thus it has been said that the House of Commons became a part of the government and it has been only a further step of this development that a new kind of prime minister should emerge. This turning point in the evolution of the prime ministership came with the death of Anne in 1714 and the accession of George I. George spoke no English, spent much of his time at his home in Hanover, and had neither knowledge of nor interest in the details of English government. In these circumstances it was inevitable that the king's first minister would become the de facto head of the government. From 1721 this was the Whig politician Robert Walpole, who held office for twenty-one years. Walpole chaired cabinet meetings, appointed all the other ministers, dispensed the royal patronage and packed the House of Commons with his supporters. Under Walpole, the doctrine of cabinet solidarity developed. Walpole required that no minister other than himself have private dealings with the king, and also that when the cabinet had agreed on a policy, all ministers must defend it in public or resign. As a later prime minister, Lord Melbourne, said: "It matters not what we say, gentlemen, so long as we all say the same thing."

Walpole always denied that he was "prime minister", and throughout the 18th century parliamentarians and legal scholars continued to deny that any such position was known to the Constitution. The title was first referred to on government documents during the administration of Benjamin Disraeli but did not appear in the formal British Order of precedence until 1905. George II and George III made strenuous efforts to reclaim the personal power of the monarch, but the increasing complexity and expense of government meant that a minister who could command the loyalty of the Commons was increasingly necessary. The long tenure of the wartime Prime Minister Pitt the Younger (1783–1801), combined with the mental illness of George III, consolidated the power of the post.

The prestige of British institutions in the 19th century and the growth of the British Empire saw the British model of cabinet government, headed by a prime minister, widely copied, both in other European countries and in British colonial territories as they developed self-government. In some places alternative titles such as "premier", "chief minister", "first minister of state", "president of the council" or "chancellor" were adopted, but the essentials of the office were the same. By the late 20th century the majority of the world's countries had a prime minister or equivalent minister, holding office under either a constitutional monarchy or a ceremonial president. The main exceptions to this system have been the United States and the presidential republics in Latin America, modelled on the U.S. system, in which the president directly exercises executive authority.

Bahrain's Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifah bin Sulman Al Khalifah has been in the post since 1971, making him the longest serving non-elected Prime Minister.

{| style="padding:0px; margin:0px;" |valign="top"|

Prime ministers in republics and in monarchies

The post of prime minister may be encountered both in constitutional monarchies (such as Belgium, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Malaysia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), and in parliamentary republics in which the head of state is an elected official (such as Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Ireland, Pakistan, Portugal, Montenegro, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Turkey). This contrasts with the presidential system, in which the president (or equivalent) is both the head of state and the head of the government. See also "First Minister", "Premier", "Chief Minister", "Chancellor", "Taoiseach" and "Secretary of State": alternative titles usually equivalent in meaning to, or translated as, "prime minister". The head of government of the People's Republic of China is referred to as the Premier.

In some presidential or semi-presidential systems, such as those of France, Russia or South Korea, 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 is also appointed by the president, but requires no approval by the legislature. Appointment of the prime minister of France requires no approval by the parliament either, but the parliament can 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.

Entry into office

In parliamentary systems a prime minister can enter into office by several means.

By appointment by the head of state, without reference to parliament: 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 in parliament, technically the appointment of the prime minister is a royal prerogative exercised by the monarch or the governor-general. In India, the Prime Ministerial candidate must be a member of parliament either Lok Sabha (Lower House) or Rajya Sabha (Upper House). No parliamentary vote takes place on who is forming a government. However as the government will have to outline its legislative programme to parliament in, for example, the Speech from the Throne, the speech is sometimes used to test parliamentary support. A defeat of the Speech is taken to mean a loss of confidence and so requires either a new draft (a humiliating act no government would contemplate), resignation, or a request for a dissolution of parliament. Until the early 20th century governments when defeated in a general election remained in power until their Speech from the Throne was defeated and then resigned. No government has done so for one hundred years, though Edward Heath in 1974 did delay his resignation while he explored whether he could form a government with Liberal party support.

:In such systems unwritten (and unenforceable) constitutional conventions often outline the order in which people are asked to form a government. If the prime minister resigns after a general election, the monarch usually asks the leader of the opposition to form a government. Where however a resignation occurs during a parliament session (unless the government has itself collapsed) the monarch will ask another member of the government to form a government. While previously the monarch had some leeway in whom to ask, all British political parties now elect their leaders (until 1965 the Conservatives chose their leader by informal consultation). The last time the monarch had a choice over the appointment occurred in 1963 when the Earl of Home was asked to become Prime Minister ahead of Rab Butler.

:During the period between the time it is clear that the incumbent government has been defeated at a general election, and the actual swearing-in of the new prime minister by the monarch or governor-general, that person is variously referred to as the "prime minister-elect", "...-designate" etc. Neither term is strictly correct from a constitutional point of view, but they have wide acceptance. In a situation in which a ruling party elects or appoints a new leader, the incoming leader will usually be referred as "prime minister-in-waiting". An example or this situation was in 2003 in Canada when Paul Martin was elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada while Jean Chrétien was still prime minister.

Appointment by the head of state after parliament nominates a candidate: Example: The Republic of Ireland where the President of Ireland appoints the Taoiseach on the nomination of the Dáil Éireann.

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 German Basic Law (constitution) the Bundestag votes on a candidate nominated by the federal president. In these cases, parliament can choose another candidate who then would be appointed by the head of state.

The head of state appoints a prime minister who has a set timescale within which s/he must gain a vote of confidence: (Example: Italy, Romania, Thailand)

The head of state appoints the leader of the political party with the majority of the votes in the Parliament as Prime Minister: (Example: Greece)

Direct election by parliament: (Example: Japan, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan.)

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/her representative: (Example: Under the modern Swedish Instrument of Government, the power to appoint someone to form a government has been moved from the monarch to the Speaker of 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. he can be elected even if more MP:s vote no than yes).

Prime ministers and constitutions

The position, power and status of prime ministers differ depending on the age of the constitution.

Australia's constitution makes no mention of a Prime Minister of Australia.

The People's Republic of China constitution set a premier just one place below the president of the PRC. While the president deals with international problems, the premier deals with national problems. For example, the earth quake in 2008, the premier will be the first to arrive, then the president arrived after to just examine the situation. Premier read as (Simplified Chinese: 总理; pinyin: Zŏnglĭ) in Chinese.

Canada's constitution, being a 'mixed' or hybrid constitution (a constitution that is partly formally codified and partly uncodified) originally did not make any reference whatsoever to a prime minister, with her or his specific duties and method of appointment instead dictated by "convention". In the Constitution Act, 1982, passing reference to a "Prime Minister of Canada" is added, though only regarding the composition of conferences of federal and provincial first ministers.

Germany's Basic Law (1949) lists the powers, functions and duties of the federal chancellor.

Greece's constitution (1975) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Greece.

India's constitution (1950) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of India.

Ireland's constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann (1937), provides for the office of Taoiseach in detail, listing powers, functions and duties.

Italy's constitution (1948) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Italy.

Japan's constitution (1946) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Japan.

Malta's constitution (1964) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Malta.

Malaysia's constitution (1957) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Pakistan's constitution (1973) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Spain's constitution (1978) regulates the appointment, dismissal, powers, functions and duties of the President of the Government.

Thailand's constitution (1932) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Thailand.

The United Kingdom's constitution, being uncodified and largely unwritten, makes no mention of a prime minister. Though it had de facto existed for centuries, its first mention in official state documents did not occur until the first decade of the twentieth century. Accordingly, it is often said "not to exist", indeed there are several instances of parliament declaring this to be the case. The prime minister sits in the cabinet solely by virtue of occupying another office, either First Lord of the Treasury (office in commission), or more rarely Chancellor of the Exchequer (the last of whom was Balfour in 1905).

Exit from office

Most prime ministers in parliamentary systems are not appointed for a specific term in office and in effect may remain in power through a number of elections 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 House of Commons after a general election to reshuffle her cabinet. Some states, however, do have a term of office of the prime minister linked to the period in office of the parliament. Hence the Irish Taoiseach is formally 'renominated' after every general election. (Some constitutional experts have questioned whether this process is actually in keeping with the provisions of the Irish constitution, which appear to suggest that a taoiseach should remain in office, without the requirement of a renomination, unless s/he has clearly lost the general election.) The position of prime minister is normally chosen from the political party that commands majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.

In parliamentary systems, governments are generally required to have the confidence of the lower house of parliament (though a small minority of parliaments, by giving a right to block supply to upper houses, in effect make the 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 constitutional systems require either:

a) a letter of resignation or

b) a request for parliamentary dissolution.

The latter in effect allows the government to appeal the opposition of parliament to the electorate. However in many jurisdictions 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. (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 (the then name for the Irish cabinet).

Titles

Different terms are used to describe prime ministers. In Germany and Austria the prime minister is actually titled Federal Chancellor (). In the Russian constitution the prime minister is actually titled Chairman of the government while the Irish prime minister is called the (which is rendered into English as prime minister), and in Israel he is 'Rosh HaMemshalah' meaning head of government. In many cases, though commonly used, "prime minister" is not the official title of the office-holder; the Spanish prime minister is the President of the Government (). Other common forms include president of the council of ministers (for example in Italy, ), President of the Executive Council, or Minister-President. In the Scandinavian countries the prime minister is called statsminister in the native languages (i.e. minister of state). In federations, the head of government of subnational entities such as provinces is most commonly known as the premier, chief minister, governor or minister-president.

In non-Commonwealth countries the prime minister may be entitled to the style of Excellency like a president. In some Commonwealth countries prime ministers and former prime ministers are styled Right Honourable due to their position, for example in the Prime Minister of Canada. In the United Kingdom the prime minister and former prime ministers may appear to also be styled Right Honourable, however this is not due to their position as head of government but as a privilege of being current members of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.

In the UK where devolved government is in place, the leaders of the Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh Governments are styled First Minister. In India, The Prime Minister is referred to as "Pradhan Mantri", meaning "prime minister". In Pakistan, the prime minister is referred to as "Wazir-e-Azam", meaning "Grand Vizier".

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 commas and full stops. 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.

Lists of prime ministers

The following table groups the list of past and present prime ministers and details information available in those lists.

1995 1927 1912 1962 1982 1975 1976 1981 1918 1986 1901 1918 1918 1967 1970 1971 1954 1919 1831 1973 1957 1968 1952 1943 1965 1847 1967 1879 1971 1961 1945 1960 1867 1975 1992 1958 1978 1949 1957 1957 1960 1965 1957 1939 1940 2010 1983 1993 1848 1977 1960 2002 1878 1963 1918 1942 1946 1966 1917 1589 1957 1961 1957 1918 1871/1949 1964 1833 1979 1954 2007 1972 1973 1953 1988 1848 1724 1904 1947 1945 1824 1920 1937 1948 1861 1959 1885 2005 1944 1920 1963 1948 1948 1945 1962 1924 1941 1918 1926 1965 1951 1921 1918 1959 1943 1833 1963 1957 1957 1921 1986 1957 1961 1990 1911 1912 1879 1960 1955 1974 1948 1992 1990 1953 1848 1856 1855 1958 1974 1896 1814 1947 2003 1975 1975 1899 1917 1834 1970 1862 1864/1905 1960 1960 1960 1956 1875 1974 1953 1957 1805 1970 1954 1959 2010 1918 1943 1949 1949 1910 1991 1705 1948 1952 1949 1967 1876 1920 1911 1924 1960 1932 1956 1992 1876 1956 1969 1924 1920 1976 1975 1961 1917 1971 1721 1924 1980 1644 1976 1990 1976 1964 1923

Government	List starts	Partiesshown	Term given byyears or dates	Incumbent
Prime Minister of Abkhazia	Abkhazia
Prime Minister of Afghanistan	Afghanistan
Prime Minister of Albania	Albania (List)
Prime Minister of Algeria	Algeria	|	yes	years	Ahmed Ouyahia
Head of Government of Andorra	Andorra
Prime Minister of Angola	Angola
Chief Minister of Anguilla	Anguilla	|	yes	dates	Hubert Hughes
Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda	Antigua and Barbuda
Prime Minister of Armenia	Armenia	|	yes	dates	Tigran Sargsyan
Prime Minister of Aruba	Aruba
Prime Minister of Australia	Australia (List)	|	yes	dates	Julia Gillard
Chancellor of Austria	Austria	|	yes	years	Werner Faymann
Prime Minister of Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	|	yes	dates	Artur Rasizade
List of Prime Ministers of the Bahamas	Bahamas
Prime Minister of Bahrain	Bahrain
Prime Minister of Bangladesh	Bangladesh	|	yes	dates	Sheikh Hasina
List of Prime Ministers of Barbados	Barbados	|	yes	dates	Freundel Stuart
List of Belarusian Prime Ministers	Belarus
List of Prime Ministers of Belgium	Belgium	|	yes	dates	Yves Leterme
Prime Minister of Belize	Belize	|	yes	years	Dean Barrow
Heads of government of Benin	Benin	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
List of Premiers of Bermuda	Bermuda	|	yes	dates	Paula Cox
List of Prime Ministers of Bhutan	Bhutan
List of Prime Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Heads of government of Botswana	Botswana	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Prime Ministers of Brazil	Brazil	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Heads of government of the British Virgin Islands	British Virgin Islands	|	yes	dates	Ralph T. O'Neal
List of Prime Ministers of Bulgaria	Bulgaria	|	yes	dates	Boyko Borisov
Prime Minister of Burkina Faso	Burkina Faso
Heads of government of Burundi	Burundi	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
List of Prime Ministers of Cambodia	Cambodia
Prime Minister of Cameroon	Cameroon
Prime Minister of Canada	Canada (List)	|	yes	dates	Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Cape Verde	Cape Verde
Leader of Government Business	Cayman Islands	|	yes	dates	McKeeva Bush
Prime Minister of the Central African Republic	Central African Republic
Prime Minister of Chad	Chad
Premier of the People's Republic of China	People's Republic of China (List)
Heads of government of the Comoros	Comoros	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Heads of government of the Republic of the Congo	Congo (Brazzaville)	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Congo (Kinshasa) (List)	|	yes	dates	Adolphe Muzito
Prime Minister of the Cook Islands	Cook Islands	|	yes	dates	Henry Puna
Heads of government of Côte d'Ivoire	Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	|	yes	dates	Guillaume Soro
Prime ministers of Croatia	Croatia
List of Prime Ministers of Cuba	Cuba
Prime Minister of Curaçao	Curaçao
List of Prime Ministers of Northern Cyprus	Northern Cyprus	|	yes	dates	Derviş Eroğlu
List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic	Czech Republic
Prime Minister of Denmark	Denmark (List)
List of Prime Ministers of Djibouti	Djibouti
Prime Minister of Dominica	Dominica
Prime Minister of East Timor	East Timor
Prime Minister of Egypt	Egypt (List)
List of Prime Ministers of Equatorial Guinea	Equatorial Guinea
Prime Minister of Estonia	Estonia
Heads of government of Ethiopia	Ethiopia	|	yes	dates	Meles Zenawi
Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands
List of Prime Ministers of Fiji	Fiji
Prime Minister of Finland	Finland	|	yes	years	Jyrki Katainen
Prime Minister of France	France (List)
Heads of government of Gabon	Gabon	|	yes	dates	Paul Biyoghé Mba
Heads of government of The Gambia	The Gambia
Prime Minister of Ghana	Ghana
Prime Minister of Georgia	Georgia	|	yes	dates	Nikoloz Gilauri
Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic)	Germany (List)	|	yes	dates	Angela Merkel
Chief Minister of Gibraltar	Gibraltar	|	yes	dates	Peter Caruana
Prime Minister of Greece	Greece (List)
List of Prime Ministers of Greenland	Greenland
List of Prime Ministers of Grenada	Grenada
Chief Minister of Guernsey	Guernsey
Prime Minister of Guinea	Guinea
Heads of government of Guinea-Bissau	Guinea-Bissau
List of Prime Ministers of Guyana	Guyana
List of Prime Ministers of Haïti	Haiti
List of Prime Ministers of Hungary	Hungary
Prime Minister of Hyderabad	Hyderabad State
Prime Minister of Iceland	Iceland
Prime Minister of India	India (List)	|	yes	dates	Manmohan Singh
List of Prime Ministers of Indonesia	Indonesia	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Prime Minister of Iran	Iran (List)
List of Prime Ministers of Iraq	Iraq
Taoiseach#List of Taoisigh	Ireland	|	yes	dates	Enda Kenny
Prime Minister of Israel	Israel (List)
Prime Minister of Italy	Italy (List)
Prime Minister of Jamaica	Jamaica
Prime Minister of Japan	Japan (List)
Chief Minister of Jersey	Jersey
Prime Minister of Jordan	Jordan
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan
Prime Minister of Kenya	Kenya
List of Premiers of North Korea	North Korea
Prime Minister of South Korea	South Korea (List)
Prime Minister of Kosovo	Kosovo	|	yes	dates	Hashim Thaçi
List of Prime ministers of Kuwait	Kuwait
Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan	Kyrgyzstan
Prime Minister of Laos	Laos
Prime Minister of Latvia	Latvia	|	yes	dates	Valdis Dombrovskis
List of Prime Ministers of Lebanon	Lebanon
Heads of government of Lesotho	Lesotho	|	yes	dates	Pakalitha Mosisili
List of heads of government of Libya	Libya
List of Liechtenstein Heads of Government	Liechtenstein	|	yes	dates	Klaus Tschütscher
Prime Minister of Lithuania	Lithuania	|	yes	dates	Andrius Kubilius
List of Prime Ministers of Luxembourg	Luxembourg
Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia	Macedonia	|	yes	dates	Nikola Gruevski
Heads of government of Madagascar	Madagascar
Heads of government of Malawi	Malawi	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Prime Minister of Malaysia	Malaysia	|	yes	years	Najib Razak
Heads of government of Mali	Mali	|	yes	dates	Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé
Prime Minister of Malta	Malta	|	yes	years	Lawrence Gonzi
Chief Minister of the Isle of Man	Isle of Man
Heads of government of Mauritania	Mauritania	|	yes	dates	Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf
List of Prime Ministers of Mauritius	Mauritius	|	yes	dates	Navin Ramgoolam
List of Prime Ministers of Moldova	Moldova
Minister of State (Monaco)	Monaco	|	n/a	dates	Michel Roger
Prime Minister of Mongolia	Mongolia	|	yes	dates	Sükhbaataryn Batbold
Prime Minister of Montenegro	Montenegro	|	yes	dates	Igor Lukšić
Chief Minister of Montserrat	Montserrat	|	yes	dates	Reuben Meade
Prime Minister of Morocco	Morocco	|	yes	years	Abbas El Fassi
Heads of government of Mozambique	Mozambique	|	yes	dates	Aires Ali
Prime Minister of Burma	Myanmar (Burma)	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh	Nagorno-Karabakh	|	no	dates	Arayik Harutyunyan
Prime Minister of Namibia	Namibia	|	yes	dates	Nahas Angula
List of Prime Ministers of Nepal	Nepal
Prime Minister of the Netherlands	Netherlands (List)	|	yes	dates	Mark Rutte
Prime Minister of New Zealand	New Zealand (List)	|	yes	dates	John Key
List of Newfoundland and Labrador premiers	Newfoundland	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Heads of government of Niger	Niger	|	yes	dates	Brigi Rafini
Premier of Niue	Niue
Heads of government of Norfolk Island	Norfolk Island
List of Norwegian Prime Ministers	Norway	|	yes	years	Jens Stoltenberg
Prime Minister of Pakistan	Pakistan (List)
Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority#List of Prime Ministers	Palestinian National Authority	|	yes	dates	Salam Fayyad
List of Prime Ministers of Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinea	|	yes	years	Peter O'Neill
List of Prime Ministers of Peru	Peru	|	yes	dates	Salomón Lerner Ghitis
Prime Minister of the Philippines	Philippines	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Prime Minister of Poland	Poland (List)
Prime Minister of Portugal	Portugal (List)	|	yes	dates	Pedro Passos Coelho
List of prime ministers of Qatar	Qatar
List of Prime Ministers of Romania	Romania
Prime Minister of Russia	Russia (List)	|	yes	dates	Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister of Rwanda	Rwanda	|	yes	dates	Bernard Makuza
List of Prime Ministers of Saint Kitts and Nevis	Saint Kitts and Nevis
List of Prime Ministers of Saint Lucia	Saint Lucia
List of Prime Ministers of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Prime Minister of Samoa	Samoa	|	yes	dates	Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
Prime Minister of São Tomé and Principe	São Tomé and Principe	|	yes	dates	Patrice Trovoada
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	|	no	dates	Abdullah of Saudi Arabia>King Abdullah
Prime Minister of Senegal	Senegal	|	yes	dates	Souleymane Ndéné Ndiaye
Prime Minister of Serbia	Serbia	|	yes	years	Mirko Cvetković
Prime Minister of Seychelles	Seychelles	|	yes	years	(Post abolished)
List of heads of government of Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Prime Minister of Singapore	Singapore
Prime Minister of Sint Maarten	Sint Maarten
Prime Minister of Slovakia	Slovakia (List)
Prime Minister of Slovenia	Slovenia	|	yes	years	Borut Pahor
Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	|	yes	dates	Danny Philip
Prime Minister of Somalia	Somalia	|	yes	dates	Abdiweli Mohamed Ali
Prime Minister of South Africa	South Africa
Prime Minister of South Ossetia	South Ossetia
Prime Minister of Spain	Spain (List)	|	yes	years	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka (List)
Prime Minister of Sudan	Sudan	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
List of Prime Ministers of Suriname	Suriname	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Heads of government of Swaziland	Swaziland
Prime Minister of Sweden	Sweden (List)	|	yes	years	Fredrik Reinfeldt
List of Prime Ministers of Syria	Syria
Premier of the Republic of China	Taiwan (Republic of China) (List)
List of Prime Ministers of Tajikistan	Tajikistan
List of Prime Ministers of Tanzania	Tanzania	|	yes	dates	Mizengo Pinda
Prime Minister of Thailand	Thailand (List)	|	yes	dates	Yingluck Shinawatra
Heads of government of Togo	Togo	|	yes	dates	Gilbert Houngbo
Heads of government of Tokelau	Tokelau
Prime Minister of Tonga	Tonga
List of Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago
Prime Minister of Tunisia	Tunisia
Prime Minister of Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan
List of Prime Ministers of Turkey	Turkey	|	yes	dates	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands	Turks and Caicos Islands	|	yes	dates	vacant
Prime Minister of Tuvalu	Tuvalu	|	n/a	dates	Willy Telavi
Prime Minister of Uganda	Uganda	|	yes	dates	Amama Mbabazi
Prime Minister of Ukraine	Ukraine (List)
List of Prime Ministers of the United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom	United Kingdom (List)	|	yes	dates	David Cameron
Prime Minister of Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan
Prime Minister of Vanuatu	Vanuatu	|	yes	dates	Sato Kilman
Cardinal Secretary of State	Vatican
Prime Minister of Vietnam	Vietnam	|	yes	dates	Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
Prime Minister of Yemen	Yemen	|	yes	years	Ali Muhammad Mujawar
Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	Western Sahara	|	no	years	Abdelkader Taleb Oumar
Prime Minister of Zambia	Zambia	|	yes	dates	(Post abolished)
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe

|align="right" valign="top"| |}

See also

Chancellor

Chief Minister

Governor-General

Head of state

List of current heads of state and government

List of democracy and election-related topics

List of heads of government of Russia

List of state leaders by year

Monarch

President

Footnotes

External links

Website of the Prime Minister of Albania

Website of the Prime Minister of Australia

Website of the Prime Minister of Barbados

Website of the Prime Minister of Belgium

Website of the Prime Minister of Bosnia & Herzegovina

Website of the Prime Minister of Canada

Website of the Prime Minister of Croatia

Website of the Prime Minister of France

Website of the Prime Minister of Georgia

Website of the Federal Chancellor of Germany

Website of the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic (Greece)

Website of the Prime Minister of Hungary

Website of the Prime Minister of Iceland

Website of the Prime Minister of India

Website of the Taoiseach of Ireland

Website of the Prime Minister of Israel

Website of the Prime Minister of Italy

Website of the Prime Minister of Japan

Website of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo

Website of the Prime Minister of South Korea

Website of the Prime Minister of Malaysia

Website of the Prime Minister of Malta

Website of the Prime Minister of The Netherlands

Website of the Prime Minister of New Zealand

Website of the Prime Minister of Norway

Website of the Prime Minister of Poland

Website of the Prime Minister of Romania

Website of the Prime Minister of Russia

Website of the Prime Minister of Singapore

Website of the Prime Minister of Slovakia

Website of the Prime Minister of Slovenia

Website of the President of the Government of Spain

Website of the Prime Minister of Sweden

Website of the Prime Minister of Thailand

Website of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago

Website of the Prime Minister of Vietnam

Website of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Category:Heads of government Category:Titles

af:Eerste Minister als:Ministerpräsident am:ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ar:رئيس الوزراء bn:প্রধানমন্ত্রী zh-min-nan:Siú-siòng be:Прэм'ер-міністр be-x-old:Прэм’ер-міністар bg:Министър-председател ca:Primer ministre cs:Předseda vlády cy:Prif weinidog da:Statsminister et:Peaminister el:Πρωθυπουργός es:Primer ministro eo:Ĉefministro eu:Lehen ministro fa:نخست‌وزیر fr:Premier ministre ga:Príomh-Aire gl:Primeiro Ministro gu:વડાપ્રધાન ko:수상 hi:प्रधानमन्त्री hr:Predsjednik vlade io:Chefa ministro ilo:Prime Minister id:Perdana menteri iu:ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐊᖓᔪᖅᑳᕐᔪᐊᖅ/kanatami angajuqqaarjuaq is:Forsætisráðherra it:Primo ministro he:ראש ממשלה jv:Perdhana Mentri ka:პრემიერ-მინისტრი kk:Премьер-Министр sw:Waziri mkuu lo:ນາຍົກລັດຖະມົນຕີ la:Primus minister lv:Premjerministrs lt:Ministras pirmininkas ln:Moyángeli wa yambo hu:Miniszterelnök mg:Praiminisitra ms:Perdana Menteri nl:Premier (regeringsleider) ne:प्रधानमन्त्री ja:首相 no:Premierminister nrm:Preunmié Minnistre pap:Promé minister pl:Premier pt:Primeiro-ministro qu:Uma kamayuq ru:Премьер-министр sq:Kryeministri simple:Prime minister sk:Predseda vlády sl:Predsednik vlade so:Ra'iisul wasaare sr:Премијер fi:Pääministeri sv:Premiärminister tt:Премьер-министр th:นายกรัฐมนตรี tr:Başbakan udm:Премьер-министр uk:Прем'єр-міністр ur:وزیر اعظم vi:Thủ tướng yi:פרעמיער מיניסטער yo:Alákòóso àgbà zh-yue:總理 zh:总理