Head of government

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This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State.

The Head of Government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc. In presidential republics or monarchies, the head of government may be the same person as the head of state, who is often a president (of the republic) or a monarch.
The current record of longest-serving head of government in a democratic nation is Tage Erlander, who was social democratic prime minister of Sweden from 1946 to 1969, a total of 23 consecutive years. He won a total of eight elections and was finally succeeded due to severe age.

In semi-presidential systems, the Head of Government may answer to both the Head of State and the legislative power (such as parliament). An example is the French Fifth Republic (1958-present), where the Président de la République appoints a Prime Minister but must choose someone who can get government business through, and has the support of, the National Assembly. When the opposition controls the National Assembly (and thus government funding and most legislation), the President is in effect forced to choose a Prime Minister from the opposition; in such cases, known as cohabitation, the government controls internal state policy, with the President restricted largely to foreign affairs.

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[edit] Types and titles of heads of government

The most common title for a head of government is "Prime Minister."[citation needed] This is used as a formal title in many states, but also informally as a generic term to describe whichever office is formally the first amongst the executive "ministers" of a Head of State. Minister — from the Latin for servants or subordinates (i.e. servant or subordinate to the Head of State) — is a common title for members of a government (but many other titles are in use, e.g. secretary (of state)).

Formally, the "Head of State" can also personally be Head of Government (ex officio or by ad hoc cumulation such as an absolute monarch nominating himself) but otherwise has formal precedence over the Head of Government and other ministers, whether he is their actual political superior (Absolute Monarch, Executive President) or rather theoretical or ceremonial in character. Various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various political meanings depending on the constitution and political system of the state in question.

[edit] Official residence

The Head of Government is often provided with an official residence, in the same way as Heads of State often are.

Well-known official residences of heads of government include:

See official residence article for a fuller list.

The name of the residence is often used as a metonym or alternate title for 'the government' when the office is politically the highest, e.g. "10 Downing Street" would be used as an alternative form of "the British government".

Similarly the Heads of Government of (con)federal entities below 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. This is sometimes used as an opportunity by provincial/regional governments to display aspirations of statehood, e.g.:

However, Heads of Governments' residences are usually far less grand than those of a Head of State (even a merely ceremonial one), unless they combine both roles, as for example:

Even the formal representative of the Head of State, such as a Governor-General, may well be housed in a grander palace-type residence, often with such names as Government House.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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Heads of Government