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Head of government

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The head of government serves as the highest official in the executive branch of a state.[1] The head of government usually handles the day to day affairs of the state, and leads the ministers who control the government.[2] In many democratic systems the head of state is also the head of government.[2][3] In non democratic systems the head of government is usually established via military intervention.[2]

In most parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, 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 a constitution.[4]

In semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature with the specifics provided by each country's constitution.[5]

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 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.[6][7]

Types

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In some governments, those who are the heads of state also perform the duties of the head of government.[2] The President of the United States is one example.[8] Certain governments those roles are separate, with the head of state merely being a figurehead.[9] In the United Kingdom the Prime Minister handles the affairs of the state, while the King/Queen of England (who is the head of state) has a largely ceremonial role with no political power.[10] Russia also employs a similar structure, though the role of president has full political power.[11][2] In Japan, there exists an emperor with little political power, with all government issues being handled by the prime minister.[12] 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.[13]

Assumption of power

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Via election/appointment

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Elections have been the usual mechanism by which representative government has operated since the 17th century.[14] However, in most parliamentary systems the prime minister is not directly elected by voters, but is the leader of the most dominant party in parliament.[15] In presidential systems, the head of government is appointed by the president.[16] According to Wolfgang Müller and Wilfried Philipp, heads of government have lasted in office on average 3.8 years in post-1945 Western Europe.[17]

Seizure of power

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In some instances, the head of government comes to political authority via force, such as in a coup. In authoritarian systems, the selection of the head of government is typically not open to the general public.[16]

Under military dictatorships, the military’s leader usually fills the role of head of state, head of government, or both.[16] A military dictator may install a figurehead as head of government, but generally keeps some or all executive governing powers for themselves.[16]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ↑ "Head of government | Politics and Government | Research Starters | EBSCOhost".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McLean, Iain; McMillan, Alistair (1 January 2009). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics (3 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199207800.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-920780-0.
  3. ↑ "head of state". Britannica. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. ↑ Thefreemanonline_3Eel6t (26 January 2020). "Head Of State Vs. Head Of Government: A Guide". The Freeman Online. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ Yan, Huang-Ting (August 2021). "Prime ministerial autonomy and intra-executive conflict under semi-presidentialism". European Political Science Review. 13 (3): 285–306. doi:10.1017/S1755773921000072. ISSN 1755-7739. S2CID 233668466.
  6. ↑ Buckley, Chris; Wu, Adam (10 March 2018). "Ending Term Limits for China's Xi Is a Big Deal. Here's Why". New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019. In China, the political job that matters most is the general secretary of the Communist Party. The party controls the military and domestic security forces, and sets the policies that the government carries out. China's presidency lacks the authority of the American and French presidencies.
  7. ↑ "China's 'Chairman of Everything': Behind Xi Jinping's Many Titles". The New York Times. 25 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019. Mr. Xi's most important title is general secretary, the most powerful position in the Communist Party. In China's one-party system, this ranking gives him virtually unchecked authority over the government.
  8. ↑ "The Executive Branch".
  9. ↑ McLean, Iain; McMillan, Alistair (26 February 2009). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-101827-5.
  10. ↑ "How government works - GOV.UK".
  11. ↑ "President ∙ Structure ∙ President of Russia".
  12. ↑ "Japanese Government".
  13. ↑ Amir, R.; Nachmias, D.; Arian, A. (17 December 2001). Executive Governance in Israel. Springer. p. 48. ISBN 9781403990150. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  14. ↑ Manin, Bernard (1997). The Principles of Representative Government. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–7. ISBN 9780511659935.
  15. ↑ "Prime minister | Role, Powers & Responsibilities | Britannica".
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Head of government | Definition, Powers, Examples, Head of State, & Facts | Britannica".
  17. ↑ Müller, Wolfgang C.; Philipp, Wilfried (1991). "Prime Ministers and other Government Heads". The Profession of Government Minister in Western Europe. pp. 136–152. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-11395-8_9. ISBN 978-1-349-11397-2.

Citations

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  • Jean Blondel & Ferdinand Muller-Rommel Cabinets in Western Europe (ISBN 0-333-46209-2)
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