The

premier of Newfoundland and Labrador The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 1949, the premier's duties and office has been the successor to the ministerial position of the pri ...

is current title of the

first minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

for the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, which was at certain points in its history a colony, dominion, and province. The province had a system of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

from 1855 to 1934, and again since 1949. Newfoundland became a British

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

in 1855, in 1907 it became a

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

, and in 1949, it became a province and joined

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

. Since then, the province has been a part of the Canadian federation and has kept its own legislature to deal with provincial matters. The province was named Newfoundland and Labrador on April 1, 1949 . The province has a unicameral Westminster-style

parliamentary government A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of t ...

, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

. The premier is Newfoundland and Labrador's

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

, and the

king of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

is its

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and is represented by the

lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador () is the viceregal representative in Newfoundland and Labrador of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as w ...

. The premier picks a cabinet from the elected members to form the

Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador The Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (in French: ''le Conseil exécutif de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador'', but informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Newfoundland and Labrador, and in French: ''le Cabinet de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador'' ...

, and presides over that body. Members are first elected to the House during

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. General elections must be conducted every four years from the date of the last election. An election may also take place if the governing party loses the confidence of the legislature by the defeat of a supply bill or tabling of a confidence motion. From 1855 to 1907, the position of first minister was known as

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. After the colony was granted dominion status, the position became known as prime minister. Democratic government was suspended in 1934 and replaced by an appointed

Commission of Government The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became ...

, until 1949 Newfoundland became a province of Canada. Since the reinstitution of democratic government in 1949, the title of first minister has been premier. Since 1855, Newfoundland and Labrador has been led by ten Colonial premiers, nine Dominion prime ministers, three chairmen of Commission of Government, and fourteen provincial premiers. Of the provincial premiers, seven are from the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, and seven are from the Progressive Conservative Party.

Premiers of the Newfoundland Colony (1855–1907)

Dominion Prime Ministers of Newfoundland (1907–1934)

Royal Proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

, the colony was granted

status on 26 September 1907 becoming the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...

with its head of government being given the title Prime Minister of the Dominion of Newfoundland.

Chairmen of the Commission of Government (1934–1949)

With the suspension of

the

was administered by the

, from 1934 to 1949. It was a body of seven appointed by the British government, made up of three British officials, three Newfoundlanders, and chaired by the Governor of Newfoundland.

Premiers of the Provinces of Newfoundland (1949–2001) and Newfoundland and Labrador (2001–present)

Timeline of Newfoundland and Labrador premiers

fix this graphic. the timeline clearly shows that it is false. look at danny williams. roger grimes was in power as a liberal for three years. danny williams was in power as a conservative for closer to ten years. sources: the information immediately preceding this misleading graphic.

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Premiers Of Newfoundland And Labrador

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

* *