Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments,

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

s 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 government, but is not the head of state. In

presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...

s, the two roles are often combined into one, whereas in parliamentary systems of government the two are usually kept separate.

Relationship to the term "prime minister"

"Premier" is often the title of the heads of government in sub-national entities, such as the provinces and territories of Canada, states of the Commonwealth of Australia,

provinces of South Africa South Africa is divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated, and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth ...

, the island of Nevis within the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the nation of Niue. In some of these cases, the formal title remains "Prime Minister" but "Premier" is used to avoid confusion with the national leader. In these cases, care should be taken not to confuse the title of "premier" with "prime minister". In these countries, terms such as "Federal Premier", "National Premier" or "Premier of the Dominion" were sometimes used to refer to prime ministers, although these are now obsolete.

Etymology

The word comes from French which means prime minister. ''Premier'' meaning 'first', coming from Latin ''prīmārius''. This is why in many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with " prime minister".

Examples by country

In the People's Republic of China, "premier" is more common and official, but "prime minister" is still used (see

Premier of the People's Republic of China The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

). In the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(Taiwan), the head of government is the official name of the President of the

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan. ...

, but it can also be abbreviated to Premier. In Cambodia, "Premier" means the "Prime Minister". In

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...

, sub-national entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well in

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

, head of government have formal title of "premier", often anglicized as "prime minister", while national prime minister is Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but "premier" is sometimes colloquially used. In the Czech Republic, the head of government is colloquially called “Premiér”, and the Czech language translates both “Premier” and “Prime Minister” as “Premiér”. However, although his post is commonly translated in English as “Prime Minister”, the official title as per articles 67 and 68 of the Constitution is “ Předseda vlády”, literally “President of the Government”. In Croatia, the head of government is officially called “President of the Government” (''predsjednik vlade'') but “Premier” (''premijer'') is colloquially used. In Serbia, the head of government is officially called "President of the Government" (''predsednik vlade'') but "Premier" (''premijer'') is colloquially used. In Poland, the head of government is officially called "President of the Council of Ministers" ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers) but "Premier" (polish for Prime Minister) is colloquially used. In Italy, the

President of the Council of Ministers The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are th ...

, an office equivalent to prime minister, is informally referred to as the "Premier". In North Macedonia the

head of the 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 gr ...

is named premier (Macedonian премиер, ''premier''), usually translated in English as prime minister. In the Soviet Union, the title of premier was applied to the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Council of People's Commissars, named

of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

after 1946, which became the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union in 1991.

By jurisdiction

* Premiers of Australia * Premier of Bermuda * Premier of the British Virgin Islands * Premiers of Canada * Premier of the Cayman Islands *

* List of premiers of China *

Chancellor of China The grand chancellor (''zaixiang, tsai-hsiang''), also translated as counselor-in-chief, chancellor, chief councillor, chief minister, imperial chancellor, lieutenant chancellor and prime minister, was the highest-ranking executive official in th ...

Premier of North Korea The Premier of the Cabinet () is the head of government of North Korea and a key adviser to the Supreme Leader of North Korea. The office is also alternatively known as Prime Minister of North Korea. The prime minister of North Korea is the ...

* Premier of Montserrat * Premiers of South Africa * Premier of the Soviet Union * Premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) * Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands *

References

{{reflist Heads of government Positions of authority Positions of subnational authority Gubernatorial titles

Relationship to the term "prime minister"

Etymology

Examples by country

By jurisdiction

See also

References