The prime minister of Slovenia, officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Predsednik Vlade Republike Slovenije), is the head of the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

of the

Republic of Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. There have been nine officeholders since the country gained

parliamentary democracy 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 the ...

in 1989 and independence in 1991. The prime minister of Slovenia is nominated by the president of the republic after consultation with the parties represented in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. He is then formally elected by a simple majority of the National Assembly. If no candidate receives a majority, a new vote must be held within 14 days. If no candidate receives a majority after this round, the President must dissolve the legislature and call new parliamentary elections unless the National Assembly agrees to hold a third round. If no candidate is elected after a third round, then the legislature is automatically dissolved pending new elections. In practice, since the appointee must command a majority of the National Assembly in order to govern, the appointee is usually the leader of the majority party in the National Assembly or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. The National Assembly can only withdraw its support from a prime minister by way of a

constructive vote of no confidence The constructive vote of no confidence (german: konstruktives Misstrauensvotum, es, moción de censura constructiva) is a variation on the motion of no confidence that allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a head of government only if t ...

–that is, a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

is of no effect unless a prospective successor has the support of a majority. The prime minister is also the president of the National Security Council.

Election

The prime minister is elected by the

National Assembly of Slovenia The National Assembly ( sl, Državni zbor Republike Slovenije, or ), is the general representative body of Slovenia. According to the Constitution of Slovenia and the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, it is the major part of the distinctively ...

First round

Following the parliamentary election new National Assembly meets at the constitutive session (usually around 2–3 weeks after election; the president of the republic convenes the session after receiving the official report on election from the State Election Commission), after which new parliamentary groups are officially formed. After all groups are formed (usually within few days), the president meets with leaders of the groups for consultations. During the consultations, the president tries to identify a candidate that could secure an absolute majority in the National Assembly (46 votes). After the consultations, the president can officially propose a candidate to the president of the National Assembly, this has to be done within 30 days after the constitutive session. Assembly takes vote on the candidate within 7 days, but not earlier than 48 hours after proposal. Candidate has to present his vision of his government before the National Assembly before the vote. When a prime minister is elected, the formation of a new government begins.

Second round

If there is no prime minister elected, the second round will take place. After new consultations, the president can propose a new candidate or the same candidate again within 14 days of the first round vote. In the second round parliamentary groups and groups of 10 MPs can propose a candidate as well. Vote takes place no earlier than 48 hours from the proposal but not later than 7 days from it. If there are more candidates proposed, the National Assembly will first vote on the candidate proposed by the president, only if that candidate is not elected, The assembly will take votes on other candidates in the order of submission of the proposals. A prime minister is elected with absolute majority (46 votes). When a prime minister is elected, formation of a new government begins. If the National Assembly once again fails to elect a prime minister, the president will dissolve the National Assembly and call a snap election, unless the National Assembly decides, within 48 hours from the vote, to hold a third round of election.

Third round

In the third round, the prime minister is elected by a relative majority (majority of present MPs). Votes take place within seven days from the decision but not earlier than 48 hours. In the third round, the National Assembly first votes on all the candidates from the first and second round, and if none of the candidates receives a majority of votes, then it will vote on new proposals, first on the proposal by the president, then on the other in the order of submission. If a prime minister is elected formation of a new government begins, if not, the president dissolves the National Assembly and snap election takes place.

Oath of office

The prime minister officially takes office after all of his ministers take oath of office before the National Assembly, following the election of government with a relative majority in the National Assembly. The prime minister takes the oath of office after his election. The prime minister and other ministers take the same oath of office according to the Article 104 of the Constitution: “''I swear that I shall uphold the constitutional order, that I shall act according to my conscience and that I shall do all in my power for the good of Slovenia.''”

List of prime ministers of Slovenia

Preceding posts (prior to independence)

Prime Ministers of the Republic of Slovenia

Statistics

Timeline

Deputy prime minister

Deputy prime minister is an unofficial title given to certain ministers in the government (usually leaders of coalition parties other than that from which prime minister comes). Deputy prime minister does not have any additional duties to those that come with the office of minister. There are usually multiple deputy prime ministers in each government.