Head of government

The head of government is the leader of the government or cabinet.

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• In a parliamentary system, the head of government is usually known as a premier or prime minister.
• In presidential systems, the head of government may be the same person as the head of state which is usually titled president in a republic.
• In some semi-presidential systems, the head of government is a separate premier or prime minister who is answerable to the president or an absolute or semi-absolute monarch rather than to parliament. In others, the prime minister may be answerable to both the head of state and parliament. Such is the case in the French Fifth Republic (1958-present), the President appoints a prime minister but must choose someone who can get government business through the National Assembly. Where the opposition controls the National Assembly, the President is in effect forced to choose a prime minister from among the opposition. In such occasions, known as cohabitation, an opposition-oriented government controls internal state policy, with the President restricting himself largely to foreign affairs, though there too he must work with the government.
 
Head of government: Different titles of head of government ►