Prime Minister

A prime minister may be either:

Entry into office

In parliamentary systems a prime minister can enter into office by a number of means.

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• by appointment by the head of state without the need for confirmation by parliament; Examples: New Zealand, the United Kingdom, where the monarch appoints a prime minister without the need for confirmation from parliament, which gets its first chance to indicate its view on the new government in the vote on the Speech from the Throne, in which the new government outlines its legislative programme. The method of prime ministerial appointment by the British sovereign is known as Kissing Hands. In Austria the chancellor takes office immediately after appointment and swear in by the Federal president.
• appointment by the head of state after parliament nominates a candidate; Example: The Republic of Ireland where the President of Ireland appoints the Taoiseach on the nomination of the Dáil Éireann.)
• appointment by the head of state after the majority parliamentary party nominates a candidate; Example: the Australian federal government, Canada, India, and New Zealand.
• the head of state nominates a candidate for prime minister who is then submitted to parliament for approval before appointment as prime minister; Example: Spain, where the King sends a nomination to parliament for approval. Also Germany where under the Basic Law (constitution) the Bundestag votes on a candidate nominated by the Federal President. In these cases, parliament can choose another candidate who then would be appointed by the head of state.)
• the head of state appoints a prime minister who has a set timescale within which s/he must gain a vote of confidence; (Example: Italy.)
• direct election by parliament (the premiers of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut);
• direct election by the public (Example: Israel, 1996-2001.); The Prime Minister is elected in a general election, with no regard to political affiliation.
• appointment by a state office holder other than the head of state or his/her representative; Example: Under the modern Instrument of Government 1974, which came into force in 1975, the power of commissioning someone to form a government was moved from the Monarch of Sweden to the Speaker of Parliament, who, once it has been approved, formally makes the appointment.

Though most prime ministers are 'appointed', they are generally, if inaccurately, described as 'elected'.

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