Prime Minister

A prime minister may be either:

Style of a Prime Minister

The title Prime Minister is a job title that does not form part of the Prime Minister's name. It is therefore poor style to refer to “Prime Minister Blair”, just as it would be strange to call someone “Bus Driver Edwards”. This mistake is particularly common in the United States, where a high office title is often adopted as if it were a military rank.

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The title of Prime Minister is lost when the officer holder ceases to be Prime Minister. This is not the case for some comparable positions in the United States, which can cause some confusion. When former New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger became the Ambassador to the United States, he was referred to as “Prime Minister Bolger”, which was both poor style and factually incorrect.

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Commonwealth Realm Prime Ministers are often Privy Counsellors entitled to the style the right honourable. In the New Zealand Parliament's debating chamber the Prime Minister is referred to as the Right Honourable the Prime Minister, rather than by name.

Related Topics:
Commonwealth Realm - Privy Counsellors - New Zealand Parliament

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In non-Commonwealth countries the Prime Minister may be entitled to the style of Excellency like a President.

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