prime minister

1. A chief minister appointed by a ruler.
2. The head of the cabinet and often also the chief executive of a parliamentary democracy.

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The head of the executive and, where it exists, the cabinet within a parliamentary system. The role of the post, however, varies depending on the institutional context, the nature of party government, and the political circumstances in which a prime minister governs. Constraints upon the power of a prime minister may be posed particularly by proportional electoral systems. Governments are commonly formed from a coalition of various parties, necessitating concessions to the differences in party interests in order to keep a government together. It has become common for prime ministers in some countries, notably the Netherlands, to act primarily not as leaders but as conciliators between opposing interests within a government. In some countries, such as Switzerland, political power is so fragmented that the role of the prime minister has been reduced to that of symbolic figurehead. Factionalized parties pose similar problems even in single-party government. Constraints are also posed by territorial devolution of power in federal systems, such as Canada, or regionalized systems, such as Spain and the UK; by a powerful second chamber such as the German Bundesrat; by constitutional courts; or by the political culture which gives power to extra-governing institutions such as business associations or trade unions. Consequently, a prime minister may need to govern in partnership with others for a variety of reasons.

In comparative terms, despite the recent development of devolution, the powers of the prime minister in the UK are among the largest. The electoral system generally produces one party government backed by a well-disciplined parliamentary party. This has facilitated the development of a range of powers for the Prime Minister not commonly applicable to those of other countries: the right to appoint and dismiss ministers; the right to establish policy guidelines for government; the right to arbitrate conclusively on differences between ministers in government; and the right to speak on behalf of the government in any area of policy. Since the 1960s concern has been expressed at the willingness of incumbents to exercise, enhance, and indeed abuse such powers. Analysis of the complex workings of the British cabinet and more broadly the political executive leads at best to an equivocal endorsement of this thesis. Experience of prime ministerial government is contingent upon the maintenance of solid parliamentary majorities, party cohesion, an electoral preference for strong leadership within the executive, and an activist style on the part of the incumbent. When such political circumstances do not occur then the Prime Minister may have or wish to play the role of bargainer or conciliator in a similar manner to counterparts in other systems.

— Jonathan Bradbury

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The modern office of prime minister developed over several centuries. Medieval and early modern monarchs often had chief ministers who wielded vast power—men such as Cardinal Morton in Henry VII's reign, Burghley under Queen Elizabeth, and Buckingham for James I and Charles I. But they depended totally upon the favour of the monarch, as the fate of Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, and Clarendon demonstrated. The crucial change came after 1688 when it became necessary to summon Parliament every year, and the ability to manage it became a vital political qualification. Robert Harley, later earl of Oxford, in Anne's reign, had some of the attributes of a prime minister, including a keen understanding of the growing power of the press, but the title of first prime minister is usually given to Sir Robert Walpole, though the term was derogatory and he denied it. The subsequent development of the office depended upon the gradual development of party, which limited the king's choice of minister; on the growing complexity of public business, which demanded a co-ordinating hand; on the slow decline in the influence of the monarch; and on the development of an organized public opinion, expressed through a reformed electoral system, which substituted the choice of the voters for the choice of the monarch.

As the office grew in stature, the prime minister gradually took over many of the powers of the monarch—the granting and timing of a dissolution of Parliament, the appointment and replacement of ministerial colleagues, and, above all, the granting of honours. Monarchs fought rearguard actions and occasionally won successes, but the general drift was against them. Two heavy blows came in quick succession. In 1832 William IV, with great reluctance, agreed to create enough Whig peers if needed to carry Lord Grey's reform bill, thus allowing a vital royal prerogative to fall into the hands of a determined prime minister: three years later, when he dismissed Lord Melbourne, he was obliged to recall him after Peel had failed to win a majority at the general election.

The powers of the prime minister, though not closely defined, are extensive. He appoints all the other ministers, can transfer them to different offices, or dismiss them altogether. He chairs the meetings of the cabinet and appoints ministers to the numerous cabinet committees. Honours, such as knighthoods, peerages, and other decorations, are awarded on his recommendation. As leader of the government, he exercises a general if not always clearly articulated authority over policy.

In recent years it has become fashionable to describe the office of prime minister as presidential. The official doctrine is that the prime minister is simply the first among equals, and the rule of collective responsibility emphasizes the collegial character of the cabinet. Whenever the post is held by a strong prime minister, the assertion that it has become presidential is propounded, and a contrast is drawn between the office in the 19th cent. and today. The comparison has some force. The urgency of many decisions in the modern world, the increased importance of foreign affairs, media emphasis on the personality of the prime minister, have all tended to enhance the office at the expense of departmental ministers. Yet it is easy to exaggerate the change. The gladiatorial contests between Gladstone and Disraeli anticipated the modern concentration on the rival party leaders.

The rule of a prime minister such as Thatcher will always give colour to the image of the prime minister as all-powerful. But though it may be conceded that there is a long-term trend towards the enhancement of the office, there are frequent fluctuations, as dominating prime ministers are followed by more diffident successors. Thus a Thatcher is succeeded by a Major, a Macmillan by a Douglas- Home. The bitter price Thatcher paid for her overbearing style suggests that an excessively presidential attitude may exact its own penalties.

The prime minister (or premier) was the chief executive officer of the Soviet government. The position was formally known as the chairman of the Council of Ministers (also known as the Sovnarkom, 1917 - 1946, and the Cabinet of Ministers, 1990 - 1991). The prime minister led sessions of the Council of Ministers and the more exclusive and secretive Presidium of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister was charged with overall responsibility for managing the centrally planned command economy and overseeing the extensive public administration apparatus.

Representing one of the most powerful positions in the Soviet leadership hierarchy, the post of prime minister carried automatic full membership in the Politburo, the top executive body in the political system. The prime minister's seat was frequently the object of intense intra-party factional conflicts to control the economic policy agenda.

The Soviet Union's first prime minister was Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin, who chaired the Sovnarkom, the principal executive governing body at that time. Lenin, who was not fond of extended debates, began the practice of policy making through an inner circle of ministers. Following Lenin's death in 1924, the positions of government head and Party leader were formally separated from one another.

Alexei Rykov, an intellectual with economic expertise, was appointed prime minister, overseeing the administration of the mixed-market New Economic Policy (NEP). In the late 1920s, as party sentiment turned against the NEP, leadership contender Josef Stalin maneuvered to dislodge Rykov from this post. Next, Prime Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, a staunch ally of Stalin, presided over and spurred on the ambitious and tumultuous state-led industrialization and collectivization campaigns of the 1930s. In 1939, with war looming, Molotov was dispatched to the foreign ministry, and Stalin claimed the position, accumulating even greater personal power.

When Stalin died in 1953, it was deemed necessary once again to separate the posts of Party and government leadership. Georgy Malenkov, who had managed the wartime economy as de facto premier, was officially promoted to prime minister. Malenkov attempted the diversion of resources away from military industry to the consumer sector, but was forced to resign by political rivals. The prime minister's post was occupied next by Nikolai Bulganin, whose expertise lay in military matters. In 1958 Communist Party leader Nikita Khrushchev appointed himself prime minister, in violation of Party rules.

Following Khrushchev's removal in 1964, the prime minister's position became more routinized within the leadership hierarchy, though the Politburo had the last say on economic policy. As industry developed and the economy grew more complex, the responsibilities of the prime minister became increasingly technocratic, requiring greater command of economic issues and firsthand managerial experience. Prime ministers in the late Soviet period struggled unsuccessfully with the challenge of devising economic strategies to regenerate growth from the declining command economy.

Individuals holding the post of prime minister included: Vladimir Lenin (1917 - 1924), Alexei Rykov (1924 - 1929), Vyacheslav Molotov (1930 - 1939), Josef Stalin (1939 - 1953), Georgy Malenkov (1953 - 1955), Nikolai Bulganin (1955 - 1958), Nikita Khrushchev (1958 - 1964), Alexei Kosygin (1964 - 1980), Nikolai Tikhonov (1980 - 1985), Nikolai Ryzhkov (1985 - 1990), and Valentin Pavlov (1990 - 1991).

Bibliography

Hough, Jerry, and Fainsod, Merle. (1979). How the Soviet Union is Governed, rev. ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rigby, T. H. Lenin's Government: Sovnarkom, 1917 - 1922. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

—GERALD M. EASTER

The head of government in many nations. Prime minister is commonly the title of the head of government in a parliamentary system, such as that of Britain or Canada.