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A premier is a title for the head of government
Head of government

The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet . In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc....
 in some countries.

In many nations, the title "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister
Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of Cabinet in the Executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician....
": for example, the "Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 Premier" is the same person as the "Italian President of the Council of Ministers
President of the Council of Ministers

The official title President of the Council of Ministers is used to describe the head of government of the states of Italy and Poland, and formerly in Portugal, France , Spain , Brazil , and Luxembourg ....
". In the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
, "premier" is more common, but "prime minister" is still used (see Premier of the People's Republic of China
Premier of the People's Republic of China

The Premier of the State Council , sometimes referred to as the "Prime Minister", is the Chairman of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government....
).

In Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
 and the Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre....
, both British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 overseas territories
Crown colony

A Crown colony was a type of colonial administration of the British Empire.Crown colonies were ruled by a governor appointed by The Crown . Though the term was not used at the time, the first of what would later become known as Crown colonies was the Colony of Virginia in the present-day United States, after the Crown took control from the...
, their elected head of government
Head of government

The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet . In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc....
 is called the "premier". In other overseas territories, elected heads are called the chief minister
Chief Minister

A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a United Kingdom crown colony that has attained self-government....
.






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A premier is a title for the head of government
Head of government

The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet . In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc....
 in some countries.

In many nations, the title "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister
Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of Cabinet in the Executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician....
": for example, the "Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 Premier" is the same person as the "Italian President of the Council of Ministers
President of the Council of Ministers

The official title President of the Council of Ministers is used to describe the head of government of the states of Italy and Poland, and formerly in Portugal, France , Spain , Brazil , and Luxembourg ....
". In the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
, "premier" is more common, but "prime minister" is still used (see Premier of the People's Republic of China
Premier of the People's Republic of China

The Premier of the State Council , sometimes referred to as the "Prime Minister", is the Chairman of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government....
).

In Bermuda
Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1770 kilometres northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1350 kilometres south of Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada....
 and the Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre....
, both British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 overseas territories
Crown colony

A Crown colony was a type of colonial administration of the British Empire.Crown colonies were ruled by a governor appointed by The Crown . Though the term was not used at the time, the first of what would later become known as Crown colonies was the Colony of Virginia in the present-day United States, after the Crown took control from the...
, their elected head of government
Head of government

The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet . In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc....
 is called the "premier". In other overseas territories, elected heads are called the chief minister
Chief Minister

A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a United Kingdom crown colony that has attained self-government....
. In the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman....
, this position is known as the Leader of Government Business
Leader of Government Business

The post of Leader of Government Business in the Cayman Islands is the equivalent to Chief Minister or Premier in most British colony. It is the highest political level that can be attained within the colony....
.

"Premier" is also the title of the heads of government in sub-national entities
Administrative division

|align="right"| |}Administrative divisions are divisions of a political division. In other words, they are designated portions of a country....
, such as the provinces and territories
Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the List of countries and outlying territories by total area. The major difference between a Canada province and a territory is that a province receives its power and authority directly from the Monarchy in Canada, via the Constitution Act, 1867, whereas territories derive their manda...
 of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, states
States and territories of Australia

The Australia is made up of six states and two major mainland territories. There are also lesser territories that are under the administration of the federal government....
 of the Commonwealth of Australia, provinces
Provinces of South Africa

South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the South African general election, 1994, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine....
 of South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
, the island of Nevis
Nevis

Nevis is an island in the Caribbean, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 220 miles southeast of Puerto Rico and 50 miles west of Antigua....
 within the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest nation in the Americas, in both List of countries by area and List of countries by population....
, and the nation of Niue
Niue

Niue is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia". Natives of the island call it "the Rock"....
. In some of these cases, the formal title remains "Prime Minister" but "Premier" is used to avoid confusion with the national leader. In these cases, care should be taken not to confuse the title of "premier" with "prime minister". In these countries, terms such as "Federal Premier" or "National Premier" were sometimes used to refer to prime ministers, although these are now obsolete. In Quebec French
Quebec French

Quebec French , or less often Qu?b?cois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its Register #Register as formality scale registers....
, the equivalent of the English word "premier" is "premier ministre", which is also the word used for "prime minister".

In the Czech Republic
Czech Republic

The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....
, "Premiér" means the "Prime Minister" and the Czech language
Czech language

Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czech people worldwide....
 translates both "Premier" and "Prime Minister" as "Premiér".

In Croatia
Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, the head of government is officially called "President of the Government" (predsjednik vlade) but "Premier" (premijer) is commonly used.

A premier will normally be a head of government
Head of government

The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet . In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc....
, but is not usually the head of state
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
. In presidential system
Presidential system

A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not wikt:accountable and which cannot, in normal circumstances, wikt:dismiss it....
s, the two roles are often combined into one, whereas in parliamentary system
Parliamentary system

Parliamentary systems are characterized by no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, leading to a different set of checks and balances compared to those found in presidential systems....
s of government the two are usually kept separate. An example of a nation having separate roles for the premier/prime minister and the president is the Fifth French Republic.

In the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
, the title of premier was applied to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars or, after 1946, to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

A second in command to a premier is designated as a vice-premier or deputy premier.

See also

  • Prime Minister
    Prime minister

    A prime minister is the most senior minister of Cabinet in the Executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician....
  • Chief Minister
    Chief Minister

    A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a United Kingdom crown colony that has attained self-government....
  • Premiers of the Australian states
    Premiers of the Australian states

    The Premiers of the Australian states are the de facto heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Australia. They perform the same function at the state level as the Prime Minister of Australia performs at the national level....
  • Premier of Bermuda
  • Premiers of Canada
    Premier (Canada)

    In Canada, a premier is the head of government of a Provinces and territories of Canada. There are currently ten provincial premiers and three territorial premiers in Canada....
  • Chancellor of China
    Chancellor of China

    The Chancellor , variously translated as Prime Minister, Premier or Chief Councillor, was a generic name given to the highest-ranking official in the imperial government in ancient China....
  • List of premiers of China
    List of premiers of China

    This article is a list of the Premiers of China since 1911. According to Chinese historical records, the first premier of China was appointed in about 1130 BC, by First King of Shang Dynasty....
  • Premier of the Soviet Union
    Premier of the Soviet Union

    Premier of the Soviet Union is the commonly used English language term for the offices of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR , who was the head of government in the Soviet Union....
  • Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands

    This is a list of Chief Ministers and Premiers of the Turks and Caicos Islands....
  • President of the Council of Ministers
    President of the Council of Ministers

    The official title President of the Council of Ministers is used to describe the head of government of the states of Italy and Poland, and formerly in Portugal, France , Spain , Brazil , and Luxembourg ....