First minister

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A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of first minister is used to refer to the political leader of a devolved national government, such as the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, or of a dependent territory.

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Canada

In Canada, a first minister is any of the Canadian first ministers of the Crown, otherwise known as heads of government, including the Prime Minister of Canada and the provincial and territorial premiers. The title is used in such formulae as "first ministers' meetings".

In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Inuit self-governing region of Nunatsiavut provides for a first minister responsible to the Nunatsiavut Assembly.

Norway

The head of government of Norway was called first minister (Norwegian : førstestatsråd) between 1814 and 1873, while it was in personal union with Sweden. In 1893, 12 years prior to the dissolution of the union, it was changed to prime minister (statsminister).

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the term first minister was once used interchangeably with prime minister, such as when Winston Churchill stated: "I did not become His Majesty's First Minister so that I might oversee the liquidation of the British Empire!"

Nowadays, the term is used to describe the leaders of the devolved governments of Scotland, [1] Wales and Northern Ireland. See

Other

In Australia, the premiers and chief ministers are the first ministers of the states and territories respectively.

In Germany, the first minister in each federal state is known as the Minister President (Ministerpräsident). A similar term exists in countries with some historic German influence, e.g. Latvia, the Netherlands etc.

In Malaysia, the first minister for each state with a Malay ruler is known as the Menteri Besar. Meanwhile, the heads of government in the four states without a monarch are called chief ministers.

George Price held the office of First Minister of British Honduras from 1961 until 1964, when it became self-governing and the title was changed to Premier. He continued as Premier after the colony changed its names to Belize, and then as Prime Minister after Belize gained full independence in 1981.

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These are lists of incumbents, including heads of states or of subnational entities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime minister</span> Top minister of cabinet and government

A prime minister,premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not the head of state, but rather the head of government, serving as the principal administrator under either a monarch in a monarchy or a president in a republican form of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the United Kingdom</span> Political system of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The politics of the United Kingdom functions within a constitutional monarchy where executive power is delegated by legislation and social conventions to a unitary parliamentary democracy. From this a hereditary monarch, currently Charles III, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, currently Rishi Sunak, serves as the elected head of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devolution</span> Granting of some competences of central government to local government

Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area, thus granting them a higher level of autonomy.

Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been decentralized to it by the central government. Home rule may govern in an autonomous administrative division; in contrast, though, there is no sovereignty separate from that of the parent state, and thus no separate chief military command nor separate foreign policy and diplomacy.

The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically seen as an alternative prime minister, premier, first minister, or chief minister to the incumbent; in the Westminster system, they head a rival alternative government known as the shadow cabinet or opposition front bench. The same term is also used to refer to the leader of the largest political party that is not in government in subnational state, provincial, and other regional and local legislatures.

The Taoiseach is the head of government of the Republic of Ireland, whose territory covers the island of Ireland, save Northern Ireland, which is a self-governing part of the United Kingdom.

A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, as both positions are "number two" offices, but there are some differences.

A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It is an alternative term for prime minister, premier, chief minister, or first minister and very similar to the title of president of the council of ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premier of Yukon</span> First minister of Yukon

The premier of Yukon is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian territory of Yukon. The post is the territory's head of government, although its powers are considerably more limited than that of a provincial premier. The office was established in 1978 when most authority was devolved from the appointed commissioner to the leader of the party that had the confidence of the Yukon Legislative Assembly; for the year immediately prior to this, that leader was one of the members serving with the commissioner's Executive Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commissioner of Yukon</span>

The commissioner of Yukon is the representative of the Government of Canada in the Canadian federal territory of Yukon. The commissioner is appointed by the federal government and, in contrast to the governor general of Canada or the lieutenant governors of the Canadian provinces, is not a viceroy and therefore not a direct representative of the Canadian monarch in the territory eo ipso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nunatsiavut</span> Autonomous area in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada claimed by the Inuit

Nunatsiavut is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inuit Association submitted a proposal for limited autonomy to the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The constitution was ratified on December 1, 2005, at which time the Labrador Inuit Association ceased to exist, and the new Government of Nunatsiavut was established, initially being responsible for health, education and cultural affairs. It is also responsible for setting and conducting elections, the first of which was executed in October 2006. An election for the ordinary members of the Nunatsiavut Assembly was held on May 4, 2010. The Nunatsiavut Assembly was dissolved on April 6 in preparation for the election. Its incumbent president is Johannes Lampe who assumed office in 2016.

A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. Still, in a few instances, it refers to a national legislature.

Chief executive is a term used for head of governmental powers that allows its holder to perform various functions. The term may refer to the title of the position, but many constituencies place this power in a position with a different title

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)</span> Ministerial department of the UK Government

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a ministerial department of His Majesty's Government, headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. Its stated priorities are to reduce re-offending and protect the public, to provide access to justice, to increase confidence in the justice system, and to uphold people's civil liberties. The Secretary of State is the minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary, the court system, prisons, and probation in England and Wales, with some additional UK-wide responsibilities, e.g., the UK Supreme Court and judicial appointments by the Crown. The department is also responsible for areas of constitutional policy not transferred in 2010 to the Deputy Prime Minister, human rights law, and information rights law across the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Countries of the United Kingdom</span> Component parts of the UK since 1922

Since 1922, the United Kingdom has been made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. Some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1 regions of the UK, refer to Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales as "regions". With regard to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales particularly, the descriptive name one uses "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences".

A dominion was any of several self-governing countries of the British Empire. With the evolution of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations, the dominions became independent states, either as commonwealth republics or commonwealth realms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devolution in the United Kingdom</span> Granting governmental powers to parts of the UK

In the United Kingdom, devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Assembly and to their associated executive bodies the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and in England, the Greater London Authority and combined authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom</span> Of central and devolved administrations

In the United Kingdom, intergovernmental relations are the coordination and engagement between the UK Government and devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council is where the heads of these administrations meet.

References

  1. "About: People: Who runs the Scottish Government". Scottish Government. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.