Prime Minister of Spain

The President of the Government of Spain (Spanish: Presidente del Gobierno), formally known by English-speaking nations and formally translated by the European Commission Directorate-General in English as Prime Minister is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978.

The King of Spain nominates a candidate for the presidency who stands before the Congress of Deputies of Spain, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (parliament), for a vote of confidence in a process known as a parliamentarian investiture, effectively an indirect election of the head of government by the elected Congress of Deputies. In practice, the Prime Minister is almost always the leader of the largest party in the Congress. Since current constitutional practice in Spain calls for the King to act on the advice of his ministers, the Prime Minister is effectively the country's chief executive.

Mariano Rajoy Brey of the People's Party has been the prime minister since he was sworn in on December 21, 2011, after winning the 2011 general election.

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime minister is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet. In a minority of systems, notably in semi-presidential systems of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the head of state.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of government and head of the executive branch. In such systems, the head of state or the head of state's official representative (i.e. the monarch, president, or governor-general) usually holds a largely ceremonial position, although often with reserve powers.

The prime minister is often, but not always, a member of parliament and is expected with other ministers to ensure the passage of bills through the legislature. In some monarchies the monarch may also exercise executive powers (known as the royal prerogative) that are constitutionally vested in the crown and may be exercised without the approval of parliament.

List of heads of government of Liechtenstein

This is a list of the Regierungschef (Heads of Government or Prime Ministers) of Liechtenstein.

The current Regierungschef is Adrian Hasler, since 27 March 2013.

Prime Ministers of Liechtenstein (1921–present)

See also

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Prime Minister of Denmark

The Prime Minister of Denmark (Danish: Statsminister; literally "Minister of State") is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark. Before the creation of the modern office, Denmark did not have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the King, in whom the executive authority was vested. The Constitution of 1849 established a constitutional monarchy by limiting the powers of the Monarch and creating the office of premierminister. The inaugural holder of the office was Adam Wilhelm Moltke.

The Prime Minister presides over a cabinet that is formally appointed by the Monarch. In practice, the appointment of the Prime Minister is determined by their support in the Folketing (the national parliament). Since the beginning of the 20th century no single party has held a majority in the Folketing, so the Prime Minister must head a coalition of political parties, as well as their own party. Additionally, only four coalition governments since World War II have enjoyed a majority in the Folketing, so the coalitions (and the Prime Minister) must also gain loose support from other minor parties.