Premier
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A '''premier''' is a title for the [[head of government]] in some countries.
In many nations, the title "premier" is used interchangeably with "[[prime minister]]": for example, the "[[Italy|Italian]] Premier" is the same person as the "Italian [[President of the Council of Ministers]]". In the [[People's Republic of China]], "premier" is more common, but "prime minister" is still used (see [[Premier of the People's Republic of China]]).
In [[Bermuda]] and the [[Turks and Caicos Islands]], both [[United Kingdom|British]] [[crown colony|overseas territories]], their elected [[head of government]] is called the "premier". In other overseas territories, elected heads are called the [[chief minister]]. In the [[Cayman Islands]], this position is known as the [[Leader of Government Business]].
"Premier" is also the title of the heads of government in [[administrative division|sub-national entities]], such as the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provinces and territories]] of [[Canada]], [[States and territories of Australia|states]] of the [[Commonwealth of Australia]], [[Provinces of South Africa|provinces]] of [[South Africa]], the island of [[Nevis]] within the Federation of [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], and the nation of [[Niue]]. 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 [[Canadian French]], the equivalent of the English word "premier" is "''premier ministre''", which is also the word used for "prime minister".
In the [[Czech Republic]], "Premiér" means the "Prime Minister" and the [[Czech language]] translates both "Premier" and "Prime Minister" as "Premiér".
In [[Croatia]], the head of government is officially called "President of the Government" (''predsjednik vlade'') or "Minister President" (''ministar predsjednik''), but "Premier" (''premijer'') is commonly used.
A premier will normally be a [[head of government]], but is not usually the [[head of state]]. In [[presidential system]]s, the two roles are often combined into one, whereas in [[parliamentary system]]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]], 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]]
*[[Chief Minister]]
*[[Premiers of the Australian states]]
*[[Premier of Bermuda]]
*[[Premier (Canada)|Premiers of Canada]]
*[[Chancellor of China]]
*[[List of premiers of China]]
*[[Premier of the Soviet Union]]
*[[Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands]]
*[[President of the Council of Ministers]]
[[Category:Government occupations]]
[[Category:Heads of government]]
[[Category:Positions of authority|Premier]]
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