Sengmap, Nov 1983, Bachelor of Maths at Royal Univerysity of Phnom Penh with Franch Language. i will update more late soon

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — Bangkok’s two main airports remained occupied by anti-government protesters Friday but Thai authorities appeared to have backed down from earlier threats to end the siege by force.

Anti-government protesters cheer at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok, Thursday.

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The airports have been closed since Tuesday, stranding thousands of passengers and dealing a severe blow to the crisis-stricken southeast Asian nation’s economy at the height of the tourist season.

Thai prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, whose resignation protesters are demanding, declared a state of emergency Thursday following a cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second city.

But government spokesman Nattawut Sai-Kau told reporters Friday that police would avoid using force and attempt to negotiate with the protesters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

Police chief negotiator Suchart Muenkaew told reporters he had asked protesters at Bangkok’s Don Muang airport to allow the airport to resume operations.

“The prime minister has emphasized we avoid confrontation and damage. We will start with soft means, moving to the last measure — that is dispersing (protesters),” he said, according to The Associated Press. Watch background to Thailand turmoil »

CNN’s Dan Rivers said around 3,000 tourists were stranded in hotels in central Bangkok or near the airport.

“A lot of tourists don’t understand what is happening or why it is happening. Their holiday has been ruined and there is a lot of confusion, a lot of anger,” River said.

Rivers’ described the scene at Bangkok’s main international Suvarnabhumi Airport as a “bizarre state of anarchy” with a huge group of protesters camped out in the departure hall. Other areas of the airport were deserted with police and airport staff nowhere to be seen, posing a massive security breach, he said. Watch Dan Rivers’ report from the empty airport terminal »

Somchai rejected calls Wednesday to dissolve parliament, despite the country’s army chief Anupong Paochinda suggesting that he do so.

“This government has legitimacy,” Somchai said. “The administration needs to protect Thai democracy and the Thai people, which is most important.”

The People’s Alliance for Democracy has said it will not end its occupation of the airports until Somchai resigns.

They accuse his government of being a front for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who they want to stand trial on corruption charges. See the Bangkok protests in pictures »

Shinawatra, ousted in a bloodless coup in 2006 and now in exile in Dubai, was sentenced to two years in prison for corruption in October.

MUMBAI, India (CNN) — The last two gunmen involved in the Mumbai attacks were killed early Saturday, the city’s police chief told CNN sister station CNN-IBN, but another official said the situation remains unresolved.

A commando looks for gunmen during the operation at the Chabad House Jewish center.

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“The last two terrorists have been killed a short while ago,” police Chief Hussain Gafoor said Saturday. “It’s completely over, except for the fact that now we will start searching the hotel and sanitizing it against any explosives and against any other things that may have been left behind.”

The announcement coincided with the end of intermittent gunfire from the historic Taj hotel, which has been the scene of a violent and drawn-out standoff resulting in numerous deaths and injuries since Wednesday.

However, J.K. Dutt, director-general of the national security guard, said there could be more terrorists and that the operation was still ongoing.

He appealed to guests hiding inside their rooms to open their window curtains to signal their presence to security officials, saying it would help police snipers determine if someone in a room was actually a terrorist with a weapon.

The announcements came shortly after a fire swept through the ground floor, enveloping much of the historic building. By 8:30 a.m. local time, the fire was under control, CNN-IBN reported.

CNN-IBN also reported that someone had jumped from the hotel during the fire and appeared to be dead. It broadcast a picture of the body taken by a cell phone.

On Friday, scores of hostages trickled out of the Taj and the nearby Oberoi hotel; some had spent as many as 48 hours huddled with strangers in guest rooms, closets or darkened banquet halls.

It is still unclear who is behind the attacks, but the gunmen were men in their 20s who “obviously had to be trained somewhere,” a member of the Indian navy’s commando unit said Friday. Watch the commando talk about the attackers »

They fired at guests “with no remorse” and knew the layout of the hotels well enough to “vanish” after confronting security forces, the commando said.

British Parliament member Sajjad Karim was in a herd of people running from gunfire in the lobby of the Taj when another gunman appeared before them and opened fire.

“From the very brief glimpse that I got of him, he was fairly young man of south Asian appearance, and he was wearing a smile on his face as he started to spray the bullets,” Karim told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Watch Karim describe the gunman »

Karim said he spent eight hours barricaded in a room at the Taj with 40 to 50 people before commandos rescued him.

But many did not make it out alive. The death toll from two days of violence rose to 160 on Friday and included Westerners and Asians of all walks of life, including Indian police and military, five Americans and a British yacht magnate. Watch survivor say gunmen were targeting Brits and Americans »

Maharashtra state official Bhushan Gagrani said the death toll is expected to rise further. Eleven terrorists have also been killed.

Earlier, police said they found 36 bodies during a sweep of the Oberoi hotel; they killed two militants and freed hundreds of trapped guests.

Americans Alan Scherr, 58, and his daughter Naomi, 13, of Virginia died at the Oberoi. They were visiting India with a meditation group. Read more about those killed in the terror attacks

The bodies of five hostages were found at the Chabad House Jewish center, which houses the Mumbai headquarters of the Chabad community, a Hasidic Jewish movement. Commandos stormed the building through a hole blasted in the wall. Watch another day of terror in Mumbai »

After several hours of gunfire and explosions from inside, all went quiet, and CNN’s senior international correspondent Nic Robertson said it appeared that the operation was over.

Gunfire and a large explosion were heard at the Taj Mahal hotel early Saturday as commandos continued their operation.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor told CNN-IBN, CNN’s sister channel in India, that the gunman at the Taj was shooting and throwing grenades at security forces.

Gafoor said most of the attackers had been heavily armed. “They were carrying an AK assault rifle, one or two handguns and grenades.”

Throughout the day, there were explosions, some blowing out windows at the 105-year-old landmark. Some guests have been able to get out of the building. Watch CNN’s exclusive access to some of the wounded »

The identity of the attackers remained a mystery. Police said they came by boats to the waterfront near the Gateway of India monument and the two hotels.

Indian naval and coast guard investigators have determined that two vessels recently seized in the Arabian Sea have no links to the Mumbai attacks. A fishing trawler, however, remains in custody.

The Press Trust of India, citing Union Cabinet Minister Kapil Sibal, reported that the gunmen had worked for months to prepare, even setting up “control rooms” in the two luxury hotels that were targeted.

Indian authorities said no one had claimed responsibility, although the Deccan Mujahideen took credit in e-mails sent to several Indian news outlets.

Interpol said it would send a delegation to India, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation wants to send a team, but India has not officially asked for its help.

Pranab Mukherjee, the external affairs minister for Maharashtra state, said the preliminary investigation “indicates that some elements in Pakistan are involved.”

“Until the investigation is complete, it will be difficult to say where they came from and how they came,” he said.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also indicated that the gunmen came from Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, in a call with his Pakistani counterpart Friday.

In response, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said he would send a representative from his country’s intelligence agency to help with the investigation.

A British security source told CNN that British security officials are investigating why two bodies believed to be those of terrorists were found with British identification documents.

“Not everybody can fire the AK series of weapons; not everybody can throw a grenade like that,” a commando said outside the Taj hotel. “It is obvious that they were trained somewhere.” Watch an analyst says attackers had ‘combat experience’ »

The shell-shocked city woke Friday to television images of Indian soldiers rappelling down ropes from military choppers on to the roof of Chabad House.

The Chabad-Lubavitch International group said Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, 29, made a phone call to the Israeli Consulate to report gunmen in the house.

“In the middle of the conversation, the line went dead,” the organization said. His wife, Rivka, 28, was also killed.

A prime minister (usually titled 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. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can 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 system of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the President.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of the 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), although officially the head of the executive branch, in fact holds a ceremonial position. 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) which are constitutionally vested in the Crown and can be exercised without the approval of parliament.

As well as being Head of Government, a prime minister may have other roles or titles – the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for example, is also First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service.^[1] Prime ministers may take other ministerial posts – for example during the Second World War Winston Churchill was also Minister of Defence (although there was then no Ministry of Defence). Former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam was famous for forming his cabinet entirely of himself and his deputy as soon as the overall result was beyond doubt at the 1972 federal election (see First Whitlam Ministry).

History

While the modern office of Prime Minister was developed in the UK^{[citation needed]} the first actual usage of the word Prime Minister or Premier Ministre was used by Cardinal Richelieu, when, in 1625 he was named to head the royal council as prime minister of France. Louis XIV and his descendants generally attempted to avoid giving this title to their chief ministers. The term Prime Minister in the sense that we know it originated in the 18th century in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]} Since medieval times Kings of England and the United Kingdom had ministers in whom they placed special trust and who were regarded as the head of the government. Examples were Thomas Cromwell under Henry VIII; William Cecil, Lord Burghley under Elizabeth I; Clarendon under Charles II and Godolphin under Queen Anne. These ministers held a variety of formal posts, but were commonly known as “the Minister,” the “first Minister” and finally the “Prime Minister.”

The power of these ministers depended entirely on the personal favour of the Monarch. Although managing the Parliament was among the necessary skills of holding high office, they did not depend on a parliamentary majority for their power. Although there was a Cabinet, it was appointed entirely by the Monarch, and the Monarch usually presided over its meetings. When the Monarch grew tired of a first minister, they could be dismissed, or worse: Cromwell was executed and Clarendon driven into exile when they lost favour. Kings sometimes divided power equally between two or more ministers to prevent one minister becoming too powerful. Late in Anne’s reign, for example, the Tory ministers Harley and St John shared power.

In the mid 17th century, after the English Civil War and the Protectorate, Parliament had strengthened its position and it emerged even more powerful after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The King could not establish any law or impose any tax without its permission. Thus it has been said that the House of Commons became a part of the government and it has been only a further step of this development that a new kind of prime minister should emerge. This turning point in the evolution of the prime ministership came with the death of Anne in 1714 and the accession of George I. George spoke no English, spent much of his time at his home in Hanover, and had neither knowledge of nor interest in the details of English government. In these circumstances it was inevitable that the King’s first minister would become the de facto head of the government. From 1721 this was the Whig politician Robert Walpole, who held office for twenty-one years. Walpole chaired Cabinet meetings, appointed all the other ministers, dispensed the royal patronage and packed the House of Commons with his supporters. Under Walpole, the doctrine of Cabinet solidarity developed. Walpole required that no minister other than him have private dealings with the King, and also that when the Cabinet had agreed on a policy, all ministers must defend it in public or resign. As a later Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, said: “It matters not what we say, gentlemen, so long as we all say the same thing.”

Walpole always denied that he was “Prime Minister,” and throughout the 18th century parliamentarians and legal scholars continued to deny that any such position was known to the Constitution. The title was first referred to on Government documents during the administration of Benjamin Disraeli but did not appear in the formal British Order of precedence until 1905. George II and George III made strenuous efforts to reclaim the personal power of the Monarch, but the increasing complexity and expense of government meant that a minister who could command the loyalty of the Commons was increasingly necessary. The long tenure of the wartime Prime Minister Pitt the Younger (1783-1801), combined with the mental illness of George III, consolidated the power of the post.

The prestige of British institutions in the 19th century and the growth of the British Empire saw the British model of cabinet government, headed by a prime minister, widely copied, both in other European countries and in British colonial territories as they developed self-government. In some places alternative titles such as “Premier,” “Chief Minister,” “First Minister of State”, “President of the Council” or “Chancellor” were adopted, but the essentials of the office were the same. By the late 20th century the majority of the world’s countries had a “Prime Minister” or equivalent minister, holding office under either a constitutional monarchy or a ceremonial president. The main exceptions to this system have been the United States and the presidential republics in Latin America, modelled on the U.S. system, in which the president directly exercises executive authority.

Prime ministers in republics and in monarchies

The post of prime minister may be encountered both in constitutional monarchies (such as Belgium, Denmark, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Malaysia, Spain,^[2] Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), and in republics in which the head of state is an elected official (such as Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Turkey) or an unelected official (such as Singapore before 1993) with varying degrees of real power. This contrasts with the presidential system, in which the President (or equivalent) is both the head of state and the head of the government. See also “First Minister” , “Premier“, “Chief Minister“, “Chancellor” , “Taoiseach” and “Secretary of state“: alternative titles usually equivalent in meaning to, or translated as, “prime minister.”

In some presidential or semi-presidential systems, such as those of France, Russia or South Korea, the prime minister is an official generally appointed by the President but usually approved by the legislature and responsible for carrying out the directives of the President and managing the civil service. (The premier of the Republic of China is also appointed by the president, but requires no approval by the legislature. Appointment of the prime minister of France requires no approval by the parliament either, but the parliament can force the resignation of the government.) In these systems, it is possible for the president and the prime minister to be from different political parties if the legislature is controlled by a party different from that of the president. When it arises, such a state of affairs is usually referred to as (political) cohabitation.

Entry into office

In parliamentary systems a prime minister can enter into office by several means.

• By appointment by the Head of State, without reference to parliament: While in practice most Prime Ministers under the Westminster system (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, India and the United Kingdom) are the leaders of the largest party in parliament, technically the appointment of the Prime Minister is a royal prerogative exercised by the Queen or the Governor-General. No parliamentary vote takes place on who is forming a government. However as the government will have to outline its legislative programme to parliament in the Speech from the Throne, the speech is sometimes used to test parliamentary support. A defeat on the Speech is taken to mean a Loss of Confidence and so requires either a new draft (a humiliating act no government would contemplate), resignation, or a request for a dissolution of parliament. Until the early 20th century governments when defeated in a general election remained in power until their Speech from the Throne was defeated and then resigned. No government has done so for one hundred years, though Edward Heath in 1974 did delay his resignation while he explored whether he could form a government with Liberal support.

In such systems unwritten (and unenforceable) constitutional conventions often outline the order in which people are asked to form a government. If the Prime Minister resigns after a general election, the monarch usually asks the Leader of the Opposition to form a government. Where however a resignation occurs during a parliament (unless the government has itself collapsed) the monarch will ask another member of the government to form a government. While previously the monarch had some leeway in whom to ask, all British political parties now elect their leaders (until 1965 the Conservatives chose their leader by informal consultation). The last time the monarch had a choice over the appointment occurred in 1963 when the Earl of Home was asked to become Prime Minister ahead of Rab Butler.

During the period between the time it is clear that the incumbent government has been defeated at a general election, and the actual swearing-in of the new prime minister by the monarch or governor-general, that person is variously referred to as the “prime minister-elect”, “…-designate” etc. Neither term is strictly correct from a constitutional point of view, but they have wide acceptance. In a situation in which a ruling party elects or appoints a new leader, the incoming leader will usually be referred as “prime minister-in-waiting.” An example or this situation was in 2003 in Canada when Paul Martin was elected leader of the Liberal Party while Jean Chretien was still Prime Minister.

• Appointment by the head of state after parliament nominates a candidate: Example: The Republic of Ireland where the President of Ireland appoints the Taoiseach on the nomination of the Dáil Éireann.
• The head of state nominates a candidate for prime minister who is then submitted to parliament for approval before appointment as prime minister: Example: Spain, where the King sends a nomination to parliament for approval. Also Germany where under the Basic Law (constitution) the Bundestag votes on a candidate nominated by the Federal President. In these cases, parliament can choose another candidate who then would be appointed by the head of state.
• The head of state appoints a prime minister who has a set timescale within which s/he must gain a vote of confidence: (Example: Italy, Romania)
• Direct election by parliament: (Example: Japan, Papua New Guinea, (Example: Israel, 1996-2001, where the prime minister was elected in a general election, with no regard to political affiliation.)
• Nomination by a state office holder other than the head of state or his/her representative: (Example: Under the modern Swedish Instrument of Government, the power to appoint someone to form a government has been moved from the Monarch to the Speaker of Parliament and the parliament itself. The speaker nominate a candidate, who is then elected to prime minister (statsminister) by the parliament if an absolute majority of the members of parliament does not vote no (i.e. he can be elected even if more MP:s vote no than yes).

Prime ministers and constitutions

The position, power and status of prime ministers differ depending on the age of the constitution in individuals.

Australia’s Constitution makes no mention of a Prime Minister of Australia.

Canada’s Constitution, being a ‘mixed’ or hybrid constitution (a constitution that is partly formally codified and partly uncodified) originally did not make any reference whatsoever to a Prime Minister, with his specific duties and method of appointment instead dictated by “convention.” In the Constitution Act, 1982, passing reference to a “Prime Minister of Canada” is added, though only regarding the composition of conferences of federal and provincial first ministers.

Germany’s Basic Law (1949) lists the powers, functions and duties of the federal Chancellor.

India’s Constitution of India (1950) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister.

Japan’s Constitution of Japan (1946) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister.

Malta’s Constitution (1964) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Malta.

Malaysia’s Constitution of Malaysia (1957) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The Republic of Ireland’s constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann (1937), provides for the office of Taoiseach in detail, listing powers, functions and duties.

The United Kingdom’s Constitution, being uncodified and largely unwritten, makes no mention of a Prime Minister. Though it had de facto existed for centuries, its first mention in official state documents did not occur until the first decade of the twentieth century. Accordingly, it is often said “not to exist”, indeed there are several instances of parliament declaring this to be the case. The prime minister sits in the cabinet solely by virtue of occupying another office, either First Lord of the Treasury (office in commission), or more rarely Chancellor of the Exchequer (the last being Balfour in 1905).

Exit from office

Most prime ministers in parliamentary systems are not appointed for a specific term in office and in effect may remain in power through a number of elections and parliaments. For example, Margaret Thatcher was only ever appointed prime minister on one occasion, in 1979. She remained continuously in power until 1990, though she used the assembly of each House of Commons after a general election to reshuffle her cabinet. Some states, however, do have a term of office of the prime minister linked to the period in office on the parliament. Hence the Irish Taoiseach is formally ‘renominated‘ after every general election. (Some constitutional experts have questioned whether this process is actually in keeping with the provisions of the Irish constitution, which appear to suggest a taoiseach should remain in office, without the requirement of a renomination, unless s/he has clearly lost the general election.) The position of prime minister is normally chosen from the political party that commands majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.

In parliamentary systems, governments are generally required to have the confidence of the lower house of parliament (though a small minority of parliaments, by giving a right to block Supply to upper houses, in effect make the cabinet responsible to both houses, though in reality upper houses, even when they have the power, rarely exercise it). Where they lose a vote of confidence, have a motion of no confidence passed against them, or where they lose Supply, most constitutional systems require either:

a) a letter of resignation or

b) a request of a parliamentary dissolution.

The latter in effect allows the government to appeal the opposition of parliament to the electorate. However in many jurisdictions a head of state may refuse a parliamentary dissolution, requiring the resignation of the prime minister and his or her government. In most modern parliamentary systems, the prime minister is the person who decides when to request a parliamentary dissolution. Older constitutions often vest this power in the cabinet. (In the United Kingdom, for example, the tradition whereby it is the prime minister who requests a dissolution of parliament dates back to 1918. Prior to then, it was the entire government that made the request. Similarly, though the modern 1937 Irish constitution grants to the Taoiseach the right to make the request, the earlier 1922 Irish Free State Constitution vested the power in the Executive Council (the then name for the Irish cabinet).

Titles

A number of different terms are used to describe prime ministers. In Germany and Austria the prime minister is actually titled Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) while the Irish prime minister is called An Taoiseach (which is rendered into English as Prime Minister). In many cases, though commonly used, “prime minister” is not the official title of the office-holder; the Spanish prime minister is the President of the Government (Presidente del Gobierno) and the British First Lord of the Treasury. Other common forms include President of the Council of Ministers (for example in Italy, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), President of the Executive Council, or Minister-President. In the Scandinavian countries is the prime minister called statsminister in the native languages (i.e. state minister). In federations, the head of government of subnational entities like states or provinces is most commonly known as the Premier, Chief Minister or Minister-president.

In non-Commonwealth countries the prime minister may be entitled to the style of Excellency like a president. In some Commonwealth countries Prime Ministers and former Prime Ministers are styled Right Honourable, for example, the Right Honourable Sir John Major.

In the UK where devolved government is in place, the leaders of the Scottish, Northern Ireland and Welsh Governments are styled First Minister.

In Pakistan, the prime minister is referred to as “Wazir-e-Azam”, meaning “Grand Vizier”.

Chairman or Chief?

Irish political scientist Professor Brian Farrell coined the term “Chairman or Chief” to describe the two alternative concepts of prime ministerial leadership, in his book of the same name about the office of Taoiseach.^[3] The term, widely used in political science worldwide, draws a distinction between a head of government who is merely a facilitator and co-ordinator of a cabinet (the “chairman”), and those who lead it forcefully from the front, setting its policy agenda and requiring all ministers to follow the leader’s policies (the “chief”). Examples of “chairmen” have included Bertie Ahern (Ireland), John Major (United Kingdom) and Couve de Murville (France), while examples of chiefs included Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee ,Seán Lemass (Ireland), Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair (United Kingdom), and Jacques Chirac when prime minister under cohabitation.

Not every prime minister fits exclusively into either category: Éamon de Valera, though a strong personality, was only interested in controlling some of his government’s agenda (usually constitutional matters and Anglo-Irish affairs), and allowed large areas to decided by his colleagues. Though superficially a chief (and called “the Chief” [the literal translation of Taoiseach] by his colleagues) historians see him as more of a chairman, particularly in later governments. Winston Churchill too, though superficially a “chief”, was more chairmanlike in later governments and in those areas in which he had little personal interest.

As well as describing office holders, individual offices could be described as belonging to one or other category. Among the more dominant prime ministerial offices in terms of powers, and so more chieflike, are the premierships of Ireland and Spain, where premiers can hire and fire at will. In contrast, offices such as President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, Prime Minister of the Third French Republic, and the premierships of Belgium and The Netherlands are more chairmanlike in format. Lijphart referred to the premiership of the Netherlands as “primus inter pares without due emphasis on primus“.^[4]

Description of the role

Wilfried Martens, who served as Prime Minister of Belgium, described his role as follows:

First of all [the Prime Minister] must listen a lot, and when deep disagreements occur, he must suggest a solution to the matter. This can be done in different ways. Sometimes during the discussion, I note the elements of the problem and think of a proposal I can formulate to the Council (cabinet), the Secretary taking notes. The Ministers then insist on changing commas and full stops. The Prime Minister can also make a proposal which leaves enough room for amendments in order to keep the current discussion on the right tracks. When a solution must be found in order to reach a consensus, he can force one or two Ministers to join or resign.^[5]

Lists of prime ministers

The following table groups the list of past and present prime ministers and details information available in those lists.

Kevin Rudd, the current Prime Minister of Australia

Wen Jiabao, the current Premier of the People’s Republic of China

Ivo Sanader, the current Prime Minister of Croatia

Matti Vanhanen, the current Prime Minister of Finland

Kostas Karamanlis, the current Prime Minister of Greece

Manmohan Singh, the current Prime Minister of India

Nouri al-Maliki, the current Prime Minister of Iraq

Silvio Berlusconi, the current Prime Minister of Italy

Raila Odinga, the current Prime Minister of Kenya

Abdullah Badawi, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia

Milo Đukanović, the current Prime Minister of Montenegro

John Key, the current Prime Minister of New Zealand

Yousaf Raza Gillani, the current Prime Minister of Pakistan

José Sócrates, the current Prime Minister of Portugal

Vladimir Putin, the current Prime Minister of Russia

Mirko Cvetković, the current Prime Minister of Serbia

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the current Prime Minister of Spain

Gordon Brown, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Government	List starts	Table shows parties?	Term given by years or dates?	Incumbent
Afghanistan	1953	-	years	(Post Abolished)
Albania	1912	-	years	Sali Berisha
Algeria	1962	yes	years	Ahmed Ouyahia
Andorra	1982	-	years	Albert Pintat
Angola	1975	-	dates	Paulo Kassoma
Anguilla	1976	yes	dates	Osbourne Fleming
Antigua and Barbuda	1981	-	years	Baldwin Spencer
Armenia	1918	yes	dates	Tigran Sargsyan
Aruba	1986	-	dates	Nelson O. Oduber
Australia	1901	yes	dates	Kevin Rudd
Austria	1918	yes	years	Alfred Gusenbauer
Azerbaijan	1918	yes	dates	Artur Rasizade
Bahamas	1967	-	dates	Hubert Ingraham
Bahrain	1970	-	years	Sheikh Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah
Bangladesh	1971	yes	dates	Fakhruddin Ahmed (interim)
Barbados	1954	yes	dates	David Thompson
Belarus	1990	-	dates	Sergey Sidorsky
Belgium	1831	yes	dates	Yves Leterme
Belize	1973	yes	years	Dean Barrow
Benin	1957	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Bermuda	1968	yes	dates	Ewart Brown
Bhutan	1952	-	dates	Jigme Thinley
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2006	-	dates	Nikola Špirić
Botswana	1965	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Brazil	1847	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
British Virgin islands	1967	yes	dates	Ralph T. O’Neal
Bulgaria	1879	yes	dates	Sergey Stanishev
Burkina Faso	1971	-	dates	Tertius Zongo
Burundi	1961	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Cambodia	1996	-	years	Hun Sen
Cameroon	1960	-	dates	Ephraïm Inoni
Canada	1867	yes	dates	Stephen Harper
Cape Verde	1975	-	dates	José Maria Neves
Cayman islands	1992	yes	dates	Kurt Tibbetts
Central African Republic	1958	-	dates	Faustin-Archange Touadéra
Chad	1978	-	dates	Youssouf Saleh Abbas
People’s Republic of China	1949	-	dates	Wen Jiabao
Comoros	1957	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Congo (Brazzaville)	1957	yes	dates	Isidore Mvouba
Congo (Kinshasa)	1960	yes	dates	Adolphe Muzito
Cook Islands	1965	yes	dates	Jim Marurai
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	1957	yes	dates	Guillaume Soro
Croatia	1990	-	dates	Ivo Sanader
Cuba	1940	-	dates	Raúl Castro
Czech Republic	1969	-	years	Mirek Topolánek
Denmark	1848	-	years	Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Djibouti	1977	-	dates	Dileita Mohamed Dileita
Dominica	1960	-	dates	Roosevelt Skerrit
East Timor	2002	-	dates	Xanana Gusmão
Egypt	1878	-	years	Ahmed Nazif
Equatorial Guinea	1963	-	dates	Ignacio Milam Tang
Estonia	1991	-	dates	Andrus Ansip
Ethiopia	1942	yes	dates	Meles Zenawi
Faroe islands	1946	-	years	Kaj Leo Johannesen
Fiji	1966	-	dates	Frank Bainimarama (interim)
Finland	1917	yes	years	Matti Vanhanen
France	1815	-	years	François Fillon
Gabon	1957	yes	dates	Jean Eyeghe Ndong
The Gambia	1961	-	dates	(Post Abolished)
Ghana	1957	-	dates	(Post Abolished)
Georgia	1918	yes	dates	Grigol Mgaloblishvili
Germany	1871	yes	dates	Angela Merkel
Gibraltar	1964	yes	dates	Peter Caruana
Greece	1833	-	dates	Kostas Karamanlis
Greenland	1979	-	years	Hans Enoksen
Grenada	1954	-	years	Tillman Thomas
Guernsey	2007	-	dates	Lyndon Trott
Guinea	1972	-	dates	Ahmed Tidiane Souaré
Guinea-Bissau	1973	-	dates	Carlos Correia
Guyana	1953	-	dates	Sam Hinds
Haiti	1988	-	dates	Michèle Pierre-Louis
Hungary	1848	-	dates	Ferenc Gyurcsány
Iceland	1904	-	dates	Geir Haarde
India	1947	yes	dates	Manmohan Singh
Indonesia	1945	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Iran	1824	-	years	(Post Abolished)
Iraq	1920	-	years	Nouri al-Maliki
Ireland	1937	yes	dates	Brian Cowen
Israel	1948	-	years	Ehud Olmert
Italy	1861	-	years	Silvio Berlusconi
Jamaica	1959	-	years	Bruce Golding
Japan	1885	-	dates	Taro Aso
Jersey	2005	-	dates	Frank Walker
Jordan	1944	-	dates	Nader al-Dahabi
Kazakhstan	1928	-	years	Karim Masimov
Kenya	1963	-	dates	Raila Odinga
North Korea	1948	-	years	Kim Yong-il
South Korea	1948	-	years	Han Seung-soo
Kuwait	1962	-	dates	Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah
Kyrgyzstan	1991	-	dates	Igor Chudinov
Laos	1941	-	years	Bouasone Bouphavanh
Latvia	1990	yes	dates	Ivars Godmanis
Lebanon	1926	-	dates	Fouad Siniora
Lesotho	1965	yes	dates	Pakalitha Mosisili
Libya	1951	-	dates	Baghdadi Mahmudi
Liechtenstein	1921	yes	dates	Otmar Hasler
Lithuania	1990	yes	dates	Gediminas Kirkilas
Luxembourg	1959	-	years	Jean-Claude Juncker
Macedonia	1991	yes	dates	Nikola Gruevski
Madagascar	1833	-	dates	Charles Rabemananjara
Malawi	1963	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Malaysia	1957	yes	years	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Mali	1957	yes	dates	Modibo Sidibé
Malta	1921	yes	years	Lawrence Gonzi
Isle of Man	1986	-	years	Tony Brown
Mauritania	1957	yes	dates	Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf
Mauritius	1961	yes	dates	Navin Ramgoolam
Moldova	1990	-	dates	Zinaida Greceanîi
Monaco	1911	n/a	dates	Jean-Paul Proust
Mongolia	1912	yes	dates	Sanjaagiin Bayar
Montenegro	1879	yes	dates	Milo Đukanović
Montserrat	1960	yes	dates	Lowell Lewis
Morocco	1955	yes	years	Abbas El Fassi
Mozambique	1974	yes	dates	Luisa Diogo
Myanmar (Burma)	1948	yes	dates	Thein Sein
Namibia	1990	yes	dates	Nahas Angula
Nepal	1953	-	dates	Prachanda
Netherlands (List)	1848	yes	dates	Jan Peter Balkenende
Netherlands Antilles	1954	yes	years	Emily de Jongh-Elhage
New Zealand	1856	yes	dates	John Key
Newfoundland	1855	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Niue	1974	-	dates	Toke Talagi
Niger	1958	yes	dates	Seyni Oumarou
Norfolk island	1896	-	dates	Andre Nobbs
Norway	1814	-	years	Jens Stoltenberg
Pakistan	1947	-	dates	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Palestinian National Authority	2003	yes	dates	Salam Fayyad
Papua New Guinea	1975	yes	years	Sir Michael Somare
Peru	1975	yes	dates	Yehude Simon
Philippines	1899	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Poland	1917	-	dates	Donald Tusk
Portugal	1834	yes	dates	José Sócrates
Qatar	1972	-	dates	Sheikh Hamad ibn Jassim ibn Jabr Al Thani
Romania	1862	-	years	Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu
Russia	1991	yes	dates	Vladimir Putin
Rwanda	1960	yes	dates	Bernard Makuza
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1960	-	dates	Denzil Douglas
Saint Lucia	1960	-	dates	Stephenson King
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1956	-	dates	Ralph Gonsalves
Samoa	1875	yes	dates	Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi
São Tomé and Principe	1974	yes	dates	Joaquim Rafael Branco
Senegal	1957	yes	dates	Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré
Serbia	1805	yes	years	Mirko Cvetković
Singapore	1965	-	dates	Lee Hsien Loong
Slovakia	1918	-	dates	Robert Fico
Slovenia	1990	yes	years	Janez Janša
Solomon islands	1949	yes	dates	Derek Sikua
Somalia	1949	yes	dates	Nur Hassan Hussein
South Africa	1910	-	dates	(Post Abolished)
Spain	1705	yes	years	Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Sri Lanka	1948	-	dates	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Sudan	1952	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Swaziland	1967	-	years	Themba Dlamini
Sweden	1876	yes	years	Fredrik Reinfeldt
Syria	1920	-	dates	Muhammad Naji al-Otari
Taiwan (ROC)	1911	-	dates	Liu Chao-shiuan
Tajikistan	1992	-	dates	Okil Okilov
Tanzania	1960	yes	dates	Mizengo Pinda
Thailand	1932	-	dates	Somchai Wongsawat
Togo	1956	yes	dates	Gilbert Houngbo
Tokelau	1992	-	dates	Pio Tuia
Tonga	1876	-	years	Feleti Sevele
Trinidad and Tobago	1956	-	dates	Patrick Manning
Tunisia	1969	-	dates	Mohamed Ghannouchi
Turkey	1920	yes	dates	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Turks and Caicos Islands	1976	yes	dates	Michael Misick
Tuvalu	1975	n/a	dates	Apisai Ielemia
Uganda	1961	yes	dates	Apolo Nsibambi
Ukraine	1990	-	dates	Yulia Tymoshenko
United Arab Emirates	1971	-	years	Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
United Kingdom	1721	yes	dates	Gordon Brown
Uzbekistan	1995	-	dates	Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Vanuatu	1980	yes	dates	Edward Natapei
Vatican	1644	n/a	years	Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone
Vietnam	1976	yes	dates	Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
Yemen	1990	yes	years	Ali Muhammad Mujawar
Zambia	1964	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Zimbabwe	1923	-	dates	Morgan Tsvangirai

]]> http://tourismcambodia.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/prime-minister-in-the-world-2/feed/ 0 tourismcambodia http://tourismcambodia.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/prime-minister-in-the-world/ http://tourismcambodia.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/prime-minister-in-the-world/#comments Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:16:17 +0000 tourismcambodia http://tourismcambodia.wordpress.com/?p=116 ]]>

A prime minister (usually titled 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. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can 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 system of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the President.

In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of the 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), although officially the head of the executive branch, in fact holds a ceremonial position. 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) which are constitutionally vested in the Crown and can be exercised without the approval of parliament.

As well as being Head of Government, a prime minister may have other roles or titles – the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for example, is also First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service.^[1] Prime ministers may take other ministerial posts – for example during the Second World War Winston Churchill was also Minister of Defence (although there was then no Ministry of Defence). Former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam was famous for forming his cabinet entirely of himself and his deputy as soon as the overall result was beyond doubt at the 1972 federal election (see First Whitlam Ministry).

History

While the modern office of Prime Minister was developed in the UK^{[citation needed]} the first actual usage of the word Prime Minister or Premier Ministre was used by Cardinal Richelieu, when, in 1625 he was named to head the royal council as prime minister of France. Louis XIV and his descendants generally attempted to avoid giving this title to their chief ministers. The term Prime Minister in the sense that we know it originated in the 18th century in the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]} Since medieval times Kings of England and the United Kingdom had ministers in whom they placed special trust and who were regarded as the head of the government. Examples were Thomas Cromwell under Henry VIII; William Cecil, Lord Burghley under Elizabeth I; Clarendon under Charles II and Godolphin under Queen Anne. These ministers held a variety of formal posts, but were commonly known as “the Minister,” the “first Minister” and finally the “Prime Minister.”

The power of these ministers depended entirely on the personal favour of the Monarch. Although managing the Parliament was among the necessary skills of holding high office, they did not depend on a parliamentary majority for their power. Although there was a Cabinet, it was appointed entirely by the Monarch, and the Monarch usually presided over its meetings. When the Monarch grew tired of a first minister, they could be dismissed, or worse: Cromwell was executed and Clarendon driven into exile when they lost favour. Kings sometimes divided power equally between two or more ministers to prevent one minister becoming too powerful. Late in Anne’s reign, for example, the Tory ministers Harley and St John shared power.

In the mid 17th century, after the English Civil War and the Protectorate, Parliament had strengthened its position and it emerged even more powerful after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The King could not establish any law or impose any tax without its permission. Thus it has been said that the House of Commons became a part of the government and it has been only a further step of this development that a new kind of prime minister should emerge. This turning point in the evolution of the prime ministership came with the death of Anne in 1714 and the accession of George I. George spoke no English, spent much of his time at his home in Hanover, and had neither knowledge of nor interest in the details of English government. In these circumstances it was inevitable that the King’s first minister would become the de facto head of the government. From 1721 this was the Whig politician Robert Walpole, who held office for twenty-one years. Walpole chaired Cabinet meetings, appointed all the other ministers, dispensed the royal patronage and packed the House of Commons with his supporters. Under Walpole, the doctrine of Cabinet solidarity developed. Walpole required that no minister other than him have private dealings with the King, and also that when the Cabinet had agreed on a policy, all ministers must defend it in public or resign. As a later Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, said: “It matters not what we say, gentlemen, so long as we all say the same thing.”

Walpole always denied that he was “Prime Minister,” and throughout the 18th century parliamentarians and legal scholars continued to deny that any such position was known to the Constitution. The title was first referred to on Government documents during the administration of Benjamin Disraeli but did not appear in the formal British Order of precedence until 1905. George II and George III made strenuous efforts to reclaim the personal power of the Monarch, but the increasing complexity and expense of government meant that a minister who could command the loyalty of the Commons was increasingly necessary. The long tenure of the wartime Prime Minister Pitt the Younger (1783-1801), combined with the mental illness of George III, consolidated the power of the post.

The prestige of British institutions in the 19th century and the growth of the British Empire saw the British model of cabinet government, headed by a prime minister, widely copied, both in other European countries and in British colonial territories as they developed self-government. In some places alternative titles such as “Premier,” “Chief Minister,” “First Minister of State”, “President of the Council” or “Chancellor” were adopted, but the essentials of the office were the same. By the late 20th century the majority of the world’s countries had a “Prime Minister” or equivalent minister, holding office under either a constitutional monarchy or a ceremonial president. The main exceptions to this system have been the United States and the presidential republics in Latin America, modelled on the U.S. system, in which the president directly exercises executive authority.

Prime ministers in republics and in monarchies

The post of prime minister may be encountered both in constitutional monarchies (such as Belgium, Denmark, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Malaysia, Spain,^[2] Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), and in republics in which the head of state is an elected official (such as Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Turkey) or an unelected official (such as Singapore before 1993) with varying degrees of real power. This contrasts with the presidential system, in which the President (or equivalent) is both the head of state and the head of the government. See also “First Minister” , “Premier“, “Chief Minister“, “Chancellor” , “Taoiseach” and “Secretary of state“: alternative titles usually equivalent in meaning to, or translated as, “prime minister.”

In some presidential or semi-presidential systems, such as those of France, Russia or South Korea, the prime minister is an official generally appointed by the President but usually approved by the legislature and responsible for carrying out the directives of the President and managing the civil service. (The premier of the Republic of China is also appointed by the president, but requires no approval by the legislature. Appointment of the prime minister of France requires no approval by the parliament either, but the parliament can force the resignation of the government.) In these systems, it is possible for the president and the prime minister to be from different political parties if the legislature is controlled by a party different from that of the president. When it arises, such a state of affairs is usually referred to as (political) cohabitation.

Entry into office

In parliamentary systems a prime minister can enter into office by several means.

• By appointment by the Head of State, without reference to parliament: While in practice most Prime Ministers under the Westminster system (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, India and the United Kingdom) are the leaders of the largest party in parliament, technically the appointment of the Prime Minister is a royal prerogative exercised by the Queen or the Governor-General. No parliamentary vote takes place on who is forming a government. However as the government will have to outline its legislative programme to parliament in the Speech from the Throne, the speech is sometimes used to test parliamentary support. A defeat on the Speech is taken to mean a Loss of Confidence and so requires either a new draft (a humiliating act no government would contemplate), resignation, or a request for a dissolution of parliament. Until the early 20th century governments when defeated in a general election remained in power until their Speech from the Throne was defeated and then resigned. No government has done so for one hundred years, though Edward Heath in 1974 did delay his resignation while he explored whether he could form a government with Liberal support.

In such systems unwritten (and unenforceable) constitutional conventions often outline the order in which people are asked to form a government. If the Prime Minister resigns after a general election, the monarch usually asks the Leader of the Opposition to form a government. Where however a resignation occurs during a parliament (unless the government has itself collapsed) the monarch will ask another member of the government to form a government. While previously the monarch had some leeway in whom to ask, all British political parties now elect their leaders (until 1965 the Conservatives chose their leader by informal consultation). The last time the monarch had a choice over the appointment occurred in 1963 when the Earl of Home was asked to become Prime Minister ahead of Rab Butler.

During the period between the time it is clear that the incumbent government has been defeated at a general election, and the actual swearing-in of the new prime minister by the monarch or governor-general, that person is variously referred to as the “prime minister-elect”, “…-designate” etc. Neither term is strictly correct from a constitutional point of view, but they have wide acceptance. In a situation in which a ruling party elects or appoints a new leader, the incoming leader will usually be referred as “prime minister-in-waiting.” An example or this situation was in 2003 in Canada when Paul Martin was elected leader of the Liberal Party while Jean Chretien was still Prime Minister.

• Appointment by the head of state after parliament nominates a candidate: Example: The Republic of Ireland where the President of Ireland appoints the Taoiseach on the nomination of the Dáil Éireann.
• The head of state nominates a candidate for prime minister who is then submitted to parliament for approval before appointment as prime minister: Example: Spain, where the King sends a nomination to parliament for approval. Also Germany where under the Basic Law (constitution) the Bundestag votes on a candidate nominated by the Federal President. In these cases, parliament can choose another candidate who then would be appointed by the head of state.
• The head of state appoints a prime minister who has a set timescale within which s/he must gain a vote of confidence: (Example: Italy, Romania)
• Direct election by parliament: (Example: Japan, Papua New Guinea, (Example: Israel, 1996-2001, where the prime minister was elected in a general election, with no regard to political affiliation.)
• Nomination by a state office holder other than the head of state or his/her representative: (Example: Under the modern Swedish Instrument of Government, the power to appoint someone to form a government has been moved from the Monarch to the Speaker of Parliament and the parliament itself. The speaker nominate a candidate, who is then elected to prime minister (statsminister) by the parliament if an absolute majority of the members of parliament does not vote no (i.e. he can be elected even if more MP:s vote no than yes).

Prime ministers and constitutions

The position, power and status of prime ministers differ depending on the age of the constitution in individuals.

Australia’s Constitution makes no mention of a Prime Minister of Australia.

Canada’s Constitution, being a ‘mixed’ or hybrid constitution (a constitution that is partly formally codified and partly uncodified) originally did not make any reference whatsoever to a Prime Minister, with his specific duties and method of appointment instead dictated by “convention.” In the Constitution Act, 1982, passing reference to a “Prime Minister of Canada” is added, though only regarding the composition of conferences of federal and provincial first ministers.

Germany’s Basic Law (1949) lists the powers, functions and duties of the federal Chancellor.

India’s Constitution of India (1950) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister.

Japan’s Constitution of Japan (1946) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister.

Malta’s Constitution (1964) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Malta.

Malaysia’s Constitution of Malaysia (1957) lists the powers, functions and duties of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The Republic of Ireland’s constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann (1937), provides for the office of Taoiseach in detail, listing powers, functions and duties.

The United Kingdom’s Constitution, being uncodified and largely unwritten, makes no mention of a Prime Minister. Though it had de facto existed for centuries, its first mention in official state documents did not occur until the first decade of the twentieth century. Accordingly, it is often said “not to exist”, indeed there are several instances of parliament declaring this to be the case. The prime minister sits in the cabinet solely by virtue of occupying another office, either First Lord of the Treasury (office in commission), or more rarely Chancellor of the Exchequer (the last being Balfour in 1905).

Exit from office

Most prime ministers in parliamentary systems are not appointed for a specific term in office and in effect may remain in power through a number of elections and parliaments. For example, Margaret Thatcher was only ever appointed prime minister on one occasion, in 1979. She remained continuously in power until 1990, though she used the assembly of each House of Commons after a general election to reshuffle her cabinet. Some states, however, do have a term of office of the prime minister linked to the period in office on the parliament. Hence the Irish Taoiseach is formally ‘renominated‘ after every general election. (Some constitutional experts have questioned whether this process is actually in keeping with the provisions of the Irish constitution, which appear to suggest a taoiseach should remain in office, without the requirement of a renomination, unless s/he has clearly lost the general election.) The position of prime minister is normally chosen from the political party that commands majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.

In parliamentary systems, governments are generally required to have the confidence of the lower house of parliament (though a small minority of parliaments, by giving a right to block Supply to upper houses, in effect make the cabinet responsible to both houses, though in reality upper houses, even when they have the power, rarely exercise it). Where they lose a vote of confidence, have a motion of no confidence passed against them, or where they lose Supply, most constitutional systems require either:

a) a letter of resignation or

b) a request of a parliamentary dissolution.

The latter in effect allows the government to appeal the opposition of parliament to the electorate. However in many jurisdictions a head of state may refuse a parliamentary dissolution, requiring the resignation of the prime minister and his or her government. In most modern parliamentary systems, the prime minister is the person who decides when to request a parliamentary dissolution. Older constitutions often vest this power in the cabinet. (In the United Kingdom, for example, the tradition whereby it is the prime minister who requests a dissolution of parliament dates back to 1918. Prior to then, it was the entire government that made the request. Similarly, though the modern 1937 Irish constitution grants to the Taoiseach the right to make the request, the earlier 1922 Irish Free State Constitution vested the power in the Executive Council (the then name for the Irish cabinet).

Titles

A number of different terms are used to describe prime ministers. In Germany and Austria the prime minister is actually titled Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) while the Irish prime minister is called An Taoiseach (which is rendered into English as Prime Minister). In many cases, though commonly used, “prime minister” is not the official title of the office-holder; the Spanish prime minister is the President of the Government (Presidente del Gobierno) and the British First Lord of the Treasury. Other common forms include President of the Council of Ministers (for example in Italy, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), President of the Executive Council, or Minister-President. In the Scandinavian countries is the prime minister called statsminister in the native languages (i.e. state minister). In federations, the head of government of subnational entities like states or provinces is most commonly known as the Premier, Chief Minister or Minister-president.

In non-Commonwealth countries the prime minister may be entitled to the style of Excellency like a president. In some Commonwealth countries Prime Ministers and former Prime Ministers are styled Right Honourable, for example, the Right Honourable Sir John Major.

In the UK where devolved government is in place, the leaders of the Scottish, Northern Ireland and Welsh Governments are styled First Minister.

In Pakistan, the prime minister is referred to as “Wazir-e-Azam”, meaning “Grand Vizier”.

Chairman or Chief?

Irish political scientist Professor Brian Farrell coined the term “Chairman or Chief” to describe the two alternative concepts of prime ministerial leadership, in his book of the same name about the office of Taoiseach.^[3] The term, widely used in political science worldwide, draws a distinction between a head of government who is merely a facilitator and co-ordinator of a cabinet (the “chairman”), and those who lead it forcefully from the front, setting its policy agenda and requiring all ministers to follow the leader’s policies (the “chief”). Examples of “chairmen” have included Bertie Ahern (Ireland), John Major (United Kingdom) and Couve de Murville (France), while examples of chiefs included Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee ,Seán Lemass (Ireland), Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair (United Kingdom), and Jacques Chirac when prime minister under cohabitation.

Not every prime minister fits exclusively into either category: Éamon de Valera, though a strong personality, was only interested in controlling some of his government’s agenda (usually constitutional matters and Anglo-Irish affairs), and allowed large areas to decided by his colleagues. Though superficially a chief (and called “the Chief” [the literal translation of Taoiseach] by his colleagues) historians see him as more of a chairman, particularly in later governments. Winston Churchill too, though superficially a “chief”, was more chairmanlike in later governments and in those areas in which he had little personal interest.

As well as describing office holders, individual offices could be described as belonging to one or other category. Among the more dominant prime ministerial offices in terms of powers, and so more chieflike, are the premierships of Ireland and Spain, where premiers can hire and fire at will. In contrast, offices such as President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, Prime Minister of the Third French Republic, and the premierships of Belgium and The Netherlands are more chairmanlike in format. Lijphart referred to the premiership of the Netherlands as “primus inter pares without due emphasis on primus“.^[4]

Description of the role

Wilfried Martens, who served as Prime Minister of Belgium, described his role as follows:

First of all [the Prime Minister] must listen a lot, and when deep disagreements occur, he must suggest a solution to the matter. This can be done in different ways. Sometimes during the discussion, I note the elements of the problem and think of a proposal I can formulate to the Council (cabinet), the Secretary taking notes. The Ministers then insist on changing commas and full stops. The Prime Minister can also make a proposal which leaves enough room for amendments in order to keep the current discussion on the right tracks. When a solution must be found in order to reach a consensus, he can force one or two Ministers to join or resign.^[5]

Lists of prime ministers

The following table groups the list of past and present prime ministers and details information available in those lists.

Kevin Rudd, the current Prime Minister of Australia

Wen Jiabao, the current Premier of the People’s Republic of China

Ivo Sanader, the current Prime Minister of Croatia

Matti Vanhanen, the current Prime Minister of Finland

Kostas Karamanlis, the current Prime Minister of Greece

Manmohan Singh, the current Prime Minister of India

Nouri al-Maliki, the current Prime Minister of Iraq

Silvio Berlusconi, the current Prime Minister of Italy

Raila Odinga, the current Prime Minister of Kenya

Abdullah Badawi, the current Prime Minister of Malaysia

Milo Đukanović, the current Prime Minister of Montenegro

John Key, the current Prime Minister of New Zealand

Yousaf Raza Gillani, the current Prime Minister of Pakistan

José Sócrates, the current Prime Minister of Portugal

Vladimir Putin, the current Prime Minister of Russia

Mirko Cvetković, the current Prime Minister of Serbia

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the current Prime Minister of Spain

Gordon Brown, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Government	List starts	Table shows parties?	Term given by years or dates?	Incumbent
Afghanistan	1953	-	years	(Post Abolished)
Albania	1912	-	years	Sali Berisha
Algeria	1962	yes	years	Ahmed Ouyahia
Andorra	1982	-	years	Albert Pintat
Angola	1975	-	dates	Paulo Kassoma
Anguilla	1976	yes	dates	Osbourne Fleming
Antigua and Barbuda	1981	-	years	Baldwin Spencer
Armenia	1918	yes	dates	Tigran Sargsyan
Aruba	1986	-	dates	Nelson O. Oduber
Australia	1901	yes	dates	Kevin Rudd
Austria	1918	yes	years	Alfred Gusenbauer
Azerbaijan	1918	yes	dates	Artur Rasizade
Bahamas	1967	-	dates	Hubert Ingraham
Bahrain	1970	-	years	Sheikh Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah
Bangladesh	1971	yes	dates	Fakhruddin Ahmed (interim)
Barbados	1954	yes	dates	David Thompson
Belarus	1990	-	dates	Sergey Sidorsky
Belgium	1831	yes	dates	Yves Leterme
Belize	1973	yes	years	Dean Barrow
Benin	1957	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Bermuda	1968	yes	dates	Ewart Brown
Bhutan	1952	-	dates	Jigme Thinley
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2006	-	dates	Nikola Špirić
Botswana	1965	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Brazil	1847	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
British Virgin islands	1967	yes	dates	Ralph T. O’Neal
Bulgaria	1879	yes	dates	Sergey Stanishev
Burkina Faso	1971	-	dates	Tertius Zongo
Burundi	1961	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Cambodia	1996	-	years	Hun Sen
Cameroon	1960	-	dates	Ephraïm Inoni
Canada	1867	yes	dates	Stephen Harper
Cape Verde	1975	-	dates	José Maria Neves
Cayman islands	1992	yes	dates	Kurt Tibbetts
Central African Republic	1958	-	dates	Faustin-Archange Touadéra
Chad	1978	-	dates	Youssouf Saleh Abbas
People’s Republic of China	1949	-	dates	Wen Jiabao
Comoros	1957	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Congo (Brazzaville)	1957	yes	dates	Isidore Mvouba
Congo (Kinshasa)	1960	yes	dates	Adolphe Muzito
Cook Islands	1965	yes	dates	Jim Marurai
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	1957	yes	dates	Guillaume Soro
Croatia	1990	-	dates	Ivo Sanader
Cuba	1940	-	dates	Raúl Castro
Czech Republic	1969	-	years	Mirek Topolánek
Denmark	1848	-	years	Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Djibouti	1977	-	dates	Dileita Mohamed Dileita
Dominica	1960	-	dates	Roosevelt Skerrit
East Timor	2002	-	dates	Xanana Gusmão
Egypt	1878	-	years	Ahmed Nazif
Equatorial Guinea	1963	-	dates	Ignacio Milam Tang
Estonia	1991	-	dates	Andrus Ansip
Ethiopia	1942	yes	dates	Meles Zenawi
Faroe islands	1946	-	years	Kaj Leo Johannesen
Fiji	1966	-	dates	Frank Bainimarama (interim)
Finland	1917	yes	years	Matti Vanhanen
France	1815	-	years	François Fillon
Gabon	1957	yes	dates	Jean Eyeghe Ndong
The Gambia	1961	-	dates	(Post Abolished)
Ghana	1957	-	dates	(Post Abolished)
Georgia	1918	yes	dates	Grigol Mgaloblishvili
Germany	1871	yes	dates	Angela Merkel
Gibraltar	1964	yes	dates	Peter Caruana
Greece	1833	-	dates	Kostas Karamanlis
Greenland	1979	-	years	Hans Enoksen
Grenada	1954	-	years	Tillman Thomas
Guernsey	2007	-	dates	Lyndon Trott
Guinea	1972	-	dates	Ahmed Tidiane Souaré
Guinea-Bissau	1973	-	dates	Carlos Correia
Guyana	1953	-	dates	Sam Hinds
Haiti	1988	-	dates	Michèle Pierre-Louis
Hungary	1848	-	dates	Ferenc Gyurcsány
Iceland	1904	-	dates	Geir Haarde
India	1947	yes	dates	Manmohan Singh
Indonesia	1945	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Iran	1824	-	years	(Post Abolished)
Iraq	1920	-	years	Nouri al-Maliki
Ireland	1937	yes	dates	Brian Cowen
Israel	1948	-	years	Ehud Olmert
Italy	1861	-	years	Silvio Berlusconi
Jamaica	1959	-	years	Bruce Golding
Japan	1885	-	dates	Taro Aso
Jersey	2005	-	dates	Frank Walker
Jordan	1944	-	dates	Nader al-Dahabi
Kazakhstan	1928	-	years	Karim Masimov
Kenya	1963	-	dates	Raila Odinga
North Korea	1948	-	years	Kim Yong-il
South Korea	1948	-	years	Han Seung-soo
Kuwait	1962	-	dates	Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah
Kyrgyzstan	1991	-	dates	Igor Chudinov
Laos	1941	-	years	Bouasone Bouphavanh
Latvia	1990	yes	dates	Ivars Godmanis
Lebanon	1926	-	dates	Fouad Siniora
Lesotho	1965	yes	dates	Pakalitha Mosisili
Libya	1951	-	dates	Baghdadi Mahmudi
Liechtenstein	1921	yes	dates	Otmar Hasler
Lithuania	1990	yes	dates	Gediminas Kirkilas
Luxembourg	1959	-	years	Jean-Claude Juncker
Macedonia	1991	yes	dates	Nikola Gruevski
Madagascar	1833	-	dates	Charles Rabemananjara
Malawi	1963	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Malaysia	1957	yes	years	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Mali	1957	yes	dates	Modibo Sidibé
Malta	1921	yes	years	Lawrence Gonzi
Isle of Man	1986	-	years	Tony Brown
Mauritania	1957	yes	dates	Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf
Mauritius	1961	yes	dates	Navin Ramgoolam
Moldova	1990	-	dates	Zinaida Greceanîi
Monaco	1911	n/a	dates	Jean-Paul Proust
Mongolia	1912	yes	dates	Sanjaagiin Bayar
Montenegro	1879	yes	dates	Milo Đukanović
Montserrat	1960	yes	dates	Lowell Lewis
Morocco	1955	yes	years	Abbas El Fassi
Mozambique	1974	yes	dates	Luisa Diogo
Myanmar (Burma)	1948	yes	dates	Thein Sein
Namibia	1990	yes	dates	Nahas Angula
Nepal	1953	-	dates	Prachanda
Netherlands (List)	1848	yes	dates	Jan Peter Balkenende
Netherlands Antilles	1954	yes	years	Emily de Jongh-Elhage
New Zealand	1856	yes	dates	John Key
Newfoundland	1855	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Niue	1974	-	dates	Toke Talagi
Niger	1958	yes	dates	Seyni Oumarou
Norfolk island	1896	-	dates	Andre Nobbs
Norway	1814	-	years	Jens Stoltenberg
Pakistan	1947	-	dates	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Palestinian National Authority	2003	yes	dates	Salam Fayyad
Papua New Guinea	1975	yes	years	Sir Michael Somare
Peru	1975	yes	dates	Yehude Simon
Philippines	1899	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Poland	1917	-	dates	Donald Tusk
Portugal	1834	yes	dates	José Sócrates
Qatar	1972	-	dates	Sheikh Hamad ibn Jassim ibn Jabr Al Thani
Romania	1862	-	years	Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu
Russia	1991	yes	dates	Vladimir Putin
Rwanda	1960	yes	dates	Bernard Makuza
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1960	-	dates	Denzil Douglas
Saint Lucia	1960	-	dates	Stephenson King
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1956	-	dates	Ralph Gonsalves
Samoa	1875	yes	dates	Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi
São Tomé and Principe	1974	yes	dates	Joaquim Rafael Branco
Senegal	1957	yes	dates	Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré
Serbia	1805	yes	years	Mirko Cvetković
Singapore	1965	-	dates	Lee Hsien Loong
Slovakia	1918	-	dates	Robert Fico
Slovenia	1990	yes	years	Janez Janša
Solomon islands	1949	yes	dates	Derek Sikua
Somalia	1949	yes	dates	Nur Hassan Hussein
South Africa	1910	-	dates	(Post Abolished)
Spain	1705	yes	years	Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Sri Lanka	1948	-	dates	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Sudan	1952	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Swaziland	1967	-	years	Themba Dlamini
Sweden	1876	yes	years	Fredrik Reinfeldt
Syria	1920	-	dates	Muhammad Naji al-Otari
Taiwan (ROC)	1911	-	dates	Liu Chao-shiuan
Tajikistan	1992	-	dates	Okil Okilov
Tanzania	1960	yes	dates	Mizengo Pinda
Thailand	1932	-	dates	Somchai Wongsawat
Togo	1956	yes	dates	Gilbert Houngbo
Tokelau	1992	-	dates	Pio Tuia
Tonga	1876	-	years	Feleti Sevele
Trinidad and Tobago	1956	-	dates	Patrick Manning
Tunisia	1969	-	dates	Mohamed Ghannouchi
Turkey	1920	yes	dates	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Turks and Caicos Islands	1976	yes	dates	Michael Misick
Tuvalu	1975	n/a	dates	Apisai Ielemia
Uganda	1961	yes	dates	Apolo Nsibambi
Ukraine	1990	-	dates	Yulia Tymoshenko
United Arab Emirates	1971	-	years	Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
United Kingdom	1721	yes	dates	Gordon Brown
Uzbekistan	1995	-	dates	Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Vanuatu	1980	yes	dates	Edward Natapei
Vatican	1644	n/a	years	Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone
Vietnam	1976	yes	dates	Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
Yemen	1990	yes	years	Ali Muhammad Mujawar
Zambia	1964	yes	dates	(Post Abolished)
Zimbabwe	1923	-	dates	Morgan Tsvangirai

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 28, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan ,is one of the youngest monarchs in the world. Jigme Khesar is the oldest son of Jigme Singye and his third wife, Queen Ashi Tshering Yangdon. The new king is unmarried and has a younger sister and brother and also four half-sisters and three half-brothers by his father’s other three wives. All of his father’s wives are sisters.

After Jigme Khesar father’s was abdicated in 2006 as part of plans to change the Buddhist nation of 600,000 people to a constitutional monarchy, the crowned king became the head of state of the world’s newest democracy. In March, Bhutan held the first democratic elections for a new parliament and prime minister.

The coronation came in what is known in Bhutan as the month of the male earth rat and was watched by thousands of foreign dignitaries, including India’s President Pratibha Patil.

The new king, who also studied in India, embodies the changes sweeping the conservative kingdom. The new king has already won the hearts and minds of his subjects, especially the young and is eager to ensure that the Bhutanese monarchy wouldn’t suffer the same fate as the royal family in Nepal.

In 2006, at his visit to Thailand as a crowned prince, he was known by the Thai press as “Prince Charming” and his visit caused a sensation, giving rise to a legion of female fans in Thailand.

The US F22 Raptor developed by Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems, Lockheed Martin Fort Worth and Boeing in the late 1990s cost approximately $13.3 billion – twice as much as its European counterpart, the Eurofighter.

Small world but huge difference. Today, I was searching about expensive laptops and I found one laptop to have price tag of nearly $350,000. It is Tulip E-Go Diamond. From the name you can rightly guess that it has a touch of diamond. Image Source: AMDboard.com

I could find a nice description of this laptop in AMDboard.com:

“Tulip E-Go notebook inlaid with solid palladium white gold plates in which thousands of brilliant cut diamonds have been set. The quality is V.V.S. top-Wesselton and the total weight is 80.00 Crt.

The brilliant cut diamonds are microscopic and pave set with surgical precision. This magnificent end result is possible thanks to the use of brilliant cut diamonds with a large variety of diameters.”

I do not how many people can afford this laptop or even how many people are willingly spend so much after a laptop. However, I know that those people who would buy Tulip E-Go Diamond, would simply buy it for status symbol or as a fashionable item not to play games or watch a movie with it. About its technical specification, I am quoting from Softpedia:

“The E-Go laptop is hand bag shaped and it is targeted at ladies, so, not exactly for gamers. Though, the specifications are good. The system is based on an AMD Turion 64 processor, with an ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphic chipset and featuring 1 GB of DDR RAM PC3200 memory. The hard disk can store 100 GB SATA and the display is a 12.1 inch widescreen WHGA, supporting 1280 X 800 pixel resolution.

Also, a DVD-RW optical unit is available, a touch pad, a built in webcam with a LED illuminative point and a microphone for video and voice conferences. The connectivity is enabled by Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth 1.2, the ExpressCard slot, by four USB 2.0 slots and the 10/100Base-T NIC. Additionally, VGA and S-Video port are available and a SD/MMC/MS/MS Duo card reader.

Tulip E-Go Diamond sound system is a 2.1 one stereo, while the battery has a four hour lifetime specification.”

Only four hour of battery life. I am extremely disappointed. I would not bother to pay $350,000 just to have 4 hours of battery life. Instead, I will try to have one unit of the world’s cheapest laptop at $100. Haven’t you ever heard of One Laptop Per Child project? Of course, if you are day dreaming about Tulip E-Go Diamond then you should not remember it. What is $100 laptop after all. You can find the answer in the project website:

“The proposed $100 machine will be a Linux-based, with a dual-mode display—both a full-color, transmissive DVD mode, and a second display option that is black and white reflective and sunlight-readable at 3× the resolution. The laptop will have a 500MHz processor and 128MB of DRAM, with 500MB of Flash memory; it will not have a hard disk, but it will have four USB ports. The laptops will have wireless broadband that, among other things, allows them to work as a mesh network; each laptop will be able to talk to its nearest neighbors, creating an ad hoc, local area network. The laptops will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data.”

Image Link: One Laptop per Child

Even this $100 laptop will have a way to charge it with alternative energy sources. So, I am a big fan of this $100 laptop. The only problem is that I am not a school children anymore. I still do not have a child of my own either. So, I will have to wait until a commercial version comes to the market at $200 or some more!

Which one would you like to buy?

The Japanese government estimates the Earth Simulator cost $400,000,000, making it the most expensive computer ever built. The budget for the Earth Simulator project was authorized for the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) in 1997, and NEC Corporation made the winning bid for the Japanese project.

By May 2002, the 640 processor node supercomputer was benchmarked with Linpack as having 35.86 TFlop/s performance. This gave it the top spot on the TOP500 Supercomputer Sites list until 2004 when IBM’s BlueGene/L supercomputer took its place using an architecture that cost less than half as much to implement.

Each processor node in the Earth Simulator contains 8 vector processors running at 500MHz with 16GB of shared memory, and the total main memory in the machine is 10 terabytes. The operating system running on the supercomputer is NEC’s UNIX-based OS called “SUPER-UX” which is used on NEC’s SX Series of supercomputers.

This expensive computer is used for a wide variety of international projects, most of which are related to atmospheric, climate, and oceanographic simulation.