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A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state. [1] The name given to the office of head of state depends on the country's form of government and any separation of powers; the powers of the office in each country range from being also the head of government to being little more than a ceremonial figurehead.
The most common title for a head of government is Prime Minister.This is used as a formal title in many states, but may also be an informal generic term to refer to whichever office is considered the principal minister under an otherwise styled head of state, as minister—Latin for servants or subordinates—is a common title for members of a government (but many other titles are in use, e.g ...
In semi-presidential and parliamentary systems, the head of government (i.e. executive) role is fulfilled by the listed head of government and the head of state. In one-party states , the ruling party 's leader (e.g. the General Secretary ) is usually the de facto top leader of the state, though sometimes this leader also holds the presidency ...
In a parliamentary republic, the head of government is selected or nominated by the legislature and is also accountable to it. The head of state is usually called a president and (in full parliamentary republics) is separate from the head of government, serving a largely apolitical, ceremonial role. In these systems, the head of government is ...
Countries with parliamentary systems may be constitutional monarchies, where a monarch is the head of state while the head of government is almost always a member of parliament, or parliamentary republics, where a mostly ceremonial president is the head of state while the head of government is from the legislature. In a few countries, the head ...
For a list of heads of state taking dates of independence into account, see List of heads of state by diplomatic precedence. Acting presidents are included in this list, but if a leader has non-consecutive terms, only the current period of service is listed. States where head of state differs from head of government are mainly parliamentary ...
[nb 1] While like all officials in the United States, checks and balances are placed on the office of the governor, significant powers may include ceremonial head of state (representing the state), executive (overseeing the state's government), legislative (proposing, and signing or vetoing laws), judicial (granting state law pardons or ...
This head of government is in most cases also the head of state. In a presidential system, the head of government is directly or indirectly elected by a group of citizens and is not responsible to the legislature, and the legislature cannot dismiss the president except in extraordinary cases.