Premier

From ArticleWorld

The title premier is used in different ways in different countries. Sometimes it means the same as, and can be used interchangeably with, prime minister. This is the case in Italy and China. In China, the Premier is the head of the Central People’s Government and is nominated by the President.

Former British Colonies

Premiers in Canada and South Africa are the heads of the provinces of those countries and in Australia, premiers are the leaders of the states in that country. What distinguishes a premier from a prime minister in these cases is that while a premier can be a head of government, he or she is not a head of state on a national or federal level. They perform basically the same functions but the former at a state level and the latter at a federal one. In the past, the state leaders were also referred to as Prime Ministers, but the name was changed to avoid confusion between the two positions.

In the USSR

In the Soviet Union, before its dissolution in 1991, the head of the government was the Premier while the head of state was the President.

The second in command to the Premier is the Deputy Premier.