Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of government, but is not the head of state. In presidential systems, the two roles are often combined into one, whereas in parliamentary systems of government the two are usually kept separate.
The premier of Quebec (French: premier ministre du Québec [pʁəmje ministʁ dy kebɛk] (masculine) or première ministre du Québec [pʁəmjɛʁ-] [feminine]) is the first minister and head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following that year's election.
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the 'prime minister', 'premier', 'chief minister', 'chancellor' or other title.
In Commonwealth realm jurisdictions which use the Westminster system of government, ministers are usually required to be members of one of the houses of Parliament or legislature, and are usually from the political party that controls a majority in the lower house of the legislature. In other jurisdictions—such as Belgium, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Slovenia, and Nigeria—the holder of a cabinet-level post or other government official is not permitted to be a member of the legislature. Depending on the administrative arrangements in each jurisdiction, ministers are usually heads of a government department and members of the government's ministry, cabinet and perhaps of a committee of cabinet. Some ministers may be more senior than others, and some may hold the title 'assistant minister' or 'deputy minister'. Some jurisdictions, with a large number of ministers, may designate ministers to be either in the inner or outer ministry or cabinet.
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived from the Latin word secernere, "to distinguish" or "to set apart", the passive participle (secretum) meaning "having been set apart", with the eventual connotation of something private or confidential, as with the English word secret. A secretarius was a person, therefore, overseeing business confidentially, usually for a powerful individual (a king, pope, etc.).
The official title of the leader of most communist and socialist political parties is the "General Secretary of the Central Committee" or "First Secretary of the Central Committee". When a communist party is in power, the general secretary is usually the country's de facto leader (though sometimes this leader also holds state-level positions to monopolize power, such as a presidency or premiership in order to constitute de jure leadership of the state), such as China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba.
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme executive organ in some governments, which advises the chief executive or head of state. It is usually equivalent to the term cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also may refer to a cabinet, but the terms are not equal in certain countries (for example, in Spain and India). Councils of Ministers are usually composed of those government ministers who are responsible for a ministry. They are usually led by a President of the Council of Ministers, a term that is commonly translated, or used synonymously, as prime minister or premier.
The Government of Serbia (Serbian: Влада Србије, romanized: Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Влада Републике Србије, romanized: Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government (Serbian: српска Влада, romanized: srpska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government in Serbia.
The Government is led by the President of the Government (Serbian: Председник Владе, romanized: Predsednik Vlade), informally abbreviated to premier (Serbian: Премијер, romanized: Premijer) or prime minister. The prime minister is nominated by the president of the Republic from among those candidates who enjoy majority support in the National Assembly; the candidate is then chosen by the Assembly. There are 30 other government members, serving as deputy prime ministers, government ministers or both; they are chosen by the prime minister and confirmed by the National Assembly. The current government is led by Prime Minister Đuro Macut.
Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson (16 December 1812 – 11 January 1867) was the first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales.
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically seen as an alternative prime minister, premier, first minister, or chief minister to the incumbent; in the Westminster system, they head a rival alternative government known as the shadow cabinet or opposition front bench. The same term is also used to refer to the leader of the largest political party that is not in government in subnational state, provincial, and other regional and local legislatures.
The full title for the Leader of the Opposition is the Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition in the United Kingdom and in many Commonwealth realms.