Prime Minister of Anglien
| Prime Minister of Anglien | |
| Premierminister fonn Anglien | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1.VIII.1759 AN |
| Preceding agency | Transitional Prime Minister of Anglien |
| Jurisdiction |
 Anglien |
| Headquarters | Johannsessbuurg |
| Agency executives | |
| Minister responsible | Klaes Boerhaaf |
| Parent agency | |
| Council of Ministers of Anglien | |
| Child agencies | |
The Prime Minister of Anglien (Crandan: Premierminister fonn Anglien) is the head of government of the Free Duchy of Anglien. The Prime Minister presides over the Council of Ministers, sets the general direction of the government, and answers for it to the Diet.[1] It was established by Chapter VII of the Constitution of Anglien, which entered into force on 1.VIII.1759 AN, and succeeded the transitional office held under the Charter of Anglien.
The Prime Minister is chosen by the Diet and may be removed only through a constructive vote of no confidence, in which the Diet must elect a successor in the same vote.[2] The Sovereign Duke takes no part in the choice of a Prime Minister. The office is distinct from that of the Chancellor of the Free Duchy, who holds a separate portfolio that is exercised independently of the Prime Minister's direction.
The first holder under the permanent Constitution is Klaes Boerhaaf, leader of te Landbond, elected by the first elected Diet in XIII.1759 AN at the head of a three-league coalition.
Constitutional basis
The office of Prime Minister is established in Chapter VII of the Constitution of Anglien, which was ratified at the national referendum of 1759 and entered into force on 1.VIII.1759 AN. Under Article VII.1 the government of the Free Duchy consists of the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Free Duchy, and the ministers, who together form the Council of Ministers.[3]
The Constitution replaced the earlier arrangement of the Charter of Anglien, under which a Transitional Prime Minister chaired the ministries by ducal delegation during the transitional period. That office lapsed when the first elected Diet chose a Prime Minister, under Section 7 of the Constitution's Schedule of Transition.
Selection and term
The Prime Minister is elected by the Diet by a majority of its full membership. The Diet elects the Chancellor of the Free Duchy separately, on the Prime Minister's nomination, and the two offices are removable independently of one another.[4] The government's confidence rests with the Diet alone; the Burgenraat, the thirty-six-member second chamber, has no part in the confidence relationship.
The Constitution sets no fixed term for the office. A Prime Minister holds office until resignation, removal, or the dissolution of the Diet. Removal is possible only through a constructive vote of no confidence: the Diet cannot dismiss a Prime Minister without electing a successor by a majority of its full membership in the same vote. A government that has resigned, been removed, or seen the Diet dissolved continues to conduct current affairs until a successor takes office, and in that period may take no major measure of policy that can be deferred.[5]
No oath is prescribed for the Prime Minister, and the Constitution provides for no deputy or acting prime minister. The designation of a deputy prime minister within a government, such as Edmund Hale in the first elected government, is a political arrangement rather than a constitutional office.
Powers and functions
The Prime Minister chairs the Council of Ministers, directs the general policy of the government, and is answerable to the Diet for the conduct of the government as a whole. Ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Sovereign Duke, but only on the binding proposal of the Prime Minister, leaving the choice of ministers with the head of government while the ducal act remains formal.[6]
Most acts of the Sovereign Duke require the countersignature of the Prime Minister or the competent minister, the principal exceptions being the Duke's personal appointments to the Constitutional Court, the dissolution of the Diet, and the State of Vigilance. The administration and employment of the armed forces, the Anglian Ducal Guard and the Anglian Maritime Service, belong to the government under law, while the Sovereign Duke holds the supreme command in a ceremonial capacity. The Prime Minister also sits on the Vigilance Council, which the Duke, as Lord Protector, consults on the conduct of a State of Vigilance.[7]
Relationship to the Sovereign Duke
The Sovereign Duke is the ceremonial head of state and takes no part in forming a government; the Diet, not the Duke, elects the Prime Minister. The Duke retains a small set of reserve powers that are exercised on his own authority and without ministerial countersignature: his personal appointments to the Constitutional Court, the dissolution of the Diet, and the proclamation of a State of Vigilance. As Lord Protector the Duke carries a further standing duty to oppose any organized attempt to restore NKR-style governance and to defend the constitutional order and the protected communities. Outside those reserved matters the Duke acts on advice, and the Prime Minister and ministers answer for the resulting acts to the Diet.
Relationship to the Chancellor
The Chancellor of the Free Duchy is a distinct member of the government with a portfolio entrenched by the Constitution: constitutional affairs, the civil service, the prevention and prosecution of corruption, oversight of the Ducal Police Service, and the State Audit Office. The Chancellor answers to the Diet for that portfolio and exercises it independently of the Prime Minister's direction.[8]
Although the Chancellor is elected on the Prime Minister's nomination, the two offices are removable independently, and the Prime Minister cannot direct the Chancellor within the entrenched portfolio. The arrangement places a standing check on the head of government inside the executive itself, keeping anti-corruption enforcement and the ordinary police outside the Prime Minister's control. The first Chancellor of the Free Duchy is Hendrik Braam of te Verzetsbond.
Establishment
The permanent office succeeded the Transitional Prime Minister, held since 15.X.1754 AN by Eduard Vogt under the Charter of Anglien. At the first competitive general election in XII.1759 AN the eighty-four-seat Diet was returned; when it convened the following month it chose Klaes Boerhaaf, founder and leader of the interior agrarian league te Landbond, as Prime Minister in XIII.1759 AN. Boerhaaf formed a government with te Verzetsbond and te Eilanderbond, the three leagues holding forty-five of the eighty-four seats; the sixteen members of the reserved community caucus supported the government on confidence and supply in exchange for guarantees on the entrenched community protections. Vogt became Leader of the Opposition. The first government organized itself around reconstruction accountability, the unsettled Bliven Fund endowment, and completing the withdrawal of the Natopian garrison within six months of the vote.
List of prime ministers
| # | Name | Term | League | Monarch | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Klaes Boerhaaf | XIII.1759 AN to present | te Landbond | Edgard III | First Prime Minister under the permanent Constitution. Formed a coalition of te Landbond, te Verzetsbond, and te Eilanderbond. |
See also
- Free Duchy of Anglien
- Constitution of Anglien
- Council of Ministers of Anglien
- Government of Anglien
- Chancellor of the Free Duchy
- Sovereign Duke of Anglien
- Diet of Anglien
- Burgenraat
- Transitional Prime Minister of Anglien
References
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.2.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. V.9.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.1.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. V.9.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.6.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.4.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Arts. IV.7, IV.14, XIV.5.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.3.
