Prime Minister vs. President: What’s the Difference?

A prime minister is a public official who serves as the head of government in a country with a parliamentary system. Although the prime minister leads the executive branch and effectively the nation's government, they are rarely the head of state.

Three types of government include a prime minister in a top leadership position:

1. 1. Constitutional monarchy: In a constitutional monarchy, a monarch is the head of state. This is the case in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Denmark. However, the government is led by a democratically elected prime minister. For instance, the United Kingdom’s head of state is its queen or king, but true governing takes place in the House of Commons, from which a prime minister is selected.
2. 2. Parliamentary republic: In a monarch-less parliamentary republic, the prime minister is the head of the government while the president is the head of state—as is the case in Germany, Finland, Israel, and India. The president is mostly a ceremonial figurehead even though the prime minister often needs the president's blessing to take office. The prime minister is formally chosen by parliament; and in nearly all cases, the prime minister is the leader of the parliament’s ruling party. Once a prime minister assumes executive powers, they can appoint cabinet ministers to help carry out their agenda.
3. 3. Semi-presidential: Some countries with a semi-presidential system have prime ministers who serve alongside the president. In such countries—including Russia, France, and South Korea—the president is both the head of state and the head of government. In such governments, the majority of power—particularly regarding foreign affairs—rests with the president.

A president is the head of state and the government. In some countries, such as the United States of America, the president is the head of the executive branch of government (and thus, in the US, effectively the American political system). As the chief executive of the nation and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president of the United States wields significant power. As stated in the Constitution, however, the US Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate) writes American laws. A US president can veto legislation Congress passes, but Congress can overrule the president with supermajorities and pass laws on their own.

Other countries with presidential systems and no prime ministers include Costa Rica, Bolivia, the Philippines, and Mexico. Unlike the US, which elects presidents via the electoral college, most of these countries elect their presidents by a direct popular vote. In Mexico and the Philippines, for example, a simple plurality of the popular vote is all that is required to elect a president; there is no runoff system that would require a majority vote to win. Bolivia, by contrast, does have a runoff election in the event that no candidate wins by a significant enough margin on the first ballot. Most of these presidents are commanders-in-chief of their nation’s military, but not all. The president of Costa Rica, for instance, is only commander of civil defense public forces.

The United Nations has 193 member states, most of which have a president, a prime minister, or both. The specific duties of these offices vary from nation to nation; however, there are a few broad differences between presidents and prime ministers.

1. 1. How they’re elected: Generally, a nation’s citizens elect their president in a general election while other government officials choose a prime minister. In countries led by a prime minister, voters select local representatives for parliament who then choose the prime minister. In Great Britain, voters elect representatives to the House of Commons, and the leader of the party that controls the House of Commons becomes prime minister.
2. 2. The head of state: In nations led by presidents, the president is the head of state. By contrast, the prime minister may be the head of government but not the head of state. In the UK, for example, the queen or king remains head of state in a ceremonial role. In a parliamentary republic with no monarch, such as Italy or Greece, the head of state (usually a president) appoints a prime minister based on the results of the nation's parliamentary vote.
3. 3. The governing coalition: In nations with parliaments (or national assemblies), the prime minister can lose power with a “no confidence” vote from the parliament. Prime ministers can only remain in power if they can command a governing majority in parliament. American presidents do not need a governing coalition in the legislature to hold power. Due to the separation of powers in the United States and similar countries, power is split between the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judiciary branch. A president’s tenure in office is not contingent upon having support from other branches of government.
4. 4. How they’re removed from office: In the American presidential system of government, Congress has the right to impeach a president for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Other president-led countries like India, Brazil, Ireland, Germany, South Korea, and Austria have similar impeachment processes. In a parliamentary system, parliament members can force a prime minister to resign by holding a "no confidence" vote.

A sizable number of countries have both a prime minister and a president. The president's duties are often ceremonial, but presidents do have the crucial task of picking a prime minister who represents the prevailing interest in the parliament. Once seated, a prime minister holds greater authority than the president, and they effectively run the government.

An arrangement that involves both a prime minister and president is a semi-presidential system of government. Such governments make the president both the head of state and the head of government. They take two forms.

1. 1. President-parliamentary system: In this system, the president is the head of government and picks their own cabinet and prime minister. However, the cabinet and prime minister also report to parliament, which can dismiss them with a vote of no confidence. The president can also remove these officials without the cooperation of members of parliament. This is similar to the American system of government, although the US does not have a prime minister.
2. 2. Premier-presidential system: In this system of government, a president may initially appoint a cabinet and a prime minister. From that point onward, those officials report directly to parliament and only parliament can remove them from office.

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