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{{short description|Title of the head of government in some countries}}
{{Other uses}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2009}}
{{Executive}}

'''Premier''' is a title for the [[head of government]] in  [[central government]]s, [[state government]]s and [[local government]]s 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 system]]s, the two roles are often combined into one, whereas in [[parliamentary system]]s of government the two are usually kept separate.

==Relationship to the term "prime minister"==
"Premier" is often the title of the heads of government in [[administrative division|sub-national entities]], such as the [[provinces and territories of Canada]], [[States and territories of Australia|states]] of the [[Commonwealth of Australia]], [[provinces of South Africa]], the island of [[Nevis]] within the Federation of [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]]. In some of these cases, the formal title remains "Prime Minister" but "Premier" is used to avoid confusion with the national leader. In these cases, care should be taken not to confuse the title of "premier" with "prime minister". In these countries, terms such as "Federal Premier", "National Premier" or "Premier of the Dominion" were sometimes used to refer to prime ministers, although these are now obsolete.

==Etymology==

The word comes from French {{lang|fr|premier ministre}} which means prime minister. ''Premier'' meaning 'first', coming from Latin ''prīmārius''. This is why in many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "[[prime minister]]".{{cn|date=November 2025}}{{or|date=November 2025}}

==Examples by country==
{{Flag|Australia|name=Australia}} {{Endash}} "premier" is the official title for the heads of government in Australia's [[States and territories of Australia|six states]]. The term "chief minister" is the title of the head of government in Australia's two self-governing territories, and is effectively equivalent to a premier.

{{Flag|Canada|name=Canada}} {{Endash}} "premier" is used for the heads of government in Canada's 13 [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Provinces and territories]]. "{{lang|fr|[[Prime Minister of Canada|Premier ministre]]}}" is the French term for both the Prime Minister of the Canadian federal government and a provincial/territorial premier, so context and/or the office holder's name is needed to determine to which level of government one is referring. For example, the "{{lang|fr|[[Premier of Quebec|premier ministre du Québec]].}}"

{{Flag|People's Republic of China}} {{Endash}} "premier" is more common and official, but "prime minister" is still used (see [[Premier of the People's Republic of China]]).

{{Flag|Taiwan}} {{Endash}} the head of government is officially the President of the [[Executive Yuan]], but it can also be abbreviated to Premier.

{{Flag|Cayman Islands}} {{Endash}} the head of government is referred to as the “Premier”, however, as a British Overseas Territory, the British Monarch is the [[head of state]], and the British government often has the last say on external affairs.

{{Flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} {{Endash}} "Premier" means the "Prime Minister". In the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], a sub-national entity of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], as well as in the [[Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|cantons]], the head of government has the formal title of "premier", often anglicized as "prime minister", while the national prime minister is [[Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], but "premier" is sometimes colloquially used.

{{Flag|Czechia}} {{Endash}} the head of government is colloquially called “Premiér”, and the [[Czech language]] translates both “Premier” and “Prime Minister” as “Premiér”. However, although his post is commonly translated in English as “Prime Minister”, the official title as per articles 67 and 68 of the Constitution is “[[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Předseda vlády]]”, literally “President of the Government”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ústava České republiky |url=https://www.psp.cz/docs/laws/constitution.html |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=www.psp.cz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Constitution of the Czech Republic |url=https://public.psp.cz/en/docs/laws/constitution.html |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=public.psp.cz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Premiér {{!}} Vláda ČR |url=https://www.vlada.cz/cz/vlada/premier/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=www.vlada.cz}}</ref>

{{Flag|Croatia}} {{Endash}} the head of government is officially called “President of the Government” (''predsjednik vlade'') but “Premier” (''premijer'') is colloquially used.

{{Flag|Serbia}} {{Endash}} the head of government is officially called "President of the Government" (''predsednik vlade'') but "Premier" (''premijer'') is colloquially used.

{{Flag|Poland}} {{Endash}} the [[Prime Minister of Poland|head of government]] is officially called "President of the Council of Ministers" ({{langx|pl|Prezes Rady Ministrów|lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers}}) but "Premier" (polish for Prime Minister) is colloquially used.

{{Flag|Italian Republic}} {{Endash}} the [[Prime Minister of Italy|President of the Council of Ministers]], an office equivalent to prime minister, is informally referred to as the "Premier".

{{Flag|North Macedonia}} {{Endash}} the [[Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia|head of the government]] is named premier (Macedonian премиер, ''premier''), usually translated in English as [[prime minister]].

{{Flag|USSR}} {{Endash}} the title of premier was applied to the [[Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (USSR)|Chairman]] of the [[Council of People's Commissars (USSR)|Council of People's Commissars]], named [[Chairman of the Council of Ministers (USSR)|Chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers (USSR)|Council of Ministers]] after 1946, which became the [[Prime Minister of the Soviet Union]] in 1991.

{{Flag|Malaysia}} {{Endash}} the head of the [[Sarawak]] state government is known as the [[Premier of Sarawak]] following a state constitutional amendment in 2022, a move widely seen to reflect the status of Sarawak as an equal partner with Sabah and Malaya in Malaysia as stipulated in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).

{{Flag|Netherlands}} {{Endash}} the term premier is colloquially used as a synonym of [[Prime minister of the Netherlands|prime minister]]. In the Dutch language, the official and also commonly used term is "minister president", so this is even a third synonym, but this is normally not translated literally into the English language.

==By jurisdiction==
* [[Premiers of the Australian states|Premiers of Australia]]
* [[Premier of Bermuda]]
* [[Premier of the British Virgin Islands]]
* [[Premier (Canada)|Premiers of Canada]]
* [[Premier of the Cayman Islands]]
* [[Premier of the People's Republic of China]]
* [[List of premiers of China]]
* [[Chancellor of China]]
* [[Premier of North Korea]]
* [[Premier of Montserrat]]
* [[Premier of Sarawak]]
* [[Premier (South Africa)|Premiers of South Africa]]
* [[Premier of the Soviet Union]]
* [[Premier of the Republic of China|Premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan)]]
* [[Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands]]
* [[President of the Council of Ministers]]

==See also==
{{Wiktionary|premier}}
* [[Westminster system]]
* [[Constitutional monarchy]]
* [[Semi-presidential system]]
* [[Semi-parliamentary system]]
* [[Parliamentary republic]]
* [[Parliamentary leader]]

==References==
{{reflist}} 

{{Heads of government}}

[[Category:Prime ministers| ]]
[[Category:Heads of government of non-sovereign entities]]
[[Category:Positions of authority]]
[[Category:Positions of subnational authority]]
[[Category:Gubernatorial titles]]