Home > Semi-presidential system
The semi-presidential system is a system of government that features both a prime minister and a president who are active participants in the day to day functioning of government. It differs from the parliamentary system in that it has a president who is not a ceremonial figurehead and it differs from the presidential system in that it has an executive prime minister who has some responsibility to the legislature.How the powers between president and prime minister are divided can vary greatly between countries. For example, in France the president is responsible for foreign policy and the prime minister for domestic policy. In this case, the division of power between the prime minister and the president is not explicitedly stated in the constitution, but has evolved as a political convention.
Semi-presidential systems are sometimes typified by periods of tense cohabitation, in which the prime minister and president are elected separately, and often from rival parties. This can create an effective system of checks and balances or a period of bitter stonewalling , depending on the attitudes of the two leaders, the ideologies of their parties, or the demands of their constituencies. As a typical example, Sri Lankan politics is witnessing a bitter struggle between the President and the Prime Minister, belonging to different parties and elected separately, over the negotiations with the LTTE to resolve the longstanding ethnic conflict.
Some current nations that feature semi-presidential systems include:
- FinlandSuomen TasavaltaRepubliken Finland ( In Detail) ( In Detail) National motto: None Official languages Finnish and Swedish Capital Helsinki President Tarja Halonen Prime minister Matti Vanhanen Area Total % water Ranked 64th 337,030 kmē 9. 4% Population Tot
- France
- MongoliaAlternative meaning: Mongolia (region Mongolia ( Khalkha Mongolian: is a landlocked country in Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south. After the conquest of China by the Mongol Empire, much of Mongolia was ru
- PakistanIslami Jamhuria Pakistan ( In Detail) ( In Detail) National motto: Iman, Ittehad, Nazm( Urdu: "Faith, Unity, Discipline" Official Language(s) Urdu, English Capital Islamabad Largest City Karachi President General Pervez Musharraf Prime Minister Shaukat Az
- PeruFor other uses, see Peru (disambiguation The Republic of Per ( Spanish: Per Quechua, Aymara: Piruw is a country in western South America, bordering with Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the east, south-east and south, Chil
- RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. With
- Sri Lanka
- South KoreaThe Republic of Korea (ROK; Korean: Daehan Minguk ( Hangul: ; Hanja: )), commonly known as South Korea is a country in East Asia, covering the southern half of the Korean peninsula. To the north, the Republic of Korea borders North Korea, with which it fo
See also
Political systems
Egypt has a semi-presidential system. The National Democratic Party has both supplied the Presidents of Egypt and maintain a majority in the National Assembly for most of the Egyptian Republic multi-party system history. However, periods of cohabitations have occurred when the multi-party system was first introduced.
