Prime minister

Prime minister, or premier, head of the government in a parliamentary system. The prime minister appoints and directs his or her own cabinet, which is the source of all major legislation, and also has the power to make and dismiss ministers and to call an election before the full term of a government. The office developed in 18th-century England under Robert Walpole. Most parliamentary democracies distinguish between the head of state (a monarch or president) and the prime minister, who is head of the government.