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PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS (also prime minister; French premier – the first one) – the constitutional body of the executive in the Republic of Poland, he/she represent the → Council of Ministers (CoM, government), he/she is responsible for the activities of the whole team, and sometimes also for activities of individual members. He/she is the most important in the government (primus inter pares). Depending on the country, the position has different names: for example, in Great Britain – prime minister, in France – le premier ministre; in Poland – the president of the council of ministers (premier); in Germany – chancellor, in Ireland – taoiseach. P.c.m. can be the leader of one-party government and at the same time of the majority party in the parliament, he/she can also be the leader of a coalition of two or more political parties. The head of the c.m. not always leads the government/cabinet that has the support of the majority – this is the case of minority government. In presidential systems it is the → president who is the leader of the government and the whole executive. In the systems of parliamentary-cabinet rule, the formally dualistic executive is divided between the government, with the p.c.m. as its head, and the head of the state. P.c.m. governs by the parliamentary majority and with its support. In Poland p.c.m. is designated and then appointed by the President of the Republic of Poland. P.c.m. represents the government and directs its activities. In order to realize the statutory delegations, he/she issue regulations, and directives of internal character, issued only on the statutory basis. He/she ensures the implementation of the policies adopted by the CoM and specifies the manner of their implementation and coordinates and control the work of members of the CoM. He/she exercises supervision (regarding the legality of actions) of local government and is the official superior of employees of the government administration and the superior of the → civil service corps. The Prime Minister can submit to the Sejm a motion requiring a vote of confidence. He/she can request from the President of the Republic of Poland to make changes in the composition of the government. P.c.m. submits the resignation of the CoM at the first sitting of a newly elected Sejm. He/she also submits the resignation of the CoM in the instances: when a vote of confidence in the CoM has not been passed by the Sejm; when a → vote of no-confidence has been passed against the CoM; when the Prime Minister himself has resigned from office [ I. Malinowska, M. Kaczorowska ].

Literature: L. Garlicki, Polskie prawo konstytucyjne. Zarys wykładu [Polish constitutional law. An outline of a lecture], Warszawa 2016 ■ S. Patyra, Prawnoustrojowy status Prezesa Rady Ministrów w świetle Konstytucji z 2 kwietnia 1997 r. [The legal status of the President of the Council of Ministers in the light of the Constitution of 2nd April 1997], Warszawa 2002 ■ The presidentialization of politics: A comparative study of modern democracies, red. T. Poguntke, P. Webb, Oxford 2005.