premier
nounEtymology Borrowed from Middle French premier (adjective), from Latin prīmārius. Doublet of primary.
› The head of government in parliament and…
1
Government, Politics UK, Westminster system The prime minister.
- 1871 July 29, “Our Tyrant”, The Spectator, Volume 303, Issues 9308-9315, page 910, Mr. Gladstone had literally no option. Not to coerce the Lords was to coerce the Commons to continue purchase in spite of their repeated votes for its abolition, and this the Premier had as little the power as the will to do.
2
Government, Politics Australia, Canada, South Africa, UK, Westminster system The leader of a state or provincial government and cabinet.
- More surprising than the company′s activities and interests were those of the premier of Ontario, Mitchell Hepburn.1974, Irving M. Abella, On Strike; Six Key Labour Struggles in Canada, 1919-1949, page 96:
- The major concern of most of the premiers who attended the 1887 conference was, as Macdonald well understood, to put pressure upoon Ottawa to amend the B.N.A. Act to increase the subsidies paid to the provinces by tying them to current population levels rather than those of 1860.1986, R. Kenneth Carty, National Politics and Community in Canada, page 116:
3 more examples
- John Forrest had dominated the fledgling state of Western Australia, serving as premier for the previous decade.2007, Patrick Moray Weller, Cabinet Government in Australia, 1901-2006: Practice, Principles, Performance, page 1:
- In 1890 it was South Australian Premier Charles Cameron Kingston who first proposed a system of compulsory conciliation and arbitration to deal with industrial unrest.2009, Andrew Stewart, edited by John Spoehr, Chapter 16: Industrial Relations: State of South Australia: From Crisis to Prosperity?, page 302:
- In 2009 Kristina Keneally became Labor premier in NSW in similar circumstances to her predecessors in Western Australia and Victoria - a Labor government that was in deep trouble because of mismanagement and corruption scandals.2011, Jennifer Curtin, Marian Sawer, “4: Oceania”, in Gretchen Bauer, Manon Tremblay, editors, Women in Executive Power: A Global Overview, page 56:
3
Government, Politics The government leader in a legislative congress or leader of a government-level administrative body; the head of government.
Non-Westminster
- 1983, Guo Zhou, China & the World, Volume 4, Beijing Review, page 13, This shows that our policy of strengthening friendly ties with Africa as developed by Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai is a correct one and that it has won popular support in Africa.
- Actual decision-making power in China resides in the state′s executive organs and in the CCP. At the national level the top government executive organ is the State Council, which is led by the premier.1998, The New Encyclopædia Britannica, volume 16, page 61:
1 more example
- So, in the case of Russia and some other states, the head of state is the president (who is elected) and who then can name the premier and the cabinet ministers. The intent of this system is for the president to be popularly elected and to exercise political leadership, while the premier runs the everyday operations of government and leads the legislative power.2008, Steffen W. Schmidt, Mack C. Shelley, Barbara A. Bardes, American Government & Politics Today, page 470:
5
Australia The champion team of a particular season (especially as used in Australian rules football).
- Synonyms
- prime minister, first minister, first lieutenant, first mate
- Derived terms
- minor premier, premieress, premierial, premiership