Parliamentary republic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a type of republic which operates under a parliamentary system of government (a system with no clear-cut separation between the executive and legislative branches, but with a clear differentiation between the head of government and the head of state).
Contents |
The Power of Parliament
In contrast to republics operating under either the presidential system or the semi-presidential system, the head of state usually does not have broad executive powers as an executive president would, because many of those powers have been granted to a head of government (usually called a prime minister).
However, the head of government and head of state may form one office in a parliamentary republic (such as South Africa, Botswana and Nauru), but the president is still selected in much the same way as the prime minister is in most Westminster systems. This usually means that they are the leader of the largest party or coalition of parties in parliament.
In some instances, the President may legally have executive powers granted to them to undertake the day-to-day running of government (as in Finland) but by convention they either do not use these powers or they use them only to give effect to the advice of the parliament and/or head of government. Some parliamentary republics could therefore be seen as following the semi-presidential system but operating under a parliamentary system.
Historical Development
Typically, parliamentary republics are states that were previously constitutional monarchies, with the position of head of state hitherto a monarch (and, in the case of some Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations, formerly represented by a Governor General) being replaced by an elected non-executive president (as is the case in the Republic of Ireland, Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, India and Vanuatu). Mongolia is also a Parliamentary Republic.
List of current Parliamentary republics
| Country | Formerly | Parliamentary republic adopted | Head of state elected by |
|---|---|---|---|
| File:Flag of Albania.svg Albania | One-party state | 1991 | Parliament, by three-fifths majority |
| File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria | One-party state | 1955 | Direct, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh [1] | Presidential republic | 1971 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Botswana.svg Botswana | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | 1966 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria | One-party state | 1947 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia | One-party state (Part of Yugoslavia) | 1991 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic | One-party state (Part of Czechoslovakia) | 1993 | Parliament, by majority |
| File:Flag of Dominica.svg Dominica | British overseas territory | 1978 | Parliament, by majority |
| File:Flag of East Timor.svg East Timor | Military junta (Occupied by Indonesia) | 1999 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia [2] | Constitutional monarchy (Part of Russian Empire) | 1918 | Parliament, by two-thirds majority |
| File:Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopia | One-party state | 1991 | Parliament, by two-thirds majority |
| File:Flag of Finland.svg Finland | Constitutional monarchy (Part of Russian Empire) | 1919 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany | One-party state [3] | 1949 [4] | Federal assembly (Parliament and state delegates), by absolute majority |
| File:Flag of Greece.svg Greece | Military junta; Constitutional monarchy | 1975 | Parliament, by majority |
| File:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary | One-party state | 1990 | Parliament, by absolute majority |
| File:Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland | Constitutional monarchy (Formerly Part of Denmark, Now an Independent State) | 1944 | Direct, by transferable vote |
| File:Flag of India.svg India | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | 1950 | Parliament and state legislators, by single transferable vote |
| File:Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq | One-party state | 2005 | Parliament, by two-thirds majority |
| File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | 1936[5] | Direct, by single transferable vote |
| File:Flag of Israel.svg Israel | Protectorate (Part of British Mandate of Palestine) | 1948 | Parliament, by majority |
| File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy | Constitutional monarchy | 1946 | Parliament, by majority |
| File:Flag of Kiribati.svg Kiribati | Protectorate | 1979 | Citizens |
| File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia [2] | Constitutional monarchy (Part of Russian Empire) | 1918 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon | Protectorate (French mandate of Lebanon) | 1941 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania [2] | Constitutional monarchy | 1918 | Direct, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Macedonia.svg Macedonia | One-party state (Part of the Yugoslavia) | 1991 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Malta.svg Malta | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | 1974 | Parliament, by majority |
| File:Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Marshall Islands | UN Trust Territory (Part of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) | 1979 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Mauritius.svg Mauritius | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | 1992 | Parliament, by majority |
| File:Flag of Micronesia.svg Federated States of Micronesia | UN Trust Territory (Part of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) | 1986 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Mongolia.svg Mongolia | multi-party system since 1992 | 1949 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro | One-party state (Part of Yugoslavia) | 1992 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Nauru.svg Nauru | Australian Trust Territory | 1968 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland | One-party state | 1990 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | One-party state (Military junta transition) | 1976 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa | Territory of New Zealand | 2007 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia | One-party state (Part of Yugoslavia) | 1991 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore | Constitutional monarchy (Part of Malaysia) | 1965 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia | One-party state (Part of Czechoslovakia) | 1993 | Parliament (before 1999)
Directly, by second-round system (since 1999) |
| File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia | One-party state (Part of Yugoslavia) | 1991 | Directly, by second-round system |
| File:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | 1961 | Parliament, majority |
| File:Flag of Suriname.svg Suriname | One party Military Dictatorship | 1987 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Switzerland.svg Switzerland | Military junta (Occupied by France) | 1802 | Parliament [6] |
| File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | 1976 | Parliament |
| File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey | Constitutional monarchy (Ottoman Empire) | 1923 | Direct (since 2007, previously by parliament) |
| File:Flag of Vanuatu.svg Vanuatu | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | 1980 | Parliament and regional council presidents, by majority |
List of former Parliamentary republics
See also
Notes
- ^ In Bangladesh, a Caretaker government takes over for three months during parliamentary elections. The Caretaker government is headed by a Chief adviser (the last Chief Justice to retire), and a group of neutral, non-partisan advisers chosen from the civil society. During this time, the president has jurisdiction over the Ministry of defense and the Ministry of foreign affairs.
- ^ a b c The three Baltic states were parliamentary republics after declaring their independence from the Russian Empire in 1918, but were all occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. After regaining independence by 1991, all three countries resumed to parliamentary democracy.
- ^ In the case of the former West German states, including former West Berlin, the previous one-party state is Nazi Germany, but in the case of the New Länder and former East Berlin it is East Germany.
- ^ Please note that German reunification took place on 3 October 1990, when the five re-established states of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin was united into a single city-state. Therefore, this date applies to today's Federal Republic of Germany as a whole, although the area of former East Germany was no part of that parliamentary republic until 1990.
- ^ Irish head of state from 1936 to 1949
- ^ There is neither a prime minister nor a president of Switzerland. The President of the Swiss Confederation is merely primus inter pares in the Swiss Federal Council, the seven-member executive council which constitutes the government as well as the head of state of Switzerland.
bn:সংসদীয় গণতন্ত্র bg:Парламентарна република cs:Parlamentní republika de:Parlamentarische Republik es:República parlamentaria gl:República parlamentaria lv:Parlamentāra republika nl:Parlementaire republiek no:Parlamentarisk republikk pt:República parlamentarista ro:Republică parlamentară sh:Parlamentarna republika vi:Cộng hòa đại nghị
