Prime Minister of the Velkanian Isles

**Salary** | $325,000 (per annum)

The **Prime Minister of the Velkanian Isles** (Velkanian: *Stádkúdratha Vælkjáthkurath*; Forsish: *Stadtminister av Välkansk Ölaren*) is the head of government in the Kingdom of the Velkanian Isles. The office was created in 1966, with the duties of the former Commissioner of the Velkanian Duchy being replaced with that of the Prime Minister following the restoration of Velkanian independence. A post similar to that of the Prime Minister was held following the establishment of the Kingdom in 764, with this position known as the Velkanian Lawman. The Lawman was replaced with the Commissioner after the Forsish conquer of the Velkanian Isles in 1656, and it has not returned.

The Prime Minister presides over a cabinet that is formally appointed by the Monarch. In practice, the appointment of the Prime Minister is determined by whichever party (or coalition) has majority control of the Stádlink. The Prime Minister is almost always the leader of the largest political party in the majority coalition of the Stádlink; this may be a coalition of several parties, or one party making up a majority of parliament.

The current Prime Minister is Síf María Vílhelmsdætr who, since 1 December 2016, has led a one-party government with the Liberal-Democrats. From 2012 to 2016, Síf María led a two-party government with the Liberal-Democrats and Green-Agrarians.

## Role and authority

The Constitution of the Velkanian Isles states that the Monarch, who is the head of state, has supreme authority throughout the nation and acts out their power through ministers. The Monarch formally appoints and dismisses ministers, including the Prime Minister, although they never use this power without request. In a sense, all powers of the Prime Minister are delegated by the Monarch, according to the Constitution.

The Prime Minister is the leading politician of the Velkanian Isles, and is often seen as its chief international representative and head legislator. If the Prime Minister does not have a majority in parliament, their power and stability is greatly endangered. In this case, any bills they propose may be immediately voted down without regards to discussion, and they are always vulnerable to losing a vote of no confidence and subsequently being removed from office. Due to this, it is very rare that a Prime Minister will come to power without securing a majority in parliament, and if they lose their majority they will either step down or a snap election will be called.

While the Monarch is tasked with appointing a cabinet of ministers, these ministers are all appointed at the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister *de facto* has the power to choose their own ministers, as the Monarch typically strays away from expressing political interest, often appointing whichever ministers the Prime Minister requests them to. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Monarch shortly after an election if a single party is able to secure majority control of parliament. If no party secures majority control on their own, the Monarch will appoint the Prime Minister following a "King/Queen's Meeting", where the leaders of each political party elected to parliament meet with the Monarch to discuss coalition building; typically, the majority coalition is decided prior to the meeting, and the meeting is simply a formality. The Monarch will appoint the Prime Minister following the meeting, often choosing the leader of the largest party in the coalition; however, in cases where the largest party in the coalition lost a number of seats in the election and was seen as one of the election's "losers", the Monarch may appoint the leader of a party who won seats in the election.

The Prime Minister chairs weekly meetings of the council of ministers and has the power to set the agenda of these meetings. The Prime Minister also runs the government ministry known as the Office of the Prime Minister. The Office of the Prime Minister does not have any committees associated with it, and is solely tasked with acting as the secretariat of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can choose to dissolve the parliament whenever they wish, although this is formally done by the Monarch. Dissolving parliament results in a snap election. Parliament is automatically dissolved every four years for a new election, and snap elections do not interfere with the four-year spacing between scheduled elections. There are checks on the power of the Prime Minister. At any time, parliament can vote to strip the incumbent Prime Minister of their power in a vote of no confidence; if this vote passes, the Prime Minister and their cabinet must resign immediately, and the Monarch will call a snap election. Whenever a Prime Minister dies or resigns from office, the Monarch will appoint a former minister to serve as an acting Prime Minister until a new election can be held. If the Prime Minister resigns following a lost vote of no confidence, the Speaker of the Stádlink becomes acting Prime Minister until a snap election can be held, as all of the government's ministers must also resign from their positions along with the Prime Minister.

## Amenities

All government offices, including the Office of the Prime Minister, are located within a wing of Krúningárathjálla Palace. The Stádlink is located in a building adjacent to the palace. The official private residence of the Prime Minister is Gardaröst, a twelve-bedroom estate located in Naríthjábæk that has housed every Prime Minister and their families since the restoration of Velkanian independence in 1966. The residence is frequently used for press conferences and summits between the government of the Velkanian Isles, international governments, and the press.

## List of Prime Ministers

*Main article: List of Prime Ministers of the Velkanian Isles.*

### Living former Prime Ministers

Brigitta Magnúsdætr
born  (1947-11-24) 24 November 1947 (age 76)
served 1990–93Katrín Björk Maríusdætr
born  (1930-12-08) 8 December 1930 (age 93)
served 1993–96Alma Jónsdætr
born  (1940-04-12) 12 April 1940 (age 83)
served 1996–2002Freysteinn Jóhann Raknarsson
born  (1948-07-13) 13 July 1948 (age 75)
served 2002–04Davíd Pétursson
born  (1943-08-03) 3 August 1943 (age 80)
served 2004–12