Prime Minister of Resha

**Salary** | $305,000 (per anum)

The **Prime Minister** (Reshan: ***Statsminister** Reskland*) is the head of government of the Kingdom of Resha. The office was created in 1883, following the restoration of Reshan independence from the Kingdom of Framland.

The prime minister presides over a cabinet of ministers, who are nominated by the prime minister and formally appointed by the Monarch; in practice, the Monarch has no say in who they appoint as ministers, and they will always appoint whomever are nominated by the prime minister. The Monarch is also tasked with appointing the prime minister; however, in practice, the Monarch will always appoint the leader of the majority coalition in the Thusting to serve as prime minister. This majority coalition may consist of a sole party, or may be a coalition of multiple parties; due to the size of the Thusting and the minimum electoral threshold, it is uncommon for a single party to hold a majority of seats in parliament on their own, and coalition-building is almost always a necessity. Unlike in other parliamentary systems, the prime minister does not have the power to advise the Monarch to dissolve parliament early and call for a snap election, as elections can only be held four-years after the previous election, as outlined in the constitution. With this, if the Thusting loses confidence in the prime minister, they must resign.

The current prime minister is Mette-Margarethe Samuelsen, who has served as prime minister since 2012. Since 2019, she has led a four-party center-right coalition in the Thusting.

## Constitutional eligibility

There are few requirements that prospective prime ministers must meet in order to be eligible to serve as prime minister, as outlined in the Constitution of Resha.

The prime minister must:

* Be at least 18 years old upon taking office.
* Be a citizen of the Kingdom of Resha through either birth or naturalization, and have held citizenship for at least 18 years upon taking office.
* If a naturalized citizen, have resided in the Kingdom of Resha for at least 18 years prior to taking office.
* Hold no dual citizenships, and have never served in the military of a foreign nation.
* Never have been convicted of a crime that resulted in time served in jail or prison.
* Concurrently serve as a member of the Thusting.
* Not serve concurrently on the board of directors for a for-profit corporation, or hold any positions of significant power within a for-profit corporation.
* Not be in the line of succession for the Reshan throne.

## Role and authority

The Constitution of Resha outlines how the Monarch is the supreme head of state of Resha, and exercises their powers through ministers. The Monarch formally appoints and dismisses ministers, including the prime minister, although they never use this power without request. Essentially, most of the executive powers of the Monarch are delegated to the prime minister.

The prime minister is the most senior politician in the country, and acts as the chief international representative of the nation. If the prime minister does not have a majority in parliament, their powers and stability are 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. If they lose their majority and are unable to negotiate a new majority coalition, the prime minister typically will resign due to the constitution banning snap elections. In the event of this happening, the opposition leader will typically attempt to negotiate a majority coalition and the former prime minister will join the opposition until the next election. If no other coalition can be formed, then the prime minister and their government can remain as the governing coalition in a minority government.

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, most often appointing whichever ministers the prime minister requests them to. Following the certification of the results of an election, the Monarch will grant one member of parliament a mandate to form a government; typically, the selected individual is the leader of the party that secured a plurality of seats, although it is not unheard of for the second-largest party to also receive the mandate if the put up a particularly strong showing in the election. If an incumbent governing coalition receives a majority of seats, the Monarch will typically award the mandate to the leader of the coalition regardless of whether they won a plurality of seats. The individual who receives the mandate will then be given 60 days to form a coalition government. If they succeed, they will be appointed prime minister by the Monarch, but if they fail then the Monarch will remove the mandate and grant it to a different party. If after two mandates are given and still no government can be formed, the Monarch will invite the the leaders of the two largest political parties to a meeting and instruct them to form a coalition together, as elections can only be held four years apart and snap elections are constitutionally banned.

The prime minister chairs weekly cabinet meetings and has the power to set the agenda of these meetings. The prime minister also runs the government ministry known as the Ministry of the State. The Ministry of the State does not have any committees associated with it, and is solely tasked with acting as the secretariat of the prime minister. Parliament is automatically dissolved every four years for a new election, and snap elections are banned. 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. Due to the absence of snap elections in Reshan politics, the prime minister can only be removed from office if a different government can be set up to replace them; typically, if a vote of no confidence passes, the chief opposition leader will form a coalition to replace them, and will not attempt a no confidence vote if they know they cannot secure that. Whenever a prime minister dies or resigns from office, the party of the prime minister will select a new individual to take their place, most often a senior cabinet minister. If a prime minister dies in office and thus cannot remain in office on an acting capacity until a successor is elected, then a senior cabinet official will step in to serve as acting prime minister until a proper successor is chosen.

## Amenities

The official residence of the prime minister is Dansaborg, located in the Stakjer district of Vadhelle. Dansaborg serves as both the private residence of the prime minister and their family, and the prime minister's primary office. Dansaborg is home to the Ministry of the State, which functions as the prime minister's chief office. Numerous press conferences and meetings are also held in Dansaborg, while the building is also open to the public. Gardahus is the summer residence of the prime minister, located in the municipality of Åkrenes in Heggedal County. Gardahus is closed from the public, but is sometimes used for private meetings including the prime minister and other foreign leaders.

The prime minister receives an annual salary of $305,000, which they must pay income taxes on. In addition to their salary, they reside rent-free in Dansaborg and Gardahus, in addition to being provided a personal chauffeur, private plane, and security detail for themselves and their immediate family.

## List of prime ministers

*Main article: List of Prime Ministers of Resha*.