Prime Minister of Notosha

**Salary** | $4,500 (monthly)

The **Prime Minister** (Asbanian: ***Kyllidhiministri** e Notoshë*; Lorbian: ***Премијер** с Нотоше*, ***Premijer** s Notoše*), officially the **President of the Government of the Republic of Notosha** (Asbanian: *Presidenti e Qeverisë e Republikë e Notoshë*; Lorbian: *Председник Владе с Нотоше*, *Predsednik Vlade s Notoše*), is the head of government of the Republic of Notosha. The office was created in 2000, following the establishment of SC-administered Notosha.

The prime minister is informally proposed by the majority coalition in the State Assembly following a parliamentary election. The President will subsequently formally nominate the proposed candidate, and they will be appointed through a simple majority vote by the members of the State Assembly. The prime minister presides over a cabinet of ministers, who are nominated by the prime minister and formally appointed by the President; in practice, the President has almost no say in who they appoint as ministers, and they will almost always appoint whomever are nominated by the prime minister.

The current prime minister is Balush Gjintelma, who has served as prime minister since 2014. Since 2014, he has led the center-left New Notosha Alliance governing coalition.

## 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 Notosha.

The prime minister must:

* Be at least 20 years of age upon taking office.
* Be a citizen of the Republic of Notosha, either through birth or naturalization.
* Have resided in the territory of Notosha for a period of five consecutive years.
* Have not provided any support, be it through monetary, physical, or any other means, to the Republic of Lorbia in the Notosha War (1994–2000)

## Role and authority

The prime minister is the second-most senior politician in Notosha, following only the President. However, since the office of the President is largely ceremonial, the prime minister is considered to be more politically powerful. They are in charge of day-to-day operations of the nation, and often act as its chief international representative. If the prime minister does not have a majority in parliament, their powers and stability are greatly endangered. In this case, any bills their government proposes 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 typically step down, allowing for their successor to renegotiate a coalition deal.

The President is given the power to appoint and dismiss a council of ministers to carry out political duties, but this is almost always done at the advice of the prime minister. Because of this, the prime minister has the *de facto* power to choose all ministers, and the President will formally appoint them to office. Following the certification of the results of a parliamentary election, the President will select one individual to nominate as prime minister; this individual will almost always be the leader of the coalition that won a majority, as proposed by the coalition itself. The individual will then be subject to a vote in parliament, and will be officially appointed prime minister if the simple majority vote passes.

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 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 and their deputies. The prime minister cannot dissolve parliament, as snap elections are not allowed in the constitution. Parliament is automatically dissolved every four years for a new election. 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 a new individual may form a government, as snap elections are not allowed. Whenever a prime minister dies or resigns from office, the coalition of the prime minister will select a new individual to take their place, most often a senior cabinet minister.

## Amenities

Unlike the heads of government of other nations, the prime minister of Notosha is awarded few amenities. There is no official residence of the prime minister and they must find their own accommodations, although their office is located in the Office of the Prime Minister. When hosting foreign dignitaries to Notosha, meetings and press conferences are typically held both at the Office of the Prime Minister and in the State Assembly building.

The prime minister receives a monthly income of $4,500, which they must pay taxes on. This amounts to a taxable yearly income of $54,000, which is significantly higher than the average yearly salary in Notosha ($14,500 in 2019), but significantly lower than the salaries of most Eurean heads of government. In addition to their salary, the prime minister is given a security detail for themselves and their immediate family, and also are given a private chauffeur.