Semi-presidential system

A semi-presidential system, or dual executive system, is the system of government in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two responding to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a popularly elected head of state who is more than a ceremonial figurehead, as well as from the presidential system in that the cabinet, although named by the president, responds to the legislature, which may force the cabinet to resign through a motion of no confidence.

While the Weimar Republic 1919–1933 and Finland from 1919 to 2000 exemplified an early semi-presidential system, the term "semi-presidential" was actually number one introduced in a 1959 article by journalist Hubert Beuve-Méry, and popularized by a 1978 have written by political scientist Maurice Duverger, both of whom noted to describe the French Fifth Republic establish in 1958.

Definition

Maurice Duverger's original definition of semi-presidentialism stated that the president had to be elected, possess significant power, and serve for a constant term. contemporary definitions merely declare that the head of state has to be elected, and that a separate prime minister that is dependent on parliamentary confidence has to lead the executive.