Prime Minister of the Resurgent Dream
In the Resurgent Dream, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many executive powers in his or her own right as well as heading the Cabinet. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are both responsible to Danaan Parliament of which they are required to be members by the Constitution. The current Prime Minister is Sarah Sacker (of the Progressive Democratic Party) who has been in office since 2005.
The title of Prime Minister has officially existed since 1538 when it was given to Duke Arakus ap Gwydion, chief advisor to High Queen Corrina ni Gwydion. The first Prime Minister in the modern sense was Lord Percival ap Dougal who assumed office in 1641. Prior to this, the chief advisor to the High Queen was the Lord Chancellor, a position which still exists in the High Court but no longer has any governmental role. Unlike in some constitutional monarchies, the Prime Minister of the Resurgent Dream does not traditionally hold any other ministerial or court position.
A Prime Minister first receives a mandate to form a government from the High King. This mandate almost always goes to the leader of the party which has a plurality or to the leader of the strongest party in an established coalition which has a majority. After receiving the mandate, the Prime Minister then has one month's time to form a government which can receive the confidence of Parliament, as determined by majority vote. This vote concerns the entirety of the Cabinet, not individual ministers. If this task is not completed in one month's time, Parliament is dissolved and new elections are called. If, at any subsequent point, Parliament passes a motion of no confidence in the government, the leaders of the various parties have one week to form a new coalition. If, during this time, a coalition whose member parties include a majority of Parliament is formed, then a new mandate will be issued to the leader of the strongest party in such a coalition. If this does not occur, Parliament will be dissolved and new elections called. Regardless of whether or not Parliament has withdrawn its confidence, a Prime Minister who has been confirmed by Parliament remains Prime Minister from the time they are confirmed until the time Parliament confirms another Prime Minister.
History
Duke Arakus ap Gwydion, the first to bear the title of Prime Minister, had essentially nothing in common with modern prime ministers except the title itself. He was the chief advisor to the High Queen and had no authority in his own right, not even delegated authority. Lord Percival ap Dougal, appointed in 1641, is widely considered the first Prime Minister. He was appointed based upon his strength in Parliament, hardly a democratic body at the time, and he exercised a great deal of authority over the state, managing the various departments of governance aptly.
When High Queen Agwene democratized the Resurgent Dream in 1990, the Prime Minister began to be identified as the representative of the Danaan people, a claim which greatly enhanced the moral authority of the position. The Agwenian Edicts increased the power of the Prime Minister and the Government at the expense of the Crown's personal involvement in governance. However, the Resurgent Dream did not become a full modern, constitutional, liberal democratic state until the creation of the Constitution of the Resurgent Dream early in the reign of High King Owain.
The place of the Prime Minister in the Danaan Order of Precedence of the Prime Minister has been an issue of historical controversy. Originally, the Prime Minister received no special place on account of his office but only whatever place he would have had by reason of his birth. High Queen Corrina later granted the Prime Minister a position somewhere among the Peers of the Resurgent Dream in an edict of 1745. Agwene raised the place of the Prime Minister in an edict of 1996 which had never been altered or revoked. Based upon the edict of 1996, the Office of the Royal Herald currently places Sarah Sacker immediately beneath The Princess Bahiah and immediately above the Duchess of Charles.
The retirement of Vincenzo Lacau, the first Prime Minister not to bear noble title in his own right, marked the beginning of a new tradition whereby a Prime Minister leaving office who is not already a Peer of the Resurgent Dream is created a Peer. This new tradition has led to Vincenzo Lacau being created Baron Langmore, Minerva Karamanlis being created Viscountess Kairis, and to Adair Scott being created Baron Scobie.
The office
Unlike in many countries, the Prime Minister of the Resurgent Dream is an official office and its holder is not expected to hold any other Cabinet post. The Prime Minister holds a great deal of power in his or her own right in addition to his or her influence as the president of the Cabinet. The general authority of the office of the Prime Minister is convered in the Danaan Constitution. However, many specifics of Prime Ministerial authority are determined by the Resolution on the Cabinet.
