In today’s international relations, many countries view the British Prime Minister as the Head of State, acting in lieu of the King. Though this seems to be the case to outsiders, the truth is a little bit different. The relationship between Prime Minister and the crown has been developed over a long space of several centuries. Most history scholars agree that the first actual Prime Minister was Robert Walpole in 1721, who ascended to the position out of a matter of a necessity for leadership. The post at that time did not have an official title or a specific set of powers and responsibilities. Walpole was the First Lord of the Treasury, and therefore had more rank and sway over the other ministers. His actions were generally accepted in the circumstances, but it would be nearly another 200 years in the Edwardian Era (King Edward VII, 1901-1910) before the position was constitutionally recognized.
What Does the Prime Minister Do: The Prime Minister in a parliamentary state is not himself the head of state. That post remains with either a monarch, or a president who is elected for a specific period. The Prime Minister is the head of the government, and upon election or appointment is given the right to form the government particularly in the placement of cabinet officials. In today’s United Kingdom (and other parliamentary countries) the prime minister is the leader of the political party that achieves via a general election the most seats in Parliament that must add up to a majority. In the event the largest party does not have a majority, agreements are typically made with one or more smaller political parties to form a coalition that creates a majority and earns the right to form the government. There have been 80 Prime Ministers in Britain since 1721 when Walpole ascended to the position. Several served more than one term. Only four had not served as the First Lord of the Treasury. Two more served for only a few days owing to lack of support in Parliament and are not considered by most historians to have been Prime Ministers. Early Prime Ministers were often given the title retrospectively, as the position gradually evolved over time. The Prime Minister is usually a member of the House of Commons, the lower legislative house of Parliament. He/she generally has one foot in the legislative branch of government (Parliament) and another in the executive branch (the crown). In Britain, the Prime Minister always holds other positions or titles, including, but not limited to the First Lord of the Treasury and Minister of the Civil Service. Situations may call for the Prime Minister to hold other posts such as Winston Churchill, who was Minister of Defense during World War II, even though there was no Ministry of Defense at the time.
How the Position Rose Over Time: The post of Prime Minister to facilitate the operation of a government can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire in the 8th Century AD. The term used was “Grand Vizier,” and it was given to the individual who ran the government. The political power of the Grand Vizier was delegated directly from the Sultan. The Grand Vizier was the second most powerful person in the government after the Sultan himself. However, in some circumstances the Grand Vizier was actually more powerful that the Sultan who became a virtual figurehead. In 17th Century France, Cardinal Richelieu was named “Premier Ministre d’Etat” or chief administrator of the state to head the Royal Council that advised the King on certain matters and prepared the background for the King to reach a decision. However, in 1661, King Louis XIV eliminated the post. In 1689 the British Parliament passed the Bill of Rights, that blocked the King from mandating laws or taxes in the land without the approval of the House of Commons thereby incorporating the lower house into the driver’s seat of political power. Further, the Glorius Revolution took place that removed King James II from the throne. His daughter Mary II became co-monarch with her husband William III of Orange. They were followed in 1714 by George I of the House of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire who succeeded Queen Anne who died from a stroke on August 1. King George I did not speak any English. Further he spent little time in Great Britain preferring to live in his home in Hanover. To process the necessities of government, the cabinet had to often act on its own, requiring the rise of a senior administrator along with the assumption of the powers required to execute those various responsibilities. That is how Walpole, the first British Prime Minister, became the de facto head of state.
The First Prime Minister: For the next two decades as the government consolidated it became more and more necessary for the senior administrator to be able to manage a larger portion of the executive branch as well as the legislative activities. In at least one circumstance there were two individual administrators whose powers were divided up and separated from each other. Further, as time went on the crown ceded more and more of its responsibilities and corresponding powers to Parliament. The British unwritten constitution has evolved largely as a consequence of circumstances necessitating change. The changes may have come from the crown or Parliament until 1689 when the Parliament gained the upper hand after nearly 100 years of wrangling. Then a King came to power who couldn’t speak English and didn’t particularly care what happened. Resultingly, the Parliament continued to rise as the foremost seat of power, and the Prime Minister post evolved to carry out Parliamentary edicts. The Prime Minister’s authority peaked with Winston Churchill during the war years, as he filled in some of the important roles ordinarily handled by a head of state.
Prime Ministers in Other Countries: In parliamentary governments (either constitutional monarchies or parliamentary republics), the Prime Minster is the leader of the main legislative body. He/she is typically the second to the head of state, but ordinarily runs the government and is responsible for virtually all official government actions as the actual head of state is sometimes a figurehead. In South Korea, the Prime Minster is second to the president and succeeds him in the event of illness, incapacitation, impeachment, or death. In other countries the terms “First Minister”, “Premier”, “Chief Minister”, “Chancellor”, “Taoiseach”, “Minister of State”, “President of the Government”, “President of the Council of Ministers”, and “Secretary of State”, have all been applied to roughly the same position known in the United Kingdom and other countries as Prime Minister. Generally speaking, the Prime Minister’s powers and responsibilities cross over from the executive branch of most governments into the legislative branch as a powerful administrator is often needed to facilitate those actions that cross from one branch to the other. A few countries including the United States, have never had the post of Prime Minister. In the case of the U.S., the congress has always held the high cards, and preferred a strict separation of powers between the legislative and the executive branches of government. The closest position in the U.S. to that of a Prime Minister would be the Vice-President who is the president of the Senate, the upper house of Congress. One of the difficulties facing parliamentary governments like the United Kingdom arises when a majority party cannot be achieved, even after efforts to form a coalition have failed. Without a majority party, no prime minister can be selected and the government would be virtually paralyzed.
Conclusions: One of my college professors described the rise of Robert Walpole and the post of the Prime Minister as occurring one day when the cabinet met expecting the King to be there to sign off on some pressing matters of state. The King did not show up, so Walpole, the First Lord of the Treasury, got out his chair adjacent to the King’s seat and sat down at the head of the table replacing the King. Business carried on as usual without the King being there.
Sources:
Wikipedia, List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom.
Wikipedia, Prime Minster.