A premier is an executive official of government.

In many nations, the title "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister": for example, the "Italian Premier" is the same person as the "Italian Prime Minister". In the People's Republic of China, "premier" is more common, but "prime minister" is still used (see Premier of the People's Republic of China). Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... The Premier ( Chinese: 总理 pinyin: zŏnglĭ), sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister, is the Chairman of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China and head of Central Peoples Government. ...

In Bermuda, a British overseas territory, the elected head of government is called the "premier". In other overseas territories, elected heads are called the chief minister. A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... The head of government is the leader of the government or cabinet. ... A Chief Minister is the elected Head of Government of a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British overseas territory that has attained self-government. ...

"Premier" is the title of the heads of government in the provinces and territories of Canada, provinces of South Africa, the states of Australia, the island of Nevis within the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the nation of Niue. In some of these cases, the formal title remains "Prime Minister" but "Premier" is used to avoid confusion with the national prime minister. Map of Canada Canada is a federation of ten provinces which, together with three territories, comprise the worlds second largest country. ... A map of the nine provinces of South Africa South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. ... The Australian States and Territories make up the Commonwealth of Australia under a federal system of government. ... Nevis is an island in the Caribbean, whose name is derived from an original Spanish name given by Christopher Columbus, Nuestra Señora de las Nieves (somewhat counterintuitively, given its tropical location and climate, Our Lady of the Snows). Together with Saint Kitts it constitutes the Federation of Saint Kitts...

A premier will normally be a head of government, but is not always the head of state. In presidential systems, the two roles are often combined into one, whereas in parliamentary systems of government the two are usually kept separate. An example of a nation having separate roles for the premier/prime minister and the president is the Fifth French Republic. The head of government is the leader of the government or cabinet. ... Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand, the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... States with presidential systems are shown in blue A presidential system, or a congressional system, is a system of government of a republic where the executive branch is elected separately from the legislative. ... States currently utilising parliamentary systems are denoted in red A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in U.S. English), is distinguished by the executive branch of government being dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. ... The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on October 5, 1958. ...

In the cases of Australia and Canada, care should be taken not to confuse the title of "premier" with "prime minister". A "premier" is the head of government of a province (in Canada) or state (in Australia); the "prime minister" is the national, or federal, head of government. In French, provincial leaderers are known known "premier ministres" in French, which translated literally means "first minister". This is sometimes translated as "prime minister". The head of government is the leader of the government or cabinet. ...

In the Soviet Union, the title of premier was applied to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars or, after 1946, to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Sovnarkom (Russian language СовНарКом, the abbreviation of the phrase Совет Народных Комиссаров, Sovet Narodnykh Komissarov, the Council of Peoples Commissars, sometimes Russian СНК, the SNK), was the name of administrative arm of the Soviet governments until 1946. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

A second in command to a premier is designated as a vice-premier or deputy premier. A Deputy Prime Minister is the deputy of a Prime Minister, and a member of a nations cabinet. ...

See also

• President of the Council of Ministers
• Premier (Canada)
• Premiers of the Australian states
• Premier of the Soviet Union
• Chancellor of China
• List of premiers of China
• Premier cigarette was a smokeless cigarette released in the USA in May 1988 by RJR
• Premier Percussion Limited is a Leicestershire-based manufacturer of drums and percussion instruments.
• Premier Radio is a station in London.