A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

, as both positions are "number two" offices, but there are some differences. The states of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and provinces of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

each have the analogous office of deputy premier. In the

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

administrations of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, an analogous position is that of the deputy First Minister, albeit the position in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

has equivalent powers to the First Minister differing only in the titles of the offices. In Canada, the position of deputy prime minister should not be confused with the Canadian deputy minister of the

prime minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

, a nonpolitical

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

position. In

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, the officeholder is known as vice-chancellor. A deputy prime minister traditionally serves as acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent or incapable of exercising power. The deputy prime minister is often asked to succeed to the prime minister's office following the prime minister's sudden death or unexpected resignation, but that is not necessarily mandated by the constitution. This government position is often a job that is held simultaneously with another ministry, and is usually given to one of the most senior or experienced ministers of the cabinet. The holder of this office may also be deputy leader of the governing party, or perhaps the leader of the junior party of a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

. Little scholarly attention has focused on deputy prime ministers, as they are sometimes less involved in the political power plays of government and more focus on the work at hand. A 2009 study in ''Political Science'' identified nine 'qualities' of deputy prime ministership: temperament; relationships with their Cabinet and caucus; relationships with their party; popularity with the public; media skills; achievements as deputy prime minister; relationship with the prime minister; leadership ambition; and method of succession. By contrast, the structure of the

Government of Russia The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russ ...

and

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

provides for several deputy prime ministers or vice prime ministers. In the case of the

Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russ ...

, the

is responsible for defining the scope of the duties for each of their deputies, who also may head a specific ministry: e.g. the former

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

of Russia,

Alexey Kudrin Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin ( rus, Алексе́й Леони́дович Ку́дрин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ ˈkudrʲɪn; born 12 October 1960) is a Russian liberal politician and economist. Previously he served as the Ch ...

, also serves as one of the deputies of the prime ministers or ''vice-premiers''. One or two of these deputy prime ministers may hold the title of a ''first deputy prime minister''. Russian federal law indicates that in accordance with the order established in advance, ''one of the deputy prime ministers'' may temporarily substitute for the prime minister in their absence. Customarily, however, it is to one of the "first" Deputy prime ministers that the prime-ministerial duties may be delegated. At the same time, in the case of prime minister's resignation, the law allows the

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federa ...

to choose ''any'' of the current vice-premiers to serve as an ''acting'' prime minister until the confirmation of the new government. There is also the special case of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

: in the

Federal Government of Belgium The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-min ...

, a deputy prime minister not only replaces the prime minister in the case they are incapacitated, but also acts as the link between the government and their political party. In short, in Belgium, a Deputy prime minister is the voice of their political party in the federal government, and they are the voice of the government in their political party. The prime minister and the deputy prime ministers form what is called the "inner cabinet" (''kernkabinet''; ''conseil des ministres restreint'' or ''kern''), an instance where the most important political decisions are discussed and taken.

Lists of deputy prime ministers

Position abolished

* Deputy to the Prime Minister of Norway * Deputy Prime Minister of Bangladesh * Deputy Prime Minister of Suriname *

Deputy Prime Minister of Indonesia The Deputy Prime Minister of Indonesia was a title given to a member of the Cabinet of Ministers of between 1947 and 1966. The deputy prime minister served as acting prime minister in the absence of the Prime Minister of Indonesia. This position ...

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey The Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey is the abolished official deputy of the head of government of Turkey. Conventionally all of the junior partners in a coalition get one deputy, and they are ranked according to the size of their respective par ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deputy Prime Minister Government occupations Vice offices