A chief minister is an

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

or appointed

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gr ...

of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

(and sometimes a union territory) in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

; a territory of Australia; a province of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

; a federal province in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

; an

autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...

of Philippines; or a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

that has attained self-governance. It is also used as the English version of the title given to the heads of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

s of the

Malay states The monarchies of Malaysia refer to the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features of a federation. Nine of the states ...

without a

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), ...

. The title is also used in the Crown Dependencies of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

(since 1986), in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands, ...

(since 2004), and in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the la ...

(since 2005). In 2018

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, a

presidential republic A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation ...

, created the role of an appointed chief minister, which is similar to a

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 n ...

in a

semi-presidential system A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has ...

. Before that, only

Milton Margai Sir Milton Augustus Strieby Margai (7 December 1895 – 28 April 1964) was a Sierra Leonean medical doctor and politician who served as the country's head of government from 1954 until his death in 1964. He was titled chief minister from 1954 ...

had the same position between 1954 and 1958.''Centre of Sierra Leone Studies – The politics of Sierra Leone.'' The University of Makeni.
Retrieved 15 May 2018.

Meaning and role

The title has a similar construction and role as a

first minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...

but usually with a lower rank. The role has context within the Westminster system of government where a constitutional

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

(usually sub-national) is advised by ministers who usually head executive government departments (

ministries Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

). A chief minister is understood to be "first among equals". They would be the chief adviser to the nominal head of their state, the

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and leader of the main governing

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or po ...

in the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...

Chief ministers around the world

Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory The chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usu ...

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government wa ...

of Australia *

Chief Minister of Burma The Region Chief Minister ( my, တိုင်းဒေသကြီးဝန်ကြီးချုပ်) or State Chief Minister ( my, ပြည်နယ်ဝန်ကြီးချုပ်) serves as the chief executive of each of the respe ...

Chief Minister of Guernsey The Chief Minister of Guernsey chaired the Policy Council, which consists of the heads of each of the ten departments of the States of Guernsey. Guernsey operates a system of consensus, committees-based government. The Policy Council is explic ...

Chief Minister of Gibraltar The chief minister of Gibraltar is the head of His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar who is elected by the Gibraltar Parliament, and formally appointed by the governor of Gibraltar, representative of the British monarch. The incumbent chief ...

Chief Minister (India) In India, a chief minister is the elected head of government of each state out of the 28 states and sometimes a union territory (UT; currently, only the UTs of Delhi and Puducherry have serving chief ministers). According to the Constitution of ...

Chief Minister of Jersey The Chief Minister of Jersey (french: Premier/ère Ministre de Jersey; nrf, label=Jèrriais, Chef Minnistre dé Jèrri) is the head of government of Jersey, leading the Council of Ministers, which makes up part of the Government of Jersey. The ...

Chief Minister of the Isle of Man The Chief Minister (Manx: ''Ard-shirveishagh'') is the executive head of the Isle of Man Government. The office derives from that of Chairman of the Executive Council. Before 1980 the Executive Council was chaired by the Lieutenant Governor, ...

Chief Minister of Montserrat The Premier of Montserrat is the head of government of the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. The Premier is appointed by the Governor of Montserrat on behalf of the monarch of the United Kingdom, currently King Charles III. The current Pr ...

Chief Ministers in Malaysia In Malaysia, the Menteri Besar ( Jawi:منتري بسر; literally '' First Minister''), colloquially referred to as MB, is the head of government of each of nine states in Malaysia with hereditary rulers. For four states without a monarch, the ...

Chief minister (Nepal) In Nepal, the chief minister () is the elected head of government of each of the seven provinces. The chief minister is appointed by the governor () of the provinces according to Article 167 of the Constitution of Nepal. Following the electi ...

Chief Minister (Pakistan) A Chief Minister ( ur, —), is the elected head of government of a province in Pakistan. The chief minister is the head of the provincial government, whereas in contrast, the governor is the nominal head, or the "de jure executive" and does every ...

Chief Minister of Bangsamoro ar, رئيس وزراء بانجسامورو} , flag = , flagsize = , flagborder = , flagcaption = , insignia = Seal of Bangsamoro.svg , insigniasize ...

of the Philippines *

Chief Minister of Saint Helena The Chief Minister of Saint Helena is the head of the Saint Helena Government. The chief minister is elected by the Legislative Council of Saint Helena, and is formally appointed by the Governor of Saint Helena, the representative of the Bri ...

Chief Minister of Sierra Leone The Chief Minister is appointed by the President of Sierra Leone to coordinate the operations of all ministries in Government of Sierra Leone. The incumbent works under the direction of the president to handle the daily operations of the gove ...

Chief Minister of Singapore The chief minister of Singapore was the head of government of the Colony of Singapore until its abolition on 3 June 1959. It was replaced by the office of Prime Minister. The chief minister was appointed by the governor of Singapore. The chief m ...

Chief Ministers in Sri Lanka Chief ministers in Sri Lanka are elected heads of the provincial boards of ministers, bodies which aid and advice the governors, the heads of the provincial government, in the exercise of their executive power. The governor appoints as chief minis ...

Chief Minister of Mandalay Region The Chief Minister of the Mandalay Region is the Head of the Mandalay Region Government, which is a sub-cabinet of the Government of Myanmar and the regional government of Mandalay Region The current Chief Minister is Maung Ko appointed by Min Au ...

List of chief ministers of Galmudug The Chief Minister of Galmudug was the head of government of Galmudug state of Somalia located in central Somalia. According to the 14-point power-sharing agreement between Galmudug and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, the Chief Minister will preside over th ...

(Somalia)

Informal chief ministers

* Chief minister of France * English chief ministers

References

{{Types of heads of government Heads of government Positions of subnational authority Gubernatorial titles