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 population ...

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, ...

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 S ...

(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 or

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, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

; an autonomous region of Philippines; or a British Overseas Territory 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 ...

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 state ...

without a

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

. 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 (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 l ...

(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 , Sierr ...

, 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 i ...

in a semi-presidential system. Before that, only Milton Margai 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 or minister-president 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). 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 of cabinet 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 p ...

in the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

Chief ministers around the world

* Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory *

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 was ...

of Australia * Chief Minister of Burma * Chief Minister of Guernsey * Chief Minister of Gibraltar * Chief Minister (India) * Chief Minister of Jersey * Chief Minister of the Isle of Man * Chief Minister of Montserrat *

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 t ...

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 electio ...

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 of the Philippines * Chief Minister of Saint Helena *

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 Minister of Mandalay Region * List of chief ministers of Galmudug (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