Prime Minister of Egypt

The Prime Minister of Egypt (Arabic: رئيس الوزراء المصرى , رئيس الحكومة) is the head of the Egyptian government. According to the constitution, the prime minister is the leader of the largest political party in the Egyptian parliament.

In the late 1970s, Egypt had several cohabitation governments which proved to be unstable, due to the struggle arising between the President and the Prime Minister. However, since 1981, the National Democratic Party has maintained a majority in the People’s Assembly and supplied the Egyptian President.

Powers

By convention, the President controls foreign-affairs and defense-related issues of the state, while the Prime Minister manages the day-to-day affairs including the economy.

The Prime Minister heads the cabinet, which in turn plays a leading role in shaping the agenda of the houses of parliament. It may propose laws to parliament as well as amendments during parliamentary meetings.

Under the system created by the 1980 constitutional amendments, the President is the pre-eminent executive figure who appoints the Prime Minister.

When the President's political party or supporters control parliament, the President is in effect the ‘dominant’ player in executive action, choosing whoever he wishes for government, and having it follow ‘his’ political agenda.

However, when the President's political opponents control parliament, the President's dominance can be severely limited, as he must choose a prime minister and cabinet reflecting the majority in parliament.

When parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum control parliament and the presidency, the power-sharing arrangement is known as cohabitation. Several cohabitation governments took control in the 1970s yet proved to be very unstable.

Office Holders

In 2004, Dr. Ahmed Nazif was sworn into office as prime minister; he has since formed two cabinets, in 2004 and January 2005.

See also

* List of Prime Ministers of Egypt
* Politics of Egypt
* Cabinet of Egypt
* President of Egypt
* List of political parties in Egypt