SafekipediaParliamentary republic
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
A parliamentary republic is a type of government where leaders are chosen and watched over by a group of elected people called a parliament. In this system, the main leaders, known as the government, get their power from the parliament and must answer to them. This means that the parliament holds the most power and can make big decisions.
There are different kinds of parliamentary republics. In most, there are two important roles: one leader who runs the government and another who serves more as a symbol or representative. The leader who runs the government usually has the real power, while the other leader does special jobs to keep things fair and balanced.
In general, the parliament has the highest power in a parliamentary republic. The leader who represents the country, called a president, is often chosen by the people voting. But sometimes, this president is chosen by a special group or by members of the parliament itself, depending on the country's rules.
Fusion of powers
In parliamentary republics, the people who make laws and the people who run the government are all part of the same group, the parliament. This is different from other kinds of governments where the leader of the country might have more power alone.
Usually, the leader of the country, called the head of state, does not have as much power as a leader in some other systems. Instead, the main leader, often called the prime minister, has most of the power to run the government. Sometimes, the head of state and the head of government are the same person, chosen by the largest group in parliament. Even if the head of state has some powers, they often use them only when the parliament agrees.
Historical development
Parliamentary republics often started as constitutional monarchies with a parliamentary system. For example, after losing a war in 1870, France became a republic called the French Third Republic. This republic had a president with less power than earlier ones. It ended when Germany invaded France in 1940.
After World War II, France tried again with the French Fourth Republic in 1946. This time, France grew economically and helped build Europe into a closer group of nations. However, the government changed often and struggled with decisions. Eventually, this republic ended, and a new one, the French Fifth Republic, began in 1959.
Since 1949, some republics have joined a group of countries called the Commonwealth of Nations. In many of these republics, the old king or queen was replaced by a president who did not have strong powers. This happened in places like South Africa, Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, India, Vanuatu, and Barbados. Sometimes, the last person who acted for the king became the first president.
Main article: Commonwealth of Nations
List of modern parliamentary republics and related systems
Main article: List of countries by system of government § Parliamentary and related systems
| Full parliamentary republics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country/territory | Head of state | Head of state elected by | Cameral structure | Parliamentary republic adopted | Previous government form | |
 Albania | Bajram Begaj | Parliament, by three-fifths majority | Unicameral | 1991 | One-party state | |
 Armenia | Vahagn Khachaturyan | Parliament, by absolute majority | Unicameral | 2018 | Semi-presidential republic | |
 Austria | Alexander Van der Bellen | Direct election, by two-round system | Bicameral | 1945 | One-party state (as part of Nazi Germany, see Anschluss) | |
 Bangladesh | Mohammed Shahabuddin | Parliament | Unicameral | 1991 | Semi-presidential republic | |
 Barbados | Jeffrey Bostic | Parliament, by two-thirds majority if there is no joint nomination | Bicameral | 2021 | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | Denis Bećirović Željka Cvijanović Željko Komšić | Direct election of collective head of state, by first-past-the-post vote | Bicameral | 1991 | One-party state (part of Yugoslavia) | |
 Bulgaria | Iliana Iotova | Direct election, by two-round system | Unicameral | 1991 | One-party state | |
 Croatia | Zoran Milanović | Direct election, by two-round system | Unicameral | 2000 | Semi-presidential republic | |
 Czech Republic | Petr Pavel | Direct election, by two-round system (since 2013; previously parliament, by majority) | Bicameral | 1993 | Parliamentary republic (part of Czechoslovakia) | |
 Dominica | Sylvanie Burton | Parliament, by majority | Unicameral | 1978 | Associated state of the United Kingdom | |
 Estonia | Alar Karis | Parliament, by two-thirds majority | Unicameral | 1991 | Presidential republic, thereafter occupied by a one-party state | |
 Ethiopia | Taye Atske Selassie | Parliament, by two-thirds majority | Bicameral | 1991 | One-party state | |
 Fiji | Naiqama Lalabalavu | Parliament, by majority | Unicameral | 2014 | Military dictatorship | |
 Finland | Alexander Stubb | Direct election, by two-round system | Unicameral | 2000 | Semi-presidential republic | |
 Georgia | Mikheil Kavelashvili (disputed) | Parliament and regional delegates, by absolute majority (since 2024; previously direct election, by two-round system) | Unicameral | 2018 | Semi-presidential republic | |
 Germany | Frank-Walter Steinmeier | Federal Convention (Bundestag and state delegates), by absolute majority | Two unicameral institutions | 1949 | One-party state | |
 Greece | Konstantinos Tasoulas | Parliament, by majority | Unicameral | 1975 | Military dictatorship; constitutional monarchy | |
 Hungary | Tamás Sulyok | Parliament, by majority | Unicameral | 1990 | One-party state (Hungarian People's Republic) | |
 Iceland | Halla Tómasdóttir | Direct election, by first-past-the-post vote | Unicameral | 1944 | Constitutional monarchy (in a personal union with Denmark) | |
 India | Droupadi Murmu | Parliament and state legislature, by instant-runoff vote | Bicameral | 1950 | Constitutional monarchy (British Dominion) | |
 Iraq | Abdul Latif Rashid | Parliament, by two-thirds majority | Unicameral | 2005 | One-party state | |
 Ireland | Catherine Connolly | Direct election, by instant-runoff vote | Bicameral | 1949 | To 1936: Constitutional monarchy (British Dominion) 1936–1949: ambiguous | |
 Israel | Isaac Herzog | Parliament, by majority | Unicameral | 2001 | Semi-parliamentary republic | |
 Italy | Sergio Mattarella | Parliament and region delegates, by two-thirds majority; by absolute majority, starting from the fourth ballot, if no candidate achieves the aforementioned majority in the first three ballots | Bicameral | 1946 | Constitutional monarchy | |
 Kosovo | Albulena Haxhiu (Acting) | Parliament, by two-thirds majority; by a simple majority, at the third ballot, if no candidate achieves the aforementioned majority in the first two ballots | Unicameral | 2008 | UN-administered Kosovo (informally part of Serbia) | |
 Latvia | Edgars Rinkēvičs | Parliament | Unicameral | 1991 | Presidential republic, thereafter occupied by a one-party state | |
 Lebanon | Joseph Aoun | Parliament | Unicameral | 1941 | Protectorate (French mandate of Lebanon) | |
 Malta | Myriam Spiteri Debono | Parliament, by two-thirds majority | Unicameral | 1974 | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | |
 Mauritius | Dharam Gokhool | Parliament, by majority | Unicameral | 1992 | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | |
 Moldova | Maia Sandu | Direct election, by two-round system (since 2016; previously by parliament, by three-fifths majority) | Unicameral | 2001 | Semi-presidential republic | |
 Montenegro | Jakov Milatović | Direct election, by two-round system | Unicameral | 1992 | One-party state (Part of Yugoslavia, and after Serbia and Montenegro) | |
 Nepal | Ram Chandra Poudel | Parliament and state legislators | Bicameral | 2008 | Constitutional monarchy | |
 North Macedonia | Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova | Direct election, by two-round system | Unicameral | 1991 | One-party state (part of Yugoslavia) | |
 Pakistan | Asif Ali Zardari | Parliament and state legislators, by instant-runoff vote | Bicameral | 2010 | Assembly-independent republic | |
 Poland | Karol Nawrocki | Direct election, by two-round system | Bicameral | 1989 | One-party state | |
 Samoa | Tuimalealiifano Va'aletoa Sualauvi II | Parliament | Unicameral | 1960 | Trust Territory of New Zealand | |
 Serbia | Aleksandar Vučić | Direct election, by two-round system | Unicameral | 1991 | One-party state (part of Yugoslavia, and later Serbia and Montenegro) | |
 Singapore | Tharman Shanmugaratnam | Direct election (since 1993) | Unicameral | 1965 | State of Malaysia | |
 Slovakia | Peter Pellegrini | Direct election, by two-round system (since 1999; previously by parliament) | Unicameral | 1993 | Parliamentary Republic (part of Czechoslovakia) | |
 Slovenia | Nataša Pirc Musar | Direct election, by two-round system | Bicameral | 1991 | One-party state (part of Yugoslavia) | |
 Somalia | Hassan Sheikh Mohamud | Parliament | Bicameral | 2012 | One-party state | |
 Togo | Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové | Parliament | Bicameral | 2024 | Presidential republic | |
 Trinidad and Tobago | Christine Kangaloo | Parliament | Bicameral | 1976 | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | |
 Vanuatu | Nikenike Vurobaravu | Parliament and regional council presidents, by majority | Unicameral | 1980 | British–French condominium (New Hebrides) | |
| Parliamentary republics with an executive presidency | ||||||
| Country | Head of state | Head of state elected by | Cameral structure | Parliamentary republic with an executive presidency adopted | Previous government form | |
 Botswana | Duma Boko | Parliament, by majority | Unicameral | 1966 | British protectorate (Bechuanaland Protectorate) | |
 Kiribati | Taneti Maamau | Direct election, by first-past-the-post vote | Unicameral | 1979 | Protectorate | |
 Guyana | Irfaan Ali | Semi-direct election, by first-past-the-post vote (vacancies are filled by Parliament, by majority) | Unicameral | 1980 | Full parliamentary republic | |
 Marshall Islands | Hilda Heine | Parliament | Bicameral | 1979 | UN Trust Territory (part of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) | |
 Nauru | David Adeang | Parliament | Unicameral | 1968 | UN Trusteeship between Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. | |
 South Africa | Cyril Ramaphosa | Parliament, by majority | Bicameral | 1961 | Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm) | |
 Suriname | Jennifer Geerlings-Simons | Parliament (vacancies are filled by Parliament, by majority) | Unicameral | 1987 | Full parliamentary republic | |
List of former parliamentary republics and related systems
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Parliamentary republic, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.