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The Prime Minister of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Прем'єр-міністр України, Prem'ier-ministr Ukrayiny) presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the top body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government.
Appointment and dismissal
The Prime Minister is appointed by the Verkhovna Rada following a proposal by President (Article 114 of Constitution). The candidacy is chosen and forwarded to the President by a parliamentary coalition. Formally, the President has 15 days to consider the candidacy and the Constitution is silent on whether the candidacy may be turned down.
Before the Constitutional reform of 2004, the President was not restricted in his choice of the Prime-Minister candidacy and the ratification in the parliament was usually preceded by several days of comprehensive consultations and interviews of the candidate by the parliamentary factions. The approval by the legislature was not a mere formality. Some candidates were ratified by a narrow margin and a candidate may be turned down. For instance, in 1999, Valeriy Pustovoytenko fell short of 3 votes to be re-confirmed after he tendered his resignation at the second inauguration of President Kuchma. Kuchma chose Viktor Yushchenko as his alternative candidate. Another example is the ratification of Yuriy Yekhanurov. He was short of 3 votes to get ratified and was confirmed on the second attempt 2 days later.
Before the constitutional reform, the Prime minister was usually dismissed unilaterally by the President. After the reform the Prime minister can only be dismissed by the parliament. Formally, the Verkhovna Rada needs to pass a resolution of no confidence in the Cabinet, which must result in the PM's resignation. However, the parliament cannot put the resolution on vote within one year after the approval of the Cabinet's programme. The parliament dismissed the Cabinets of Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych. The latter refused to tender his resignation to the President claiming a violation of the one-year period condition. The Cabinet of Yuriy Yekhanurov had also been formally dismissed, but the parliamentary act was subsequently repealed.
The Prime Minister, as well as any other Cabinet member, may resign voluntarily by tendering the resignation to the parliament. A resignation by the Prime Minister results in the dismissal of the Cabinet. After the adoption of the current Constitution of Ukraine, only Pavlo Lazarenko lost his post this way.
Also, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet are obligated to resign to each new convocation of the parliament. (Article 115 of Constitution).
Authority
The Prime Minister supervises the work of the Cabinet and signs its decrees. Also, he or she proposes candidacies of ministers to the parliament (except the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense), as well as candidacies of heads of regional state administrations (colloquially referred to as "governors") to the President.
Moreover, the Prime Minister has the authority to countersign many presidential edicts, together with a minister responsible for the execution of the edict. The Constitution does not make it clear whether the PM may withhold his or her signature and whether missing countersignatures render an edict unenforceable.
List of Heads of Government of Ukraine (1918-Present)
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Prime ministers
(in Prague to 1945, then Munich)
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars
Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Revolutionary Committee
Chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers
Prime Ministers of Ukraine (1991-Present)
See also
External links
es:Primer Ministro de Ucrania fr:Premiers ministres de l'Ukraine id:Perdana Menteri Ukraina it:Primo Ministro dell'Ucraina lv:Ukrainas premjerministri nl:Lijst van premiers van Oekraïne ja:ウクライナの首相 pl:Premierzy Ukrainy ru:Премьер-министр Украины uk:Прем'єр-міністр України
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