Prime Minister of Empherias

The Prime Minister of Empherias is the head of the devolved government of Empherias, within the High Kingdoms of Alaxia. The prime minister leads the executive branch of government. They chair and set the agenda at cabinet meetings, appoint government ministers, and guide the legislative process. The prime minister is appointed, by convention, as the leader of the largest party or coalition in the House of Parliament - this means that the executive is formed within the legislature rather than separated. As such, the prime minister will have power of the largest party's whips and thus how they vote, wielding significant power within the legislature. The prime minister also holds significant public image as the face of the government's actions at home, within the union, and abroad.

As of 2522, there have been 101 prime ministers, but only 82 people who have held the position. This is because people who have held non-consecutive terms are counted multiple times. During the current Alaxian period, which began in 2448 following their admission into the High Kingdoms, there has been 13 prime ministers - the first being Lukas Knight in 2448 and the incumbent being Valorie Metz since 2519.

Out of the 82 people to have held the position, 14 have died in office. This has become a lot less common throughout the centuries, with the last being Alistair Walker in 2488, who was assassinated. Before him, the last to die of natural causes was Klara Willows in 2474 of complications during pregnancy.

History
The office of the prime minister has evolved throughout Empheri history. The first recorded instance of someone being appointed as the prime minister was George Montgomery's appointment in 1995 - technically the 6th prime minister. Prior to this, the prime minister is listed as the most senior member of government at the time. For example, the first counted PM Mathias Haas was only appointed as the Minister of War by the monarch at the time in 1945, but because he was the most senior minister and also carried out government agenda on behalf of the monarch, he is listed as the first de-facto prime minister.

Legislature
From 1945 to 2110, the legislative chamber was known as the Council of the Elite. It was later reformed by James Morgan into the House of Parliament in 2110 which is still in use today. The building hosting the parliament was moved from Esthullen to Wynnoa in 2443 by Katelyn Roberts following the death of Rijkdottir Abigail I.

Elections
Originally, the monarch appointed all members of the Council of Elite and also appointed government ministers. As such, there were no official elections until 1995. The first type of elections were to elect the Prime Minister by a vote within the Council, with the person with a plurality elected. The individual members of the council were still appointed by the Prime Minister or the monarch. The first elections to elect members of parliament came in the 2110 general election. However, due to a clause, this election only elected around half of members of parliament as the others would remain MPs for life. Following the deaths of all life-MPs, each election would elect all members of parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system in constituencies. New constituencies could be created by the Prime Minister, the government, the monarch, of the Committee on Representation in Parliament. This meant that the amount of seats available grew throughout time and rotten boroughs were prevalent. Elections took place within a mandatory period of seven years but often took place sooner as mandated by the prime minister or the monarch. The ability to vote was for men and women aged 35 or over and who owned land. The specifics of the land changed over time but in general, dwarves were not permitted to vote, and the age requirement remained high with no age limits.

Following the 2395 revolution, the Populist prime minister Felix D'laminet passed the Election Procedure Act 2402 which set the amount of members of parliament at a stable 600, and changed the electoral system to party-list proportional representation to be democratic. The Parliamentary Term Act 2402 set into law that an election must take place before 2000 days (5 and a half years approximately) had passed following the previous general election. As per terms of the Constitution of the High Kingdoms, this changed in 2448 to be a maximum of exactly five years after the previous unless given expressed permission by the President of the High Kingdoms to be delayed in emergency. There must be a mandatory 6 week campaign period after the dissolution of parliament but before the general election. The 2402 election acts set a precedent of universal franchise and ability to vote for any person with Empheri citizenship over the age of 18 years old. This excluded skaven and elves from voting, as they were ineligible from getting citizenship, but maintained small minorities. Furthermore, those currently in prison or abroad did not have the ability to vote. As per terms of the Constitution of the High Kingdoms, since 2448 it has been mandatory to vote and a national holiday is to take place on the day with many businesses closing early to give people the chance to vote. The punishment for not voting is a small fine unless you can give adequate reasoning for not voting. Those over 75 years old do not have to vote.