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36-443: The office is commonly used when the prime minister is absent from the territory of that nation or when the prime minister is unable to perform duties for health reasons. The position of acting prime minister may be distinguished from that of caretaker prime minister (typically referring to an outgoing prime minister following an electoral defeat and who by convention does not implement new policies) and interim prime minister (who

72-439: A caretaker regime , is a temporary ad hoc government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it consists of either randomly selected members of parliament or outgoing members until their dismissal. Caretaker governments in representative democracies are usually limited in their function, serving only to maintain

108-431: A dead husband." Academics Lisa Solowiej and Thomas L. Brunell called it "arguably the single most important historical method for women to enter Congress." Nevertheless, this custom is rarely exercised today, as it could be viewed by some as nepotism . In Canada and most other English-speaking countries, the more widely accepted term in this context is interim , as in interim leader . In Italy, this kind of premier

144-570: A group of party factions or prejudicing of a primary election by picking someone who is apt to become an active candidate for the position. In some cases, appointment of a caretaker is an opportunity for a Governor to appoint a chief of staff , party leader, counsel , or other senior adviser to the position, as a reward for service or to boost their résumé. Examples include Ann Richards appointing Bob Krueger , Deval Patrick appointing Paul G. Kirk , Chris Christie appointing Jeffrey Chiesa , and Phil Murphy appointing George Helmy as Senators,

180-449: Is a senior minister appointed to take the role of prime minister in the absence of the incumbent. Wijeyananda Dahanayake was appointed acting prime minister on September 26, 1959 following the assassination of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike . He was subsequently confirmed as prime minister by parliament. In the UK, nobody has the right of automatic succession to the prime ministership. However, it

216-611: Is appointed to perform a similar role to a caretaker, but is typically not a prime minister at the time of being appointed). According to House of Representatives Practice , an official publication of the Parliament of Australia , the Prime Minister of Australia "may make temporary ministerial arrangements without reference to the Governor-General . A Minister may act for another Minister on account of absence from Australia or from

252-680: Is generally considered by those with an interest in the matter that in the event of the death of the prime minister, it would be appropriate to appoint an interim prime minister, though there is some debate as to how to decide who this should be. This role is distinct to the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom , a ceremonial role for when the Prime Minister is temporarily indisposed for an engagement. According to Rodney Brazier , there are no procedures within government to cope with

288-412: Is no clear victor or if one coalition government collapses and a new one must be negotiated. Caretaker governments are expected to handle daily issues and prepare budgets for discussion, but are not expected to produce a government platform or introduce controversial bills. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it

324-586: Is often referred to as a provisional government . Many countries are administered by a caretaker government during election periods, such as: Other countries that use similar mechanisms include Canada , and New Zealand . Heads of caretaker governments are often referred to as a "caretaker" head, for example "caretaker prime minister". Similarly, but chiefly in the United States , caretakers are individuals who fill seats in government temporarily without ambitions to continue to hold office on their own. This

360-442: Is particularly true with regard to United States senators who are appointed to office by the governor of their state following a vacancy created by the death or resignation of a sitting senator. Sometimes governors wish to run for the seat themselves in the next election but do not want to be accused of unfairness by arranging their own appointments in the interim. Also, sometimes they do not wish to be seen as taking sides within

396-430: Is sometimes also applied to someone who is temporarily appointed prime minister following a death in office (more commonly called a caretaker prime minister or an interim prime minister ). Examples include Frank Forde (seven days following John Curtin 's death), Earle Page (19 days following Joseph Lyons ' death), and John McEwen (22 days following Harold Holt 's disappearance). Unlike those who merely acted in

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432-635: Is the President of Government of Experts . The following is a list of individuals who have been considered caretaker (or provisional or interim) heads of state or heads of government: Minister of Home Affairs (India) The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister , short-form HM ) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India . One of the senior-most officers in

468-406: The status quo , rather than truly govern and propose new legislation . Unlike the government it is meant to temporarily replace, a caretaker government does not have a legitimate mandate (electoral approval) to exercise aforementioned functions. Caretaker governments may be put in place when a government in a parliamentary system is defeated in a motion of no confidence , or in the case when

504-512: The Union Cabinet , the chief responsibility of the home minister is the maintenance of the internal security of India; the country's large police force comes under its jurisdiction. Occasionally, they are assisted by the Minister of State of Home Affairs and the lower-ranked Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. Ever since the time of independent India's first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ,

540-802: The Cabinet to act as their chair during the caretaker period. Once the Party had elected a new leader, that person would, of course, be invited to take over as Prime Minister. Additionally, when the prime minister is travelling, it is standard practice for a senior duty minister to be appointed who can attend to urgent business and meetings if required, though the prime minister remains in charge and updated throughout. On 6 April 2020, then First Secretary of State , Dominic Raab , deputised for Prime Minister Boris Johnson following his admittance to hospital with COVID-19 and remained in post until April 26th. Caretaker government A caretaker government , also known as

576-479: The Ministry or due to ill health. The Acts Interpretation Act confers upon an Acting Minister the same power and authority with respect to the absent Minister's statutory responsibilities." The position of acting prime minister is a special case of an acting minister, and generally occurs when the prime minister is travelling overseas, is on vacation, or is in ill health. In the early 20th century, when travel by ship

612-672: The State Council to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in November 1987, then Vice Premier Li Peng became Acting Premier. Li Peng later formally became premier in April 1988. In 1964 after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru , the first Prime Minister of India , then Minister of Home Affairs Gulzarilal Nanda served as the acting prime minister for thirteen days, till

648-509: The US House of Representatives from 1916 to 1993, 84% of the widows won, while only 14% of other women were victorious. The trend was strongest when women were rarer in politics; 35 of the 95 women who served in Congress through 1976 were congressional wives first. Political scientist Diane Kincaid wrote that "statistically, at least, for women aspiring to serve in Congress, the best husband has been

684-407: The absence of a prime minister, Forde, Page and McEwen were officially commissioned by the governor general and took the oath of office; they are considered prime ministers in their own right. In Canada, the deputy prime minister —a position that is not always in use—becomes acting head of government in the event that the prime minister is absent from Canada or incapacitated. Prior to the creation of

720-399: The appointment of Lal Bahadur Shastri as prime minister. In 1966 Nanda again served as the acting prime minister for thirteen days after the death of Shastri, the second Prime Minister of India, till the appointment of Indira Gandhi as prime minister. The designated acting prime minister takes the role of prime minister as acting prime minister, for up to one hundred consecutive days, if

756-438: The deputy prime minister position, acting prime ministers were routinely appointed when prime ministers were temporarily away from their duties; however, prime ministers typically appointed a different cabinet member each time, rather than designating one specific person as a permanent official "deputy". In February 1958, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker appointed Ellen Fairclough as acting prime minister for two days while he

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792-451: The establishment of the deputy prime minister role, a senior minister would be appointed to act as prime minister when, for example, the incumbent was travelling overseas. In the current era, when both the prime minister and deputy prime minister are unavailable, the next highest-ranking minister who is available will be asked to act as prime minister, until a colleague of higher rank is available again. In Sri Lanka , an acting prime minister

828-581: The event of the death of the Prime Minister. The decision is for her under the Royal Prerogative. However, there are some key guiding principles. The King would probably be looking for a very senior member of the Government (not necessarily a Commons Minister since this would be a short-term appointment). If there was a recognized deputy to the Prime Minister, used to acting on his behalf in his absences, this could be an important factor. Also important would be

864-408: The formation of a new government after the election results are known. Unlike in ordinary times, the caretaker government's activities are limited by custom and convention. In systems where coalition governments are frequent a caretaker government may be installed temporarily while negotiations to form a new coalition take place. This usually occurs either immediately after an election in which there

900-436: The house to which the government is responsible is dissolved, to be in place for an interim period until an election is held and a new government is formed. In this sense, in some countries which use a Westminster system of government, the caretaker government is simply the incumbent government, which continues to operate in the interim period between the normal dissolution of parliament for the purpose of holding an election and

936-492: The incumbent is temporarily incapacitated. Whilst in other countries the term "Acting Prime Minister" only refers to an individual actually performing the role, in Israel the term is also in use when a designated Minister is allocated, even if they never actually perform the role. In New Zealand, the acting prime minister is the designated head of government when the incumbent is not available to fulfill their duties. This includes when

972-405: The latter two from New Jersey . At one time, widows of politicians were often selected as caretakers to succeed their late husbands; in a phenomenon known as "widow’s succession." At the beginning of the 20th century, it was one of the most effective ways of getting women into Congress , even though the widow may have originally only been supposed to act as a placeholder for her dead husband and

1008-493: The office has been seen as second in seniority only to the Prime Minister in the union cabinet. Like Patel, several Home Ministers have since held the additional portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister . As of February 2020, three Home Ministers have gone on to become the Prime Minister: Lal Bahadur Shastri , Charan Singh and P. V. Narasimha Rao . L.K. Advani, serving from 19 March 1998 to 22 May 2004, has held

1044-477: The office of the Home Minister for the longest continuous period, as of February 2020. On several occasions, the Prime Minister also held the additional portfolio of the Minister of Home Affairs. Jawaharlal Nehru briefly acted as home minister in 1950 following the demise of Vallabhbhai Patel, Indira Gandhi briefly served as home minister in 1966 following resignation of Gulzarilal Nanda , Morarji Desai held

1080-400: The portfolio from 1978 till 1979, Chandra Shekhar throughout his prime ministerial tenure and H. D. Deve Gowda briefly served as home minister in 1996. P. Chidambaram who served as the home minister from 2008 till 2012 has the rare distinction of serving as both cabinet minister and minister of state in the ministry. He served as minister of state from 1986 till 1989. The current minister

1116-461: The prime minister is overseas, unwell, or otherwise temporarily unavailable. Typically this position is filled by the Deputy Prime Minister . Hugh Watt , who was then the deputy prime minister, served as acting prime minister for six days, after Norman Kirk died in office in 1974. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was serving as acting prime minister as of 21 June 2018 until 2 August 2018, while Jacinda Ardern took maternity leave. Prior to

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1152-534: The question of who was likely to be in contention to take over long-term as Prime Minister. If the most senior member of the Government was him or herself a contender for the role of Prime Minister, it might be that The King would invite a slightly less senior non-contender. In these circumstances, her private secretary would probably take soundings, via the Cabinet Secretary, of members of the Cabinet, to ensure that The King invited someone who would be acceptable to

1188-550: The sudden death of the prime minister. There is also no such title as Acting Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Despite refusing "...to discuss a hypothetical situation" with BBC News in 2011, the Cabinet Office is said to have said in 2006: There is no single protocol setting out all of the possible implications. However, the general constitutional position is as set out below. There can be no automatic assumption about who The King would ask to act as caretaker Prime Minister in

1224-426: Was absent from his duties; Fairclough was historically noteworthy as the first woman ever given the duty. After the death of Zhou Enlai , the first Premier of the State Council , then Vice Premier Hua Guofeng served as acting premier of the State Council. Hua Guofeng became Premier of the State Council after serving as acting premier of the State Council for two months. After Zhao Ziyang resigned as Premier of

1260-417: Was only expected to serve for a brief period. The widows may have been selected to honor the deceased member, tap voters’ sympathy, or exploit name recognition to hold onto a seat while more conventional candidates prepared for the real campaign. It also may have helped some of the women grieve and make up for the sudden loss of income in a world where few worked outside the home. Among first-time candidates for

1296-617: Was still the norm, it was not uncommon for there to be an acting prime minister for months on end. The deputy prime minister is usually designated as the acting prime minister, although another senior member of the government may fill the role if both the prime minister and deputy prime minister are unavailable. An acting prime minister is required quite frequently – for instance, between 3 December 2007 and 23 February 2009 (during Kevin Rudd 's first term), Julia Gillard acted as prime minister on 16 separate occasions. The term acting prime minister

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