Prime Minister of Aspen

Prime Minister of Aspen
Prime Minister of Aspen
	Lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Aspen
	Government Flag
	Incumbent; Vacant; since January 23, 2023
Style	Prime Minister ; (informal); His Excellency; (diplomatic)
Member of	Government of Aspen
Reports to	Riksdag
Residence	Slott Kessenpik
Seat	Küngsháfn
Nominator	Riksdag
Appointer	King
Term length	No term limit
Constituting instrument	Provisional Government Decree 2021
Precursor	Chancellor
Formation	19 July 2019; 4 years ago
First holder	Cai O'Gorman
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of Aspen (Espenische: Statsminister [ˈstâtsmɪˌnɪstɛr]; literally "Minister of State") is the Head of Government in Aspen. Before 2019 the office of the Prime Minister did not exist, instead, executive power was exercised by the Chancellor, who served solely at the emperor's pleasure. after the Parliament Acts came into force, their chief architect, Cai O'Gorman was named Chancellor and soon afterward the office was transformed into its current state. After the October Reforms of 2020, the Aspen Empire was officially abolished, however, the role, powers, and duties of the Prime Minister largely remained the same under the reformed Kingdom of Aspen.

Officially executive power is vested in the sovereign with the prime minister and the government acting on his or her behalf. However, the Provisional Government Decree of 2021 gave the power to confirm the prime minister and the government to the newly created Riksdag, which had the additional power to nominate an alternate candidate for prime minister.

Adam Johnston, a left-leaning independent, was appointed as prime minister on 27 April 2022 following the resignation of Otto Green and a period of vacancy of 59 days.

History

Although Aspen had been a constitutional monarchy since its establishment in 2018, the powers of the head of government were far different. Under both the Charter of the Aspen Empire and the following 2019 Constitution, the Chancellor was given broad executive and legislative powers, presiding over the Federal Council, having power over appointments, and was directly elected to a four-year term. The emperor, on the other hand, had limited ceremonial powers. This system of a powerful chancellor and limited parliament and monarchy dominated the early period of the Aspen Empire.

After the Parliament Acts were passed in May 2019, the Chancellor took on a far more limited role in government. The Parliament Acts expanded the powers of the legislature and made the Chancellor directly responsible for it. Additionally, the Monarch was given the power to appoint the chancellor rather than simply nominate a candidate for the office. In May 2019 the office of Chancellor was officially transformed into that of Prime Minister, with powers similar to those of the present office.

Appointment

The Prime Minister is proposed by the King but requires the consent of the Riksdag before he can form a government. In the election of the Prime Minister, the proposed candidate is chosen by a secret ballot by the members of the Riksdag, however, if the candidate proposed by the king does not secure a majority of the votes cast, the Federal Assembly may propose a different candidate within ten days of the initial vote. If no candidate receives a majority, then the Riksdag is dissolved and new elections are called.

In practice, the candidate for prime minister is almost always the leader of the majority party or coalition in parliament and thus is guaranteed a majority of votes cast.

Removal

The Prime Minister may be dismissed by the King at any time at the King’s discretion. The Prime minister may also tender his resignation to the King on his initiative. The King may dismiss the entire government, or just the prime minister, retaining the government.

The Prime Minister and government may also be removed by a motion of no confidence, in which case the Riksdag must propose a new candidate for Prime Minister along with the motion of no confidence. Additionally, either the Riksdag may pass a censure motion urging the King to order the resignation of the government, however, unlike a motion of no confidence, a censure motion does not result in the immediate removal of the Prime Minister or Government.

Role

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Aspen is the de facto chief executive of the Kingdom of Aspen and thus has several duties unique to that position. The Prime Minister proposes to the members of the Council of Ministers and chairs the government except in cases when the King chooses to preside. The Prime Minister also nominates deputy prime ministers, however, the position of deputy prime minister does not require parliamentary confirmation and does not immediately succeed to the office of Prime Minister if the Prime Minister dies, resigns, is removed from office, or is rendered incapable of performing the duties of his office.

In addition to administrative roles, the Prime Minister sets the legislative agenda of the Federal Assembly and directs the foreign and domestic policies of the state. The Prime Minister’s signature is also required on royal decrees concerning the organization of state institutions.

List of former Prime Ministers

Chancellors

Name		Party	Term of office		Government
	Cllr Bryce	Independent	28 November 2018	February 2019	N/A
	Cllr Saffron PC	Independent	February 2019	8 May 2019	N/A
Introduction of Parliament Act Passed, 8 May 2019
	Sen. Saffron PC	Independent	8 May 2019	20 May 2019	Saffron Ministry
Vacant
	Suyash Adhikari	Constitutional	23 May 2019	25 May 2019 ’’(Impeached and removed from office)’’	Adhikari Ministry
	Rt Hon. Cai O'Gorman MP	Labour	25 May 2019	19 July 2019	O'Gorman Ministry

Prime Ministers

Portrait	Name	Term of office		Time in Office	Party	Government
	Cai O'Gorman (born 2003)	19 July 2019	25 January 2020	190 Days	Labour	O'Gorman I
	Otto Green (born 2001)	Independent	9 February 2021	7 May 2021	87 Days	Green II
	Cai O'Gorman (born 2003)	31 January 2020	25 February 2020	25 Days	Labour	O'Gorman II
	Thomas Bainbridge (born 1994)	6 September 2020	2 January 2021	118 Days	Liberal Monarchist	Bainbridge I
Caretaker Government - 38 Days
	Otto Green (born 2001)	Independent	9 February 2021	7 May 2021	87 Days	Green II
Caretaker Government - 88 Days
	Robert Smith	3 August 2021	1 October	59 Days	Monarchist & Labour	Smith I
Caretaker Government - 11 Days
	Otto Green (born 2001)	12 October 2021	9 January 2022	89 Days	Communitarian	Green III
Caretaker Government - 108 Days
	Adam Johnston (born 2005)	27 April 2022	23 January 2023	271 Days	Independent	Johnston I
Caretaker Government - 456

References

External links