Prime Minister of Gassasinia

Prime Minister of Gassasinia
Incumbent Ahmed al-Rashid since 29 April 2015
Style	The Honourable
Member of	Gassasinian Parliament Gassasinian Cabinet Privy Council
Seat	Prime Minister's Office House
Appointer	Gassasinian Parliament
Term length	Four Years, Renewable Twice
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Gassasinia Act 1979
Inaugural holder	Rita al-Khazen
Formation	1st of March, 1949
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister of Gassasinia
Salary	GSD$875,000
Website	https://ar.pmo.gov.ga https://en.pmo.gov.ga

The prime minister of Gassasinia is the head of government of the Kingdom of Gassasinia. Gassasinian prime ministers are responsible for forming the Cabinet, and for leading the privy council which, amongst other duties, appoints members of the House of Peers. Although the prime minister cannot nominate peers, he can veto privy council nominations for the House of Peers. Prime ministers are styled as The Right Honourable, a privilege which remains even after they have left office.

Gassasinian prime ministers are, as a matter of convention, almost always nominated to the House of Peers. However, as peers must be non-partisan, many former prime ministers opt to remain members of the House of Representatives.

The prime minister of Gassasinia is generally appointed by parliamentary vote from the largest party of parliament. Prime ministers in Gassasinia can be recalled by parliament through a motion of no confidence, and can be impeached by the Supreme Court of Gassasinia.

Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rashid is the 10th and current prime minister of Gassasinia. Ahmed al-Rashid took office from Khalil Barakat after taking over leadship of the Liberal Party and winning the 2015 General Election. After the 2019 General Election, the Liberal Party lost its' majority and formed a coalition government with the Labour Party.

History

The origins of the Gassasinian prime minister lie with the Parliament of Shadoveillian Gassasinia, the predecessor to the Parliament of Gassasinia. Members of Parliament within the Parliament of Shadoveillian Gassasinia were elected by based on qualified franchise from educated Gassasinians, clan sheikhs and Shadoveillian citizens. The prime minister of Shadoveillian Gassasinia was appointed by the Governor of Shadoveillian Gassasinia and approved by parliamentary vote.

On the 1st of March, 1949, the Shadoveillian-Gassasinian parliament under prime minister Rita al-Khazen submitted the "Gassasinian Independence Act 1949", which severed Gassasinia's colonial ties with Shadoveil, annexed the Shadoveillian territories of Jabiyah, Lawdada and al-Nasfan. Following the declaration of independence, King Elias II donated his palace to host the newly formed Parliament and its' prime minister.

Following the formation of the post of Prime Minister of Gassasinia, Rita al-Khazen was appointed by parliament as the first prime minister of Gassasinia. Rita al-Khazen was a notable member of the liberal wing of the Christian Democratic Party and while more conservative members doubted the ability of a woman to lead the country. However, many Gassasinians held a high regard for her role in seeking independence for Gassasinia.

Shortly before the 1953 General Election, prime minister al-Khazen defected from the Christian Democratic Party to the newly formed Liberal and Social Progressive Party, a splinter group made up of the Christian Democratic Party's secularist liberal-leaning wing, and was promptly defeated by Christian Democrat Edward Ghantous.

In 1973, prime minister Andre Khoury and other high-up officials of the Gassasinian government were indicted by the High Court of Gassasinia for a variety of abuses of power including election fraud, blackmail and extortion. Disputes between the army and government started to boil during the 1970's, as the army became dismayed for the government's support of far-right nationalist paramilitary groups. Finally, these disputes would explode when in 1975, the Gassasinian army occupied the Gassasinian parliament and arrested prime minister Khoury.

Following the coup, the Gassasinian parliament dissolved itself, appointing former prime minister Rita al-Khazen as the provisional head-of-government for the provisional parliament which existed between 1975 and 1979. Between 1975 and 1979, the provisional parliament of Gassasinia formed a new constitution and reformed Gassasinia's political system.

The provisional parliament of Gassasinia was dissolved in 1979 after the 1979 General Election, which saw the election of Gassasinia's first fairly elected parliament under a Liberal-Labour coalition lead by prime minister Firoozeh Khoroushi.