Parliamentary republic

A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number of variations of parliamentary republics. Most have a clear differentiation between the head of government and the head of state, with the head of government holding real power, much like constitutional monarchies (however in some countries the head of state, regardless of whether the country’s system is a parliamentary republic or a constitutional monarchy, has ‘reserve powers’ given to use at their discretion in order to act as a non-partisan ‘referee’ of the political process and ensure the nation’s constitution is upheld). Some have combined the roles of head of state and head of government, much like presidential systems, but with a dependency upon parliamentary power.

For the first case mentioned above, the form of executive-branch arrangement is distinct from most other governments and semi-presidential republics that separate the head of state (usually designated as the “president”) from the head of government (usually designated as “prime minister”, “premier” or “chancellor”) and subject the latter to the confidence of parliament and a lenient tenure in office while the head of state lacks dependency and investing either office with the majority of executive power.

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In contrast to republics operating under either the presidential system or the semi-presidential system, the head of state usually does not have executive powers as an executive president would (some may have ‘reserve powers’ or a bit more influence beyond that), because many of those powers have been granted to a head of government (usually called a prime minister).

However, in a parliamentary republic with a head of state whose tenure is dependent on parliament, the head of government and head of state can form one office (as in Botswana, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and South Africa), but the president is still selected in much the same way as the prime minister is in most Westminster systems. This usually means that they are the leader of the largest party or coalition of parties in parliament.

In some cases, the president can legally have executive powers granted to them to undertake the day-to-day running of government (as in Austria and Iceland) but by convention they either do not use these powers or they use them only to give effect to the advice of the parliament or head of government. Some parliamentary republics could therefore be seen as following the semi-presidential system but operating under a parliamentary system.

Historical development

Typically, parliamentary republics are states that were previously constitutional monarchies with a parliamentary system, with the position of head of state given to a monarch.

Following the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War, France once again became a republic – the French Third Republic – in 1870. The President of the Third Republic had significantly less executive powers than those of the previous two republics had. The Third Republic lasted until the invasion of France by Nazi Germany in 1940. Following the end of the war, the French Fourth Republic was constituted along similar lines in 1946. The Fourth Republic saw an era of great economic growth in France and the rebuilding of the nation’s social institutions and industry after the war, and played an important part in the development of the process of European integration, which changed the continent permanently. Some attempts were made to strengthen the executive branch of government to prevent the unstable situation that had existed before the war, but the instability remained and the Fourth Republic saw frequent changes in government – there were 20 governments in ten years. Additionally, the government proved unable to make effective decisions regarding decolonization. As a result, the Fourth Republic collapsed and what some critics considered to be a de facto coup d’état, subsequently legitimized by a referendum on 5 October 1958, led to the establishment of the French Fifth Republic in 1959.

Chile became the first parliamentary republic in South America following a civil war in 1891. However, following a coup in 1925 this system was replaced by a Presidential one.

Commonwealth of Nations

Since the London Declaration of 29 April 1949 (just weeks after Ireland declared itself a republic, and excluded itself from the Commonwealth) republics have been admitted as members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In the case of many republics in the Commonwealth of Nations, it was common for the Sovereign, formerly represented by a Governor-General, to be replaced by an elected non-executive head of state. This was the case in South Africa (which ceased to be a member of the Commonwealth immediately upon becoming a republic), Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, India and Vanuatu. In many of these examples, the last Governor-General became the first president. Such was the case with Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Other states became parliamentary republics upon gaining independence.

List of modern parliamentary republics and related systems

Full parliamentary republics
Country	Head of state elected by	Cameral structure	Parliamentary republic adopted	Previous government form	Notes
Albania	Parliament, by three-fifths majority	Unicameral	1991	One-party state
Armenia	Parliament, by absolute majority	Unicameral	2018	Semi-presidential republic
Austria	Direct election, by two-round system	Bicameral	1945	One-party state (as part of Nazi Germany, see Anschluss)
Bangladesh	Parliament	Unicameral	1991	Presidential republic
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Direct election of collective head of state, by first-past-the-post vote	Bicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Yugoslavia)
Bulgaria	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	1991	One-party state
Croatia	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	2000	Semi-presidential republic
Czech Republic	Direct election, by two-round system (since 2013; previously parliament, by majority)	Bicameral	1993	Parliamentary republic (part of Czechoslovakia)
Dominica	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1978	Associated state of the United Kingdom
Estonia	Parliament, by two-thirds majority	Unicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Soviet Union)
Ethiopia	Parliament, by two-thirds majority	Bicameral	1991	One-party state
Fiji	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	2014	Military dictatorship
Finland	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	2000	Semi-presidential republic
Georgia	Electoral college (parliament and regional delegates), by absolute majority	Unicameral	2018	Semi-presidential republic
Germany	Federal Assembly (parliament and state delegates), by absolute majority	Bicameral	1949	One-party state
Greece	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1975	Military dictatorship; constitutional monarchy
Hungary	Parliament, by two-round	Unicameral	1990	One-party state
Iceland	Direct election, by first-past-the-post vote	Unicameral	1944	Constitutional monarchy (in a personal union with Denmark)
India	Parliament and state legislators, by instant-runoff vote	Bicameral	1950	Constitutional monarchy (British Dominion)
Iraq	Parliament, by two-thirds majority	Unicameral	2005	One-party state
Ireland	Direct election, by instant-runoff vote	Bicameral	1949	To 1936: Constitutional monarchy (British Dominion) 1936–1949: ambiguous
Israel	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	2001	Semi-parliamentary republic
Italy	Parliament and region delegates, by absolute majority	Bicameral	1946	Constitutional monarchy	Prime Minister is dependent on the confidence of both of the houses of Parliament.
Kosovo	Parliament, by two-thirds majority; by a simple majority, at the third ballot, if no candidate achieves the aforementioned majority in the first two ballots	Unicameral	2008	UN-administered Kosovo (formally part of Serbia)
Kyrgyzstan	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	2010	Presidential republic
Latvia	Parliament	Unicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Soviet Union)
Lebanon	Parliament	Unicameral	1941	Protectorate (French mandate of Lebanon)
Malta	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1974	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)
Mauritius	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1992	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)
Moldova	Direct election, by two-round system (since 2016; previously by parliament, by three-fifths majority)	Unicameral	2001	Semi-presidential republic
Montenegro	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	1992	One-party state (Part of Yugoslavia, and after Serbia and Montenegro)
Nepal	Parliament and state legislators	Bicameral	2015	Constitutional monarchy
North Macedonia	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Yugoslavia)
Pakistan	Parliament and state legislators, by instant-runoff vote	Bicameral	2010	Semi-presidential republic
Samoa	Parliament	Unicameral	1960	Trust Territory of New Zealand
Serbia	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Yugoslavia, and after Serbia and Montenegro)
Singapore	Direct election (since 1993)	Unicameral	1965	State of Malaysia
Slovakia	Direct election, by two-round system (since 1999; previously by parliament)	Unicameral	1993	Parliamentary Republic (part of Czechoslovakia)
Slovenia	Direct election, by two-round system	Bicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Yugoslavia)
Somalia	Parliament	Bicameral	2012	One-party state
Trinidad and Tobago	Parliament	Bicameral	1976	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)
Vanuatu	Parliament and regional council presidents, by majority	Unicameral	1980	British–French condominium (New Hebrides)
Parliamentary republics with an executive presidency
Country	Head of state elected by	Cameral structure	Parliamentary republic adopted	Previous government form	Notes
Botswana	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1966	British protectorate (Bechuanaland Protectorate)
Kiribati	Direct election, by first-past-the-post vote	Unicameral	1979	Protectorate
Marshall Islands	Parliament	Bicameral	1979	UN Trust Territory (part of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Nauru	Parliament	Unicameral	1968	UN Trusteeship between Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
South Africa	Parliament, by majority	Bicameral	1961	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)	Was a full parliamentary republic from 1961–1984; adopted an executive presidency in 1984.
Assembly-independent systems
Country	Head of state elected by	Cameral structure	Parliamentary republic adopted	Previous government form	Notes
Federated States of Micronesia	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1986	UN Trust Territory (Part of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Myanmar	Parliament, by an electoral college	Bicameral	2010	Military dictatorship
San Marino	Parliament	Unicameral	2010	?	Two collective heads of state and heads of government, the Captains Regent
Suriname	Parliament	Unicameral	1975	Constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Directorial systems
Country	Head of state elected by	Cameral structure	Parliamentary republic adopted	Previous government form	Notes
Switzerland	Parliament by exhaustive ballot at a joint sitting of both houses	Bicameral	1848	Confederation of states	Also has citizen-initiated referenda

List of former parliamentary republics

Country	Became a parliamentary republic	Status changed	Changed to	Reason for change
First Austrian Republic	1920	1929	Semi-presidential system	Constitutional amendment
Belarus	1990	1994	Presidential system	New constitution adopted
Brazil	1961	1963	Presidential system	Referendum
Burma (present-day Myanmar)	1948	1962	Military dictatorship	1962 Burmese coup d’état
Chile	1891	1924	Military junta	1924 Chilean coup d’état
	1925	1925	Presidential system	Constitutional amendment
Republic of China	1947	1991	Semi-presidential system	Constitutional amendment
First Czechoslovak Republic	1920	1939	One-party state	Munich agreement
Third Czechoslovak Republic	1945	1948	One-party state	Coup d’état
Fifth Czechoslovak Republic	1989	1992	State dissolved	Velvet Divorce
French Third Republic	1870	1940	Puppet state	World War II German Occupation
French Fourth Republic	1946	1958	Semi-presidential system	Political instability
Guyana	1970	1980	Presidential system	Constitutional amendment
Hungary	1946	1949	One-party state	Creation of the People’s Republic of Hungary
Indonesia	1945	1959	Presidential system	Constitutional amendment
Israel	1948	1996	Semi-parliamentary system	Constitutional amendment
Second Republic of South Korea	1960	1961	Military junta	May 16 coup
Lithuanian First Republic	1920	1926	One-party state	1926 Lithuanian coup d’état
Nigeria	1963	1966	Military dictatorship (which led in 1979 to the democratic, presidential Second Nigerian Republic)	Coup d’état
Pakistan	1956	1958	Military dictatorship	1958 Pakistani coup d’état
	1973	1978		1977 Pakistani coup d’état
	1988	1999		1999 Pakistani coup d’état
Second Polish Republic	1919	1939	One-party state	Invasion of Poland
First Portuguese Republic	1911	1926	Military dictatorship (which led in 1933 to the Estado Novo One-party state)	May 28 coup
First Philippine Republic (Malolos Republic)	1899	1901	Military dictatorship (De facto United States Colony)	Capture of Emilio Aguinaldo to the American forces
Fourth Philippine Republic	1973	1981	Semi-Presidential Republic (de facto Military dictatorship under Martial Law between 1972 and 1986.)	Constitutional Amendment
Republic of the Congo	1960	1965	Military dictatorship (De facto One-party state)	1965 Congolese coup d’état
Rhodesia	1970	1979	Parliamentary system	Creation of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia
Spanish Republic	1873	1874	Restoration of the monarchy	Restoration
Spanish Republic	1931	1939	Constitutional monarchy	Coup d’état
Sri Lanka	1972	1978	Semi-presidential system	Constitutional amendment
Syrian Republic	1930	1958	One-party state	Creation of the United Arab Republic
Syrian Arab Republic	1961	1963	One-party state	1963 Syrian coup d’état
Transvaal Republic	1852	1902	Colony of the British Empire	Second Boer War
Turkey	1923	2018	Presidential system	Referendum
Uganda	1963	1966	One-party state	Suspension of the constitution
Zimbabwe Rhodesia	1979	1979	Parliamentary system	Reversion to Southern Rhodesia
Zimbabwe	1980	1987	Presidential system	Constitutional amendment