Chief executive (gubernatorial)
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Chief executive is a term used for presidential or prime ministerial powers given by a constitution or basic law, which allows its holder to implement policy, supervise the executive branch of government, prepare an executive budget for submission to the legislature, and appoint and remove executive officials. Depending on the specific constitution, they may also be able to veto laws, dissolve the legislature or submit their own bills to the legislature.
It is also used to refer to certain gubernatorial offices, expressing the nature of their job being analogous to a head of government. While in most cases there is another specific style, such as president, governor-general, governor, lieutenant-governor, administrator, high commissioner, commissioner, premier, or minister-president, there are a few offices formally styled chief executive:
- In the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, which were previously under British and Portuguese rule until the transfer of sovereignty in the late 20th century, the chief executive are the political and executive leaders of the regions and of their respective governments:
| Title | Created | Superseded / defunct |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive of Hong Kong | 1997 | Governor of Hong Kong |
| Chief Executive of Macau | 1999 | Governor of Macau |
- In Northern Ireland, the chief executive refers to the leader of the Northern Ireland Executive, the devolved government of Northern Ireland for five months in 1974.
- In Mauritius, since 12 October 2002, autonomy was granted to the island of Rodrigues, resulting in the creation of its own chief executive.
- While not a government, the Ross Dependency, part of the Realm of New Zealand, is a Crown entity managed by a board of directors and the chair acts as the chief executive. The board reports to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
- The head of government in the Falkland Islands is known as the chief executive.
- Historically, the head of government of the Ryukyu Islands was known as the ehief executive. The functions were largely superseded by that of the Governor of Okinawa Prefecture upon retrocession of the islands to Japan as a prefecture.