Premier of North Korea

Premier of the Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Incumbent
Pak Pong-ju
since 1 April 2013
Inaugural holder Kim Il-sung
Formation 9 September 1948
North Korea
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
North Korea
Government

The Premier of the Cabinet[1] (Chosŏn'gŭl: 총리; Hancha: 總理; MR: Chongni) is nominally the non-executive head of government of North Korea. The office is also alternatively known as Prime Minister of North Korea.[2] The current premier is Pak Pong-ju.[3]

History

Originally, under the 1948 Constitution of the DPRK, the Premier was a very important post and held actual power over the government. Kim Il-sung himself inaugurated the post, keeping it for 24 years until 1972, while the ceremonial role of the head of State rested in the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.

The 1972 Constitution created the post of President of the DPRK for Kim Il-sung, transferring to it all the paramount power. The Premier was now the head of the Administration Council, but most of the powers of the former cabinet were passed to the Central People's Committee, the highest ruling council chaired by the president himself. The first premier after Kim Il-sung was his long-time ally Kim Il. The post was then officially known as Premier of the Administration Council (정무원 총리, jungmuwon chongni).

After Kim Il-sung died, the post of president remained vacant (officially Kim Il-sung was proclaimed Eternal President) as Kim Jong-il planned a new State reorganization. A constitution revision in 1998 abolished both the Central People's Committee and the Administration Council, re-creating the Cabinet.

Functions

The Premier represents and oversees the cabinet, which is charged with executing the policies decided by the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. The office has no policy-making authority of its own.

The Premier is nominally part of a triumvirate overseeing North Korea's executive branch, alongside the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (i.e. the head of State) and the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission (i.e., the commander-in-chief). On paper, each has powers equivalent to one-third of those of a president's powers in most presidential systems. The SPA presidium chairman conducts foreign relations, the premier handles domestic matters and heads the government, and the SAC chairman (known as the chairman of the National Defence Commission before 2016) commands the armed forces. In practice, however, the SAC chairman, which is constitutionally defined as the most pthough it was clear it is the lowest of the three: significantly, Kim Jong-il was NDC Chairman uninterruptedly from 1993 until 2011, and Kim Yong-nam has been President of the SPA Presidium since 1998, while the premiers have often changed.

List of Premiers of North Korea

The following is a list of premiers of North Korea since its founding in 1948.

Premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Premier Term of office Election Head of State
Kim Il-sung
(1912–1994)		 9 September 1948 20 September 1957 1st SPA Kim Tu-bong

(1948-1957)
20 September 1957 23 October 1962 2nd SPA Choe Yong-gon

(1957-1972)
23 October 1962 16 December 1967 3rd SPA
16 December 1967 28 December 1972 4th SPA
Premier of the Administration Council of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Premier Term of office Election Head of State
Kim Il
(1910–1984)		 28 December 1972 29 April 1976 5th SPA Kim Il-sung

(1972-1994)
Pak Song-chol
(1913–2008)		 29 April 1976 16 December 1977
Ri Jong-ok
(1916–1999)		 16 December 1977 6 April 1982 6th SPA
6 April 1982 27 January 1984 7th SPA
Kang Song-san
(1931–2007)		 27 January 1984 29 December 1986
Ri Kun-mo
(1926–2001)		 29 December 1986 12 December 1988 8th SPA
Yon Hyong-muk
(1931–2005)		 12 December 1988 24 May 1990
24 May 1990 11 December 1992 9th SPA
Kang Song-san
(1931–2007)		 11 December 1992 21 February 1997
Vacant
(1994-1998)
Hong Song-nam
(1929–2009)		 21 February 1997 5 September 1998
Premier of the Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Premier Term of office Election Head of State
Hong Song-nam
(1929–2009)		 5 September 1998 3 September 2003 10th SPA Kim Yong-nam

(since 1998)
Pak Pong-ju
(born 1939)		 3 September 2003 11 April 2007 11th SPA
Kim Yong-il
(born 1944)		 11 April 2007 9 April 2009
9 April 2009 4 June 2010 12th SPA
Choe Yong-rim
(born 1930)		 4 June 2010 1 April 2013
Pak Pong-ju
(born 1939)		 1 April 2013 9 April 2014
9 April 2014 Present 13th SPA

Vice Premier of North Korea

The Premier is represented by a number of vice premiers,[3] who act as a high-ranking executive assistant to the Premier.

They are: Im Chol-ung, Jon Kwang-ho, Kim Tok-hun, Ko In-ho, Ri Ju-o, Ri Mu-yong, Ri Ryong-nam, Ro Tu-chol, and Tong Jong-ho.[3]

Previous officer holders include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Constitution - The Cabinet". Naenara. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  2. ↑ United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities, p. PA1552, at Google Books
  3. 1 2 3 "Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments: Korea, North - NDE". Central Intelligence Agency. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "N Korea vice-premier 'executed'". 12 August 2015 – via www.bbc.com.
  5. ↑ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "North Korea executes vice premier, says Seoul - DW - 31.08.2016". DW.COM.
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