The older the constitution, the more constitutional leeway tends to exist for a head of state to exercise greater powers over government, as many older parliamentary system constitutions in fact give heads of state powers and functions akin to presidential or semi-presidential systems, in some cases without containing reference to modern democratic principles of accountability to parliament or even to modern governmental offices.

In a minority of systems, notably in semi-presidential systems of government, a prime minister is the official who is appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives of the head of state.

Typically in presidential and semi-presidential systems the president is directly elected by the people, or is indirectly elected as done in the United States.

In semi-presidential systems, the Head of Government may answer to both the Head of State and the legislative power ( such as parliament ).

Consequently, they often play a ' day to day ' role in parliament, answering questions and defending the government on the ' floor of the House ', while in semi-presidential systems they may not be required to play as much of a role in the functioning of parliament.

France swung between different styles of presidential, semi-presidential and parliamentary systems of government ; parliamentary systems under Louis XVIII, Charles X, the July Monarchy under Louis Philippe, King of the French and the Third Republic and Fourth Republic, though the extent of full parliamentary control differed in each, from one extreme under Charles X ( a strong head of state ) to full parliamentary control ( under the Third Republic ).

Federal executive departments are analogous to ministries common in parliamentary or semi-presidential systems but, with the United States being a presidential system, their heads otherwise equivalent to ministers, do not form a government ( in a parliamentary sense ) nor are they led by a head of government separate from the head of state.

When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes " president for life ".

Cohabitation in government occurs in semi-presidential systems, such as France's system, when the President is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament.

Cohabitation thus only occurs in systems that have both parliamentary government ( i. e. ministers accountable to parliament ) and a directly-elected executive president, i. e. semi-presidential systems.

The above examples notwithstanding, executive presidencies are found in presidential systems and semi-presidential systems.

In parliamentary and some semi-presidential systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.

In most parliamentary and semi-presidential systems of government, ministers are selected from the elected legislature.

In republics with a parliamentary system ( such as India, Germany, Austria, Italy and Israel ) the head of state is usually titled " president " or its equivalent, but the main functions of such a president are ceremonial, as opposed to the president in a presidential or semi-presidential system.

Some republicans propose an executive presidency, a semi-presidential system, a federal council or other constitutional reforms, such as citizen-initiated referenda.

A number, such as the Eighth of 1985, which changed the government from a parliamentary system to a semi-presidential system, served to expand the powers of the executive at the expense of parliament and the courts.

This was seen several times in France, a country that shares the semi-presidential model.

Charles de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, established the semi-presidential system in France.

Variants of the French semi-presidential system, developed at the beginning of the Fifth Republic by Charles de Gaulle, are used in France, Finland, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka and several post-colonial countries which have emulated the French model.

While analysing the political system of France, he coined the term semi-presidential system.

France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system.

More specifically, cohabitation refers to a political situation which can occur in countries with a semi-presidential system ( especially France ), where the president and the prime minister belong to opposed political camps.

Politics of Pakistan () have taken place in the framework of a federal republic, where the system of government has at times been parliamentary, presidential, or semi-presidential.

Politics in the Syrian Arab Republic takes place in the framework of what is officially a semi-presidential republic, but what the CIA consider " a republic under an authoritarian regime " where the power is in the hands of the President of Syria and his family, all members of the ruling Arab Socialist Ba ' ath Party which is a cell of the Syrian-led Ba ' ath Party ( established in 1966 when the original Ba ' ath Party was dissolved and split into two ).

Madagascar is a semi-presidential representative democratic multi-party republic, wherein the popularly elected president is the head of state and selects a prime minister, who recommends candidates to the president to form his cabinet of ministers.

It restored the semi-presidential system of government of the December 1992 constitution ( Third Republic ) in which the president of the republic, elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term, and a prime minister named by the president share executive power.

The Weimar Constitution created a semi-presidential system in which power was divided between the president, a cabinet and a parliament.

The Weimar constitution created a semi-presidential system in which power was divided between the president, a cabinet and a parliament.

Moreover, the president accused the ruling party of ignoring presidential vetoes and of attempting to replace the semi-presidential system with a parliamentary regime without executive powers for the head of state.

Politics of Northern Cyprus takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is head of state and the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system.

It is alleged that the increased personalisation of leadership in a number of states has led to prime ministers becoming themselves " semi-presidential " figures, due in part to: media coverage of politics that focuses on the leader and his or her mandate, rather than on parliament ; and to the increasing centralisation of power in the hands of the Prime minister.

During his term as prime minister, the Constitution of Croatia was amended, turning Croatia from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary democracy and granting more power to the parliament and prime minister.

In the 1870s in the United States, in the aftermath of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and his near-removal from office, it was speculated that the United States, too, would move from a presidential system to a semi-presidential or even parliamentary one, with the Speaker of the House of Representatives becoming the real center of government as a quasi-prime minister.

The constitution, adopted by referendum in 2005, and promulgated by President Joseph Kabila in February 2006, establishes a decentralized semi-presidential republic, with a separation of powers between the three branches of government-executive, legislative and judiciary, and a distribution of prerogatives between the central government and the provinces.

The semi-presidential system has been described by some as " conflictogenic " and " dictatogenic ", as it ensures frictions, and a reduction of pace in government life, should the President and the Prime Minister be from different sides of the political arena.

The politics of Egypt is based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government.

Politics of Guinea-Bissau takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic in transition, whereby the President is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government, and of a multi-party system.

Politics of Guyana takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Guyana is the head of government, and of a multi-party system.

# The semi-presidential system, in which the head of state shares exercise with a head of government ; and

The Politics of Kenya take place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Kenya is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system.

Politics of Niger takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Niger is head of state and the Prime Minister of Niger head of government, and of a multi-party system.

According to the Constitution of Russia, the country is a federation and semi-presidential republic, wherein the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government.

Politics of Romania take place in a framework of a semi-presidential parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Romania is the head of government and the President of Romania exercises the functions of head of state.

Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state which is governed by a semi-presidential system with its official seat of government in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, the capital.

The politics of São Tomé and Príncipe takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of São Tomé and Príncipe is head of state and the Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe is head of government, and of a multi-party system.

The politics of the Republic of China ( ROC ) takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is head of state and the Premier ( President of the Executive Yuan ) is head of government, and of a dominant party system.

The politics of Zimbabwe takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government.

Politics of Madagascar takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Madagascar is head of state and the Prime Minister of Madagascar is head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system.

The government of Haiti is a semi-presidential republic, a multiparty system wherein the President of Haiti is head of state elected directly by popular elections.

Evidence of this semi-presidential attitude was the minority government of Toivo M. Kivimäki, which survived for 3 years and 10 months ( December 1932-October 1936 ).