Prime Minister of Romania

The prime minister of Romania (Prim-ministrul României), officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania (Prim-ministrul Guvernului României), is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers (Președintele Consiliului de Miniștri), when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called the Council of Ministers (Consiliul de Miniștri). The title was officially changed to Prime Minister by the 1965 Constitution of Romania during the communist regime. The current prime minister is Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), who has been serving since 15 June 2023 onwards as the head of government of the National Coalition for Romania (CNR). One of the roles of the president of the republic is to designate a candidate for the office of prime minister. The president must consult with the party that has the majority in the Parliament or, if no such majority exists, with the parties represented in Parliament. Once designated, the candidate assembles a proposal for the governing program and the cabinet. The proposal must be approved by the Parliament within ten days, through a motion of no confidence. Both the program and the cabinet membership are debated by the Parliament in a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The proposal is accepted only if a majority of all deputies and senators approves. Once the vote of confidence is obtained, the candidate becomes the prime minister and all cabinet members become ministers. The prime minister, the ministers, and other members of the Government take an oath before the president, as stipulated under Article 82 of the Constitution. The Government as a whole and each of its members exercise their mandate from the date of the oath. The prime minister directs the actions of the government and co-ordinates the activities of its members. The prime minister submits to the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate reports and statements on Government policy, to be debated.