Premier of North Korea

The premier of North Korea, officially the premier of the Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is the head of government of North Korea and leader of the North Korean Cabinet.

The office was established in 1948, with Kim Il Sung serving as the inaugural premier. During this period, the premiership was the highest state post. In 1972, with the creation of the state of the state president, many of the office's powers were transferred to the presidency and the Central People's Committee. The premier is officially appointed by the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), which also appoints other members of the Cabinet on the nomination of the premier. The premier organizes and leads the Cabinet, and constitutionally represents the government of North Korea. The premier also attends the plenary meetings and the permanent committee meetings of the Cabinet. The incumbent premier is Pak Thae-song, since 29 December 2024.

History Originally, under the 1948 Constitution of the DPRK, the Premier was the highest state post in North Korea and the head of 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, which replaced the premiership as the top state post. The executive presidency was created with Kim in mind, and he transferred to that post soon after the Constitution was promulgated. 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 (, jungmuwon chongni).

After Kim Il Sung died, the post of president remained vacant (officially Kim Il Sung was proclaimed Eternal President) as his son 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 is officially elected by the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), which also has the right to recall the premier. The premier also nominates the candidacies for other members of the Cabinet, including vice premiers, the cabinet chairman, various ministers and other cabinet members, which are then appointed by the SPA. A newly-appointed premier takes an oath of allegiance in the SPA on behalf of other cabinet members.

The premier organizes and oversees the cabinet, and represents the government of North Korea. The premier also attends the plenary meetings and the permanent committee meetings of the Cabinet. The cabinet is charged with executing the policies decided by the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and the office effectively has no policy-making authority of its own.

Until 2019, the Premier was nominally part of a triumvirate overseeing North Korea's executive branch, alongside the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and the President of the State Affairs Commission. According to the constitution, the SAC President, SPA Standing Committee chairman and Premier had powers equivalent to one-third of those of a president's powers in most presidential systems. The SPA Standing Committee chairman conducted foreign relations, the premier handled domestic matters and headed the government, and the SAC President (known as the chairman of the National Defence Commission before 2016) commanded the armed forces. However, the SAC President is constitutionally defined as "the highest post in the state" and the country's supreme leader. In 2019, however, the SAC President was formally defined as the country's head of state.

The Premier ranked as the lowest member of the executive triumvirate: significantly, Kim Jong Il was NDC Chairman without interruption from 1993 until 2011, and Kim Yong-nam was President of the SPA Presidium from 1998 to 2019, while there have been six premiers since Kim Il Sung's death. Kim Tok Hun, the incumbent Premier, has assumed the second-ranking position, while Choe Ryong-hae, Chairman of the SPA Standing Committee, is currently ranked third.

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

No.PortraitNameTerm of officePartyHead of stateSPA Premier of the Cabinet1Kim Il Sung19481972 Workers' Party of North KoreaKim Tu-bong1stWorkers' Party of KoreaChoe Yong-gon 2nd 3rd 4thPremier of the Administration Council 2 Kim Il 1972 1976 Workers' Party of KoreaKim Il Sung5th 3 Pak Song-chol 1976 1977 Workers' Party of Korea4Ri Jong-ok19771984Workers' Party of Korea 6th7th 5 Kang Song-san 1984 1986 Workers' Party of Korea 6 Ri Kun-mo 1986 1988 Workers' Party of Korea8th7Yon Hyong-muk19881992Workers' Party of Korea9th(5)Kang Song-san19921997Workers' Party of KoreaVacant – Hong Song-nam 1997 1998 Workers' Party of KoreaPremier of the Cabinet 8 Hong Song-nam 1998 2003 Workers' Party of KoreaKim Yong-nam 10th 9 Pak Pong-ju 2003 2007 Workers' Party of Korea11th10Kim Yong-il20072010Workers' Party of Korea12th 11 Choe Yong-rim 2010 2013 Workers' Party of Korea(9)Pak Pong-ju20132019Workers' Party of Korea 13th 12 Kim Jae-ryong 2019 2020 Workers' Party of KoreaKim Jong Un14th 13 Kim Tok-hun 2020 2024 Workers' Party of Korea 14 Pak Thae-song 2024 Incumbent Workers' Party of Korea15th

Timeline

Premier of North Korea

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