The post of prime minister may be encountered both in constitutional monarchies (such as Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Malaysia, Morocco, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), and in parliamentary republics in which the head of state is an elected official (such as Finland ,the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Pakistan, Portugal, Montenegro, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Turkey). See also "First Minister", "Premier", "Chief Minister", "Chancellor", "Taoiseach", "Statsminister" and "Secretary of State": alternative titles usually equivalent in meaning to, or translated as, "prime minister".

Greece, Finland, Romania and Turkey use what kind of government?