feudal Japan Sultan in the original case of the Seljuk Turks who made the caliphs of Baghdad their puppets; later both styles were often used for absolute rulers in Nepal Combined heads of state and government In some models the head of state and head of government are one and the same. These include: President (chief executive) An absolute monarch reigning and ruling without a separate principal minister Chief magistrate Führer (used in Nazi Germany for Adolf Hitler) Supreme leader A State Governor in the United States (subnational executives) An alternative formula is a single chief political body (e.g., presidium) which collectively leads the government and provides (e.g. by turns) the ceremonial Head of state. The only state in which this system is currently employed is Switzerland but other countries such as Uruguay have employed it in the past. This system is described as the directorial system. Sultan of Brunei King of Saudi Arabia See Head of state for further explanation of these cases. Parliamentary heads of government In parliamentary systems, government functions along the following lines: The head of government — usually the leader of the majority party or coalition — forms the government, which is answerable to parliament; Full answerability of government to parliament is achieved through The ability of parliament to pass a vote of no confidence. The ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget (or supply); a government is powerless without control of the state finances. In a bicameral system, it is often the so-called lower house (e.g. the British House of Commons) that exercises the major elements of control and oversight; however, in some (e.g. Australia, Italy), the government is constitutionally or by convention answerable to both chambers/Houses of Parliament. All of these requirements directly impact the head of government's role. 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. Appointment In many countries, the head of government is commissioned by the head of state to form a government, on the basis of the strength of party support in the lower house; in some other states, the head of government is directly elected by parliament. Many