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Taoiseach
Incumbent Simon Harris since 9 April 2024
Executive branch of the Irish Government Department of the Taoiseach
Style	Template:Lang-ga
Type	Head of government
Member of	Dáil Éireann Cabinet Council of State British–Irish Council European Council
Reports to	Oireachtas
Residence	None
Seat	Government Buildings, Merrion Street, Dublin, Ireland
Nominator	Dáil Éireann
Appointer	President of Ireland
Term length	While commanding the confidence of the majority of Dáil Éireann. No term limits are imposed on the office.
Precursor	President of the Executive Council
Formation	29 December 1937
First holder	Éamon de Valera
Deputy	Tánaiste
Salary	€230,372 annually (2023) (including €107,376 salary as a TD)
Website	Department of the Taoiseach

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The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office-holder must retain the support of a majority in the Dáil to remain in office.

The Irish word taoiseach means "chief" or "leader", and was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title of the "head of the Government or Prime Minister". It is the official title of the head of government in both English and Irish, and is not used for the prime ministers of other countries, who are instead referred to in Irish by the generic term príomh-aire. The phrase an Taoiseach is sometimes used in an otherwise English-language context, and means the same as "the Taoiseach".

The incumbent Taoiseach is Simon Harris, TD, leader of Fine Gael, who took office on 9 April 2024 following the resignation of Leo Varadkar and under a planned rotation as part of the coalition agreement between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party. Varadkar held the post from December 2022 and Micheál Martin, TD held the post from June 2020 until December 2022 as part of that agreement. Varadkar tendered his resignation as Taoiseach to the President on 8 April 2024; He was succeeded by Simon Harris the next day after his Dáil election and appointment, becoming the youngest officeholder in state history.

Overview

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Under the Constitution of Ireland, the Taoiseach is nominated by a simple majority of the voting members of Dáil Éireann. They are then formally appointed to office by the President, who is required to appoint whomever the Dáil designates, without the option of declining to make the appointment. For this reason, the Taoiseach may, informally, be said to have been "elected" by Dáil Éireann.

If the Taoiseach loses the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann, they are not automatically removed from office. Instead, they are compelled either to resign or to persuade the President to dissolve the Dáil and call new elections. If the President "in his absolute discretion" refuses to grant a dissolution, this effectively forces the Taoiseach to resign. To date, no President has ever refused a dissolution, although the option to exercise this prerogative arose in 1944 and 1994, and twice in 1982. The Taoiseach may lose the support of Dáil Éireann by the passage of a vote of no confidence, or implicitly, through the failure of a vote of confidence. Alternatively, the Dáil may refuse supply. In the event of the Taoiseach's resignation, they continue to exercise the duties and functions of office until the appointment of a successor.

The Taoiseach nominates the remaining members of the Government, who are then, with the consent of the Dáil, appointed by the President. The Taoiseach is authorised to advise the President to dismiss cabinet ministers from office; by convention the President follows this advice. The Taoiseach is further responsible for appointing eleven members of the Seanad.

The Department of the Taoiseach is the government department which supports and advises the Taoiseach in carrying out their various duties. The Taoiseach is assisted by one or more Ministers of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, one of whom is the Government Chief Whip.

Salary

Since 2013, the Taoiseach's annual salary is €185,350. It was cut from €214,187 to €200,000 when Enda Kenny took office, before being cut further to €185,350 under the Haddington Road Agreement in 2013.

A proposed increase of €38,000 in 2007 was deferred when Brian Cowen became Taoiseach and in October 2008, the government announced a 10% salary cut for all ministers, including the Taoiseach. However this was a voluntary cut and the salaries remained nominally the same with both ministers and Taoiseach essentially refusing 10% of their salary. This caused controversy in December 2009 when a salary cut of 20% was based on the higher figure before the refused amount was deducted. The Taoiseach is also allowed an additional €118,981 in annual expenses.

Residence

There is no official residence of the Taoiseach. In 2008, it was reported speculatively that the former Steward's Lodge at Farmleigh adjoining the Phoenix Park would become the official residence of the Taoiseach. However, no official statements were made nor any action taken. The house, which forms part of the Farmleigh estate acquired by the State in 1999 for €29.2 million, was renovated at a cost of nearly €600,000 in 2005 by the Office of Public Works. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did not use it as a residence, but his successor Brian Cowen used it occasionally, as did later Taoisigh Enda Kenny and Leo Varadkar, who each paid €50 per night for the use of the house to avoid benefit-in-kind tax being levied on them for use of the house as a grace and favour mansion.

Salute

"Mór Chluana" ("More of Cloyne") is a traditional air collected by Patrick Weston Joyce in 1873. "Amhrán Dóchais" ("Song of Hope") is a poem written by Osborn Bergin in 1913. John A. Costello chose the air as his musical salute. The salute is played by army bands on the arrival of the Taoiseach at state ceremonies. Though the salute is often called "Amhrán Dóchais", Brian Ó Cuív argued "Mór Chluana" is the correct title.

History

Origins and etymology

The words Taoiseach and Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) are both from the Irish language and of ancient origin. Though the Taoiseach is described in the Constitution of Ireland as "the head of the Government or Prime Minister", its literal translation is 'chieftain' or 'leader'. Although Éamon de Valera, who introduced the title in 1937, was a democratic politician who had in the past associated with paramilitaries, some have remarked that the meaning 'leader' in 1937 made the title similar to the titles of fascist dictators of the time, such as Führer (for Adolf Hitler), Duce (for Benito Mussolini) and Caudillo (for Francisco Franco). Tánaiste, in turn, refers to the system of tanistry, the Gaelic system of succession whereby a leader would appoint an heir apparent while still living.

In Scottish Gaelic, tòiseach translates as 'clan chief' and both words originally had similar meanings in the Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland. The related Welsh language word tywysog (current meaning: 'prince') has a similar origin and meaning. It is hypothesised that both derive ultimately from the proto-Celtic *towissākos 'chieftain, leader'.

The plural of taoiseach is taoisigh (Northern and Western Irish: [ˈt̪ˠiːʃiː], Southern: [ˈt̪ˠiːʃɪɟ]).

Although the Irish form An Taoiseach is sometimes used in English instead of 'the Taoiseach', the English version of the Constitution states that they "shall be called … the Taoiseach".

Debate on the title

In 1937 when the draft Constitution of Ireland was being debated in the Dáil, Frank MacDermot, an opposition politician, moved an amendment to substitute "Prime Minister" for the proposed "Taoiseach" title in the English text of the Constitution. It was proposed to keep the "Taoiseach" title in the Irish language text. The proponent remarked:

It seems to me to be mere make-believe to try to incorporate a word like "Taoiseach" in the English language. It would be pronounced wrongly by 99 percent of the people. I have already ascertained it is a very difficult word to pronounce correctly. That being so, even for the sake of the dignity of the Irish language, it would be more sensible that when speaking English we should be allowed to refer to the gentleman in question as the Prime Minister... It is just one more example of the sort of things that are being done here as if for the purpose of putting off the people in the North. No useful purpose of any kind can be served by compelling us, when speaking English, to refer to An Taoiseach rather than to the Prime Minister.

The President of the Executive Council, Éamon de Valera, gave the term's meaning as "chieftain" or "Captain". He said he was "not disposed" to support the proposed amendment and felt the word "Taoiseach" did not need to be changed. The proposed amendment was defeated on a vote and "Taoiseach" was included as the title ultimately adopted by plebiscite of the people.

Modern office

The modern position of Taoiseach was established by the 1937 Constitution of Ireland and is the most powerful role in Irish politics. The office replaced the position of President of the Executive Council of the 1922–1937 Irish Free State.

The positions of Taoiseach and President of the Executive Council differed in certain fundamental respects. Under the Constitution of the Irish Free State, the latter was vested with considerably less power and was largely just the chairman of the cabinet, the Executive Council. For example, the President of the Executive Council could not dismiss a fellow minister on his own authority. Instead, the Executive Council had to be disbanded and reformed entirely to remove a member. The President of the Executive Council also did not have the right to advise the Governor-General to dissolve Dáil Éireann on his own authority, that power belonging collectively to the Executive Council.

In contrast, the Taoiseach created in 1937 possesses a much more powerful role. The holder of the position can both advise the President to dismiss ministers and dissolve Parliament on his own authority—advice that the President is almost always required to follow by convention. His role is greatly enhanced because under the Constitution, he is both de jure and de facto chief executive. In most other parliamentary democracies, the head of state is at least the nominal chief executive, while being bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet. In Ireland, however, executive power is explicitly vested in the Government, of which the Taoiseach is the leader.

Since the Taoiseach is the head of government, and may remove ministers at will, many of the powers specified, in law or the constitution, to be exercised by the government as a collective body, are in reality at the will of the Taoiseach. The Government almost always backs the Taoiseach in major decisions, and in many cases often merely formalises that decision at a subsequent meeting after it has already been announced. Nevertheless, the need for collective decision making on paper acts as a safeguard against an unwise decision made by the Taoiseach.

Generally, where there have been multi-party or coalition governments, the Taoiseach has been the leader of the largest party in the coalition. One exception to this was John A. Costello, who was not leader of his party, but an agreed choice to head the government, because the other parties refused to accept then Fine Gael leader Richard Mulcahy as Taoiseach. In 2011 Taoiseach Brian Cowen, resigned as party leader and was succeeded by Micheál Martin, but continued as Taoiseach until the formation of a new government following a general election.

List of office holders

Before the enactment of the 1937 Constitution, the head of government was the President of the Executive Council. This office was first held by W. T. Cosgrave of Cumann na nGaedheal from 1922 to 1932, and then by Éamon de Valera of Fianna Fáil from 1932 to 1937. By convention, Taoisigh are numbered to include Cosgrave; therefore, Micheál Martin is considered the 15th Taoiseach, not the 14th.

#	Portrait	Name	Term of office		Party	Deputy	Election
1		W. T. Cosgrave (1880–1965)	6 December 1922	9 March 1932	Cumann na nGaedheal	Kevin O'Higgins Ernest Blythe	19231927
2		Éamon de Valera (1882–1975)	9 March 1932	18 February 1948	Fianna Fáil	Seán T. O'Kelly	19331937
3		John A. Costello (1891–1976)	18 February 1948	13 June 1951	Fine Gael	William Norton	1948
4		Éamon de Valera (1882–1975)	13 June 1951	2 June 1954	Fianna Fáil	Seán Lemass	1951
5		John A. Costello (1891–1976)	2 June 1954	20 March 1957	Fine Gael	William Norton	1954
6		Éamon de Valera (1882–1975)	20 March 1957	23 June 1959	Fianna Fáil	Seán Lemass	1957
7		Seán Lemass (1899–1971)	23 June 1959	10 November 1966	Fianna Fáil	Frank Aiken	1961
8		Jack Lynch (1917–1999)	10 November 1966	14 March 1973	Fianna Fáil
						Erskine H. Childers	19651969
9		Liam Cosgrave (1920–2017)	14 March 1973	5 July 1977	Fine Gael	Brendan Corish	1973
10		Jack Lynch (1917–1999)	5 July 1977	11 December 1979	Fianna Fáil	George Colley	1977
11		Charles Haughey (1925–2006)	11 December 1979	30 June 1981	Fianna Fáil
12		Garret FitzGerald (1926–2011)	30 June 1981	9 March 1982	Fine Gael	Michael O'Leary	1981
13		Charles Haughey (1925–2006)	9 March 1982	14 December 1982	Fianna Fáil	Ray MacSharry	Feb.1982
14		Garret FitzGerald (1926–2011)	14 December 1982	10 March 1987	Fine Gael	Dick Spring Peter Barry	Nov.1982
15		Charles Haughey (1925–2006)	10 March 1987	11 February 1992	Fianna Fáil	Brian Lenihan John Wilson	19871989
16		Albert Reynolds (1932–2014)	11 February 1992	15 December 1994	Fianna Fáil
						Dick Spring Bertie Ahern	1992
17		John Bruton (1947–2024)	15 December 1994	26 June 1997	Fine Gael	Dick Spring
18		Bertie Ahern (b. 1951)	26 June 1997	7 May 2008	Fianna Fáil	Mary Harney Michael McDowell Brian Cowen	199720022007
19		Brian Cowen (b. 1960)	7 May 2008	9 March 2011	Fianna Fáil	Mary Coughlan
20		Enda Kenny (b. 1951)	9 March 2011	14 June 2017	Fine Gael	Eamon Gilmore Joan Burton Frances Fitzgerald	20112016
21		Leo Varadkar (b. 1979)	14 June 2017	27 June 2020	Fine Gael	Simon Coveney
22		Micheál Martin (b. 1960)	27 June 2020	17 December 2022	Fianna Fáil	Leo Varadkar	2020
23		Leo Varadkar (b. 1979)	17 December 2022	9 April 2024	Fine Gael	Micheál Martin
24		Simon Harris (b. 1986)	9 April 2024	Incumbent	Fine Gael

Timeline

Further reading

• Farrell, Brian (1971). Chairman or Chief?: The Role of the Taoiseach in Irish Government. Gill & Macmillan.
• O'Malley, Eoin (2012). "The Apex of Government: Cabinet and Taoiseach in operation". In O'Malley, Eoin; MacCarthaigh, Muiris (eds.). Governing Ireland: From cabinet government to delegated governance. Dublin: IPA..
• Gwynn Morgan, David (8 March 2016). "What exactly is a caretaker taoiseach?". The Irish Times.

Biographies

Biographies are also available of de Valera, Lemass, Lynch, Cosgrave, FitzGerald, Haughey, Reynolds and Ahern. FitzGerald wrote an autobiography, while an authorised biography was produced of de Valera.

Some biographies and memoirs of former Taoisigh and presidents of the Executive Council:

• Tim Pat Coogan, Éamon de Valera
• John Horgan, Seán Lemass
• Brian Farrell, Seán Lemass
• T. P. O'Mahony, Jack Lynch: A Biography
• T. Ryle Dwyer, Nice Fellow: A Biography of Jack Lynch
• Stephen Collins, The Cosgrave Legacy
• Garret FitzGerald, All in a Life
• Garret FitzGerald, Just Garret: Tales from the Political Frontline
• Raymond Smith, Garret: The Enigma
• T. Ryle Dwyer, Short Fellow: A Biography of Charles Haughey
• Martin Mansergh, Spirit of the Nation: The Collected Speeches of Haughey
• Joe Joyce & Peter Murtagh The Boss: Charles Haughey in Government
• Tim Ryan, Albert Reynolds: The Longford Leader
• Albert Reynolds, My Autobiography
• Bertie Ahern, My Autobiography

See also

• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• Records of Irish heads of government since 1922
• Irish heads of government since 1919

Notes

1. ^ Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision reads: "The head of the Government, or Prime Minister, shall be called, and is in this Constitution referred to as, the Taoiseach."
2. The Taoiseach has no official residence, with each taoiseach residing in their own home. They may use the State Guest House at Steward's Lodge in Phoenix Park for official state functions
3. ^ Before the enactment of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, the head of government was referred to as the President of the Executive Council. This office was first held by W. T. Cosgrave from 1922 to 1932, and then by Éamon de Valera from 1932 to 1937.
4. Pronounced /ˈtiːʃəx/ , Irish: [ˈt̪ˠiːʃəx]. The plural Taoisigh is pronounced /ˈtiːʃi/ TEE-shee, Irish: [ˈt̪ˠiːʃiː].
5. Pronounced /priːˈvɛərə/, Irish: [ˌpʲɾʲiːw ˈaɾʲə].
6. The Dáil refused supply in January 1982, when the then Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition government of Garret FitzGerald lost a vote on the budget.
7. John Frederick Vaughan Campbell Cawdor (1742). Cosmo, Innes (ed.). The book of the thanes of Cawdor: a series of papers selected from the charter room at Cawdor. 1236–1742, Volume 1236, Issue 1742. Spalding Club. p. xiii. Retrieved 23 June 2013. As we cannot name the first Celtic chieftain who consented to change his style of Toshach and his patriarchal sway for the title and stability of King's Thane of Cawdor, so it is impossible to fix the precise time when their ancient property and offices were acquired.
8. "Tartan Details – Toshach". Scottish Register of Tartans. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013. Toshach is an early Celtic title given to minor territorial chiefs in Scotland (note Eire Prime Minister's official title is this).
9. John Thomas Koch (2006), Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, p. 1062, ISBN 1851094407, An early word meaning 'leader' appears on a 5th- or 6th-century inscribed stone as both ogam Irish and British genitive TOVISACI: tywysog now means 'prince' in Welsh, the regular descriptive title used for Prince Charles, for example; while in Ireland, the corresponding Taoiseach is now the correct title, in both Irish and English, for the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic (Éire).
10. Notable ministerial dismissals include those of Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney during the Arms Crisis in 1970, Brian Lenihan in 1990, Albert Reynolds, Pádraig Flynn and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn in 1991, and Barry Cowen in 2020.

References

1. "Former Taoisigh". www.gov.ie. Government of Ireland. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
2. ^ "Salaries, Houses of the Oireachtas". Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
3. "Taoiseach". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020.
4. "Cabinet members receive seals of office after reshuffle". RTÉ.ie. 9 April 2024. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
5. "Cabinet members receive seals of office after reshuffle". RTÉ.ie. 9 April 2024. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
6. Constitution of Ireland, Article 13.1.2°.
7. "RTE Election 2007". RTÉ.ie. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
8. O'Connell, Hugh (4 July 2013). "The Taoiseach, Ministers and every TD are having their pay cut today". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
9. "Taoiseach to receive €38k pay rise". RTÉ News. 25 October 2007. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
10. "Sharp exchanges in Dáil over Budget". RTÉ News. 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
11. Kelly, Fiach (10 December 2009). "Opposition says Lenihan's salary cuts do not add up". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 23 December 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
12. Quinlan, Ronald (18 May 2008). "Opulent Phoenix Park lodge is set to become 'Fortress Cowen'". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
13. O'Regan, Michael (29 January 2009). "Cowen questioned on use of Farmleigh". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
14. Coyle, Colin (3 September 2023). "Over €87,000 spent upgrading underused Steward's Lodge in Dublin's Phoenix Park". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
15. "P. W. Joyce: Ancient Irish Music » 47 – Mór Chluana". Na Píobairí Uilleann. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
16. ^ "Joyce, Patrick Weston (1827–1914)". Ainm.ie (in Irish). Cló Iar-Chonnacht. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
17. ^ Ó Cuív, Brian (1 April 2010). "Irish language and literature, 1845–1921". In W. E. Vaughan (ed.). Ireland Under the Union, 1870–1921. A New History of Ireland. Vol. VI. Oxford University Press. p. 425. ISBN 9780199583744. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
18. "Amhrán Dóchais". Contemporary Music Centre. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
19. ^ "Youth Zone School Pack" (PDF). Department of the Taoiseach. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
20. McCarthy, John-Paul (10 January 2010). "WT became the most ruthless of them all". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016. While Taoiseach itself carried with it some initially unpleasant assonances with Caudillo, Fuhrer and Duce, all but one of the 12 men who wielded the prime ministerial sceptre have managed to keep their megalomaniacal tendencies in check.
21. Quigley, Martin (1944). Great Gaels: Ireland at Peace in a World at War. p. 18. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2016. Eamon de Valera is An Taoiseach or "boss Gael." That title goes considerably beyond the English "prime minister" or the American "president." It is the Gaelic equivalent of the German "Fuehrer," the Italian "Duce" and the Spanish "Caudillo."  Published in New York, 1944 (publisher not identified); Original from University of Minnesota; Digitised 6 May 2016
22. Administration – Volume 18. IPA. 1970. p. 153. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2016. ... and let alone the names of the Prime Minister (the Taoiseach, a word that is related to Duce, Fuhrer, and Caudillo) (translated from the original Irish: ... agus fiú amháin ainmeacha an Phríomh-Aire (An Taoiseach, focal go bhfuil gaol aige le Duce, Fuhrer, agus Caudillo)Original from the University of California; Digitised 6 December 2006
23. Robertson, E. William (2004). Scotland Under Her Early Kings: A History of the Kingdom to the Close of the Thirteenth Century Part One. Kessinger Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 9781417946075. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
24. "DSL – SND1 TOISEACH". Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
25. Sims-Williams, Patrick (Summer 1992). "The Additional Letters of the Ogam Alphabet". Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies. 23: 48. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
26. Bolling, George Melville; Bloch, Bernard (27 June 1968). "Language". Linguistic Society of America. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2020 – via Google Books.
27. "Statement by An Taoiseach on the death of Cardinal Desmond Connell". Department of the Taoiseach. 9 February 2017. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017. The Taoiseach has learnt with regret …
28. Frank Mr. MacDermot of the National Centre Party – Bunreacht na hÉireann (Dréacht)—Coiste (Ath-thógaint) – Wednesday, 26 May 1937; Dáil Éireann Debate Vol. 67 No. 9 Archived 22 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
29. – Bunreacht na hÉireann (Dréacht)—Coiste (Ath-thógaint) – Wednesday, 26 May 1937; Dáil Éireann Debate Vol. 67 No. 9 Archived 22 November 2014 at archive.today.
30. "Coughlan new Tánaiste in Cowen Cabinet". The Irish Times. 17 May 2008. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
31. "Taoiseach reveals new front bench". RTÉ News. 7 May 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
32. "Cowen confirmed as Taoiseach". BreakingNews.ie. 7 May 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
33. "Former Taoisigh". Government of Ireland. November 2018. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

External links

• Official website

• Taoisigh
• 1937 establishments in Ireland
• Government ministers of the Republic of Ireland
• Heads of government
• Lists of political office-holders in the Republic of Ireland
• Lists of prime ministers by country
• Titles of national or ethnic leadership
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