ELI5: What is the difference between a prime minister and a president?

A president is usually chosen directly by the people to be the big boss of the whole country, while a prime minister is chosen by the country's lawmaking team to be their team leader.

Imagine your country is like a big school, and the grown-ups need to pick who is in charge of everyday decisions.

A president is like a school principal:

• The students and parents vote directly to pick this specific person.


• The principal is separate from the teachers and has their own office.


• Even if the teachers are unhappy with the principal, the principal usually stays in charge until their time is up.


• Countries like the United States have a president who makes big choices, runs the army, and represents the country to the world.

• The students do not vote for the head teacher directly; instead, the students vote for their favorite classroom teachers (members of parliament).


• Whichever group of teachers wins the most classrooms gets to pick the best teacher among them to be the leader.


• The head teacher must keep the other teachers happy; if the team decides the leader is doing a bad job, they can vote to replace them with a new leader right away.


• Countries like the United Kingdom and Canada have a prime minister who manages the daily rules, but they often share fame with a monarch or a ceremonial president who does the fancy parties and ribbon-cutting.