How we chose the world leaders for the quizzes
A country usually has several defined leaders whose powers may be executive, legislative, military, ceremonial, etc. The leaders chosen for the World Leaders quizzes were, for the most part, chosen based on the following guidelines:
- if the country is a presidential republic, its head of state and its head of government are usually the same person, and usually with the title of president.
- if the country is a constitutional monarchy, the monarch generally has a ceremonial or figurehead role, thus we chose the head of government, usually a prime minister, for the quiz.
- if the country has both a president and a prime minister, it is usually the case that the president is elected, and the prime minister is appointed by the president. So, even though the prime minister may be the head of government, we chose the president for the quiz.
It can get confusing, and it can get ambiguous. We've had to make decisions, and it may not always be the name and title of the person you're familiar with as the leader of a country.
Definitions
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World's states colored by form of government as of 2011
Legend:
Republics with an executive president dependent on a parliament.
Countries which do not fit any of the above systems.
Note that several states constitutionally deemed to be multiparty republics are broadly described by outsiders as authoritarian states. This chart aims to represent de jure form of government, not de facto degree of democracy.
The above map and its legend are from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Forms_of_government.svg
Presidents - complete
Presidents - study guide
Presidents - place the presidents in order
