Vice President of the Council of Ministers of Italy

The Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, officially Vice-President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic (Italian: Vicepresidente del Consiglio dei ministri della Repubblica Italiana), is a senior member of the Italian Cabinet. Moreover, it is often colloquially known as Vicepremier. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices to give seniority to a particular Cabinet minister. The office is currently held by Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani under Giorgia Meloni's premiership. The office is not mentioned in the Constitution. Their powers are defined by statutory provisions, most importantly article 8 of law no. 400 of 1998 (Italian: legge n. 400 del 1998). The Deputy Prime Minister assumes the duties and powers of the Prime Minister when the latter becomes unable to discharge his or her duties. In case none was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, such a duty falls upon the oldest Minister, while if there are multiple Deputy Prime Ministers serving at the same time, it falls upon the oldest of them. The Deputy Prime Minister does not automatically succeed the Prime Minister in case the latter resigns, as conventionally, in the aftermath of a resignation, the outgoing Prime Minister remains in place to handle day-to-day business until Parliament picks a successor.