Egypt has a long history with a prime minister-type position existing in its governance. Under various
Islamic Empires, Egypt had
Viziers, a political office similar in authority and structure (in terms of being second in command to the
Head of State) to that of a prime minister. During the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom phases of Ancient Egypt, it was common practice for the
Pharaoh to appoint a second in command officer whose position is translated to as
Vizier. This pattern of having a prime minister/vizier position in government was only broken for an extended period of time during
Roman and
Sassanid governance of Egypt, in which Egypt was directly ruled by appointed Governors. Then with the founding of modern Egypt and the advent of the
Muhammad Ali dynasty, premiership and cabinets in their current definitions started appearing in Egypt parallel to the country's first modern constitutions and parliaments. The office of
Prime Minister of Egypt was established in 1878 during the reign of
Khedive Ismail, along with the
Cabinet of Egypt. After the abolition of the monarchy in 1953, the Egyptian government maintained the position of prime-minister. In the late 1970s,
Egypt had several cohabitation governments which proved to be unstable, due to the struggle arising between the
president and the prime minister. From 1981 until 2011, the National Democratic Party had maintained a majority in the
People's Assembly and supplied the Egyptian president. The National Democratic Party was dissolved by the supreme administrative court on 16 April 2011, following the Egyptian uprising which eventually caused the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. ==Powers==