The title of Premier is used by the rulers of the City-States of Lavos and Meyron in Doras Edrossi, and is similar to that of a Magister in purpose. However, Premiers have several key differences which set them apart from Magisters.
Premiers are elected to office and have a guaranteed six years in office, impeachment notwithstanding. The general public, usually property-owning adult males, is invited to come and debate about the good that a potential candidate or an already office-holding official has done, will do, or continue to do, or lack thereof. Once a consensus is reached, or if one can not be reached and a council of elders votes on the matter, a Premier candidate is voted into office. While a Premier, they must maintain the good of the city and the vassal states inside its national borders. They must keep the infrastructure of the city-state maintained and, where possible, restore the ruins of ancient buildings. They are usually expected to be good at diplomacy, engagement in conversation, and artfully, yet intrinsically moving along communication in a thoughtful, productive manner (the 2nd Premier of Meyron must be particularly good at this; see Dealing). However, since not every man can do all of this alone, there exists a system for multiple Premiers to be in office at one time. The two or three, depending on how many rule, are considered equals that rule a city-state in tandem with each other.
There are typically more than one Premiers elected at any one time, and three is typically seen as the maximum; any further would become more like a ruling council, ruining the intent of having significant power invested in just two or three men, comparable to an oligarchy. Some men have been able to rule as a first Premier by themselves; Victor Damius being usually the first one to come to mind, choosing to rule alone after 273 AC until his death. Temporarily, while the second Premier of Lavos was assassinated in 312 AC, the 1st Premier at the time, Lincent Fomathus, ruled as a single Premier for six months, during which time Lavos's relations with other nations declined sharply until a second Premier was elected.
The reason for multiple Premiers is that the 1st Premier typically centers himself on the aspect of administration and infrastructure; the internal core of the city-state, and the 2nd Premier typically is centered around the diplomatic relations of others, and sometimes takes on the mantle of enlightening the populace or heading debates and delegations abroad. If there is a third Premier, it is often during times of war, who is tasked with guiding the city-state to martial victory.
A third Premier may be elected for the shortcomings of the other two, as well; if a 1st Premier cannot or will not personally manage the infrastructure of the city-state, a 3rd Premier may be elected to do only this. These are often called micropremiers and have no determined term length, filling in until a more proficient man takes the helm. In any event in which an assassin, battle, accident or otherwise claims the life of a premier, if a micropremier exists in the current government, they will automatically assume the role of the Premier's role they were filing in for. However, due to no one voting for them, no one is sure how they will do in a superior position of power and they are at a greater danger of being impeached until they have completed one year of service.
The premier system's founding is difficult to pinpoint, as a similar system of government was present in the early republics of the First and Second Eras, and in the Drakonian Empire. As a modern system, Victor Damius probably made it popular by instituting it in Lavos, being intrigued by the system and curious how it would work in a modern setting, and Lavos became the first premier city-state in 244 AC. As told by his personal diary discovered in an auction of his personal belongings, his intention was to have all city-states adopt the premier system before the 3rd century AC was over. While he lived to see he was incorrect, he never gave up the idea that a premier city-state system was far more efficient than typical magistrates.
All in all, only Meyron, a city already known for its liberalism and adaptation, 'converted' to the premier city-state system, doing so in 265 AC in what would become the first Dealing at Pryiore Villa.
Current Premiers
Meyron
1st Premier: Yalan Naron
2nd Premier: Aramaeus Ethymon
Lavos
1st Premier: Varcus Jarle
2nd Premier: Rusyel Kenthus
3rd Premier (Micropremier of Infrastructure): Nolan Damius