José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero tricentenary of British rule and rejected the Gibraltarians' requests for Spain to recognise their right to self-determination, at the end of 2004 his policy changed and he became the first Spanish prime minister to accept the participation of Gibraltar as a partner on the same level as Spain and the United Kingdom in discussions both countries hold regularly concerning the territory. The decision was criticized by many in Spain as a surrender of their claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar as well as an alleged disruption of the Treaty of Utrecht. Zapatero said it was a new way to solve a
Prime Minister of Russia Prime Minister of the Russian SFSR was appointed by the Supreme Council after each election. Currently Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Russia, subject to the consent of the State Duma (before 1993 the Supreme Soviet). Unlike most other "Prime Ministers", who are also elected members of the legislative body or parliament, the Chairman of the Government of Russia can be any Russian citizen, as long as they do not also hold citizenship of another country. Under law, the President shall nominate a new Chairman of the Government within two weeks of the resignation of a previous government