"prime minister" may give the wrong impression. The president largely has that function here. However, the "conseller en cap" is very much a "first minister" - which many countries have - a sort of deputy president - and I feel that would be understood by using "first minister" rather than "prime" minister.

This is a bit like the difference between "premier league" and "first division" ;-)

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Note added at 18 hrs 10 mins (2004-04-04 15:26:42 GMT)
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Given your new information you could say \"acting prime minister\" - though I feel you should use the term \"president\" to describe Pujol\'s role. Seeking exact political synonyms is always difficult and he could equaly be described as \"head of the assembly\" (from an analogy with the Welsh Assembly) or \"Regional Prime Minister\" or something. I would go with the term the Generalitat use themselves - \"President\". Then Mas would have been \"first minister\".

HERE\'S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I MIGHT HAVE USED THE TWO TERMS:
When Maragall was elected, Carod Rovira was first minister until the scandal about his talks with ETA - talks which he undertook as \"acting President\", since Maragall was then out of the country.

I realise that strictly speaking \"president\" normally refer to the head of a Republic. But there are other examples throughout Europe of figures caled Presidents who serve in Constitutional Monarchies.