The term administration, as used in the context of
government, differs according to the
jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, administration can be described as a decision making body.
United States
In
American usage, the term generally refers to the
executive branch
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state.
In poli ...
under a specific
president (or
governor,
mayor, or other local executive); or the term of a particular executive; for example: "President Y's administration" or "Secretary of Defense X during President Y's administration." It can also mean an executive branch agency headed by an administrator, as the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
(NASA),
Small Business Administration or the
National Archives and Records Administration.
The term "administration" has been used to denote the executive branch in
presidential system
A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separati ...
s of government.
Europe
The term's usage in
Europe varies by country, but most typically the word "administration" refers to
managerial functions in general, which may include local governments, or the hierarchy of national and local government, that applies to a town or district. More specifically, it may refer to
public administration, the business of administering
public policy as determined by government. However, outside
France and
Romania, this usage of the word is uncommon.
For the British sense of the word, most countries use the term ''government'', referring to the "administration" of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
as the "Churchill government". This is also true for the non-European members of the
Commonwealth of Nations. An older, chiefly
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
usage, is the term
"ministry", as in "Churchill Ministry", which is still in official and academic use in Britain, Australia and Canada to refer the terms of
prime ministers.
Ministry – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Depending on the type of government, the word coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
may be used for a specific government. In the Netherlands, cabinet is the most-used term (as in "the fourth Balkenende cabinet"), although "coalition" or "government" are also used when one does not refer to a specific coalition (note that the two terms have slightly different meanings).
See also
* Executive (government)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Administration (Government)
Government institutions
Public administration