A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town,

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

or county/

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or national level are not considered councils. At such levels, there may be no separate

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 ...

, and the council may effectively represent the entire government. A

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

might also be denoted as a council. A committee might also be denoted as a council, though a committee is generally a subordinate body composed of members of a larger body, while a council may not be. Because many schools have a

student council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

, the council is the form of governance with which many people are likely to have their first experience as electors or participants. A member of a council may be referred to as a councillor or councilperson, or by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.

In politics

Flag of the Organization of Turkic States

Notable examples of types of councils encountered in politics include: * Turkic Council, also known as the Organisation of Turkic states is the body responsible for determining future of the Turkic countries. * Borough council, a form of local government * Catholic Ecumenical Councils, ecclesiastical gatherings for ordering the Catholic Church * City council, a form of local government * Community council, the most local official representative body in Scotland and in Wales *

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

, a political, intergovernmental organization with 47 member countries * Council of the European Union, the upper house of the European Union * Council of State, an organ of government in many states * County council, a council that governs a county in the British Isles *

District council District council may refer to: *A branch of local government in the United Kingdom: **Supervising one of the Districts of England: ***A Metropolitan borough ***A Non-metropolitan district ***A Unitary authority **Supervising one of the Principal ...

, a unit of government in various jurisdictions *

Ecumenical Councils An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote ar ...

, pan-Christian discussion bodies *

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...

, the body of heads of states or of governments of the European Union *

Labour council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

, an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area * Municipal council, a form of local government *

National security council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

, an executive-branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues * Parish councils in England, a form of local government in part of the United Kingdom *

Privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, a body that advises the head of state of a country * Provincial council, a governing body for a province *

Regional council Regional Council may refer to: * Regional Council (Hong Kong), disbanded in 1999 ** Regional Council (constituency) Regional council may refer to: * Regional council (Cameroon) * Regional council (France), the elected assembly of a region of Fra ...

, a local-government body in various countries *

Shire Council Local government is the third level of government in Australia, administered with limited autonomy under the states and territories, and in turn beneath the federal government. Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Austr ...

, an entity of local government in Australia *

Shura Council In Arab culture, a Majlis-ash-Shura ( ar, مجلس الشورى; Shura Council in English) is an advisory council or consultative council. In Islamic context, the Majlis-ash-Shura is one of two ways that a Caliph, khalifa (Islamic leader) may be s ...

, the formerly upper house of the Egyptian parliament. * Town council, a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or parishes * Tribal Council, First Nations' and Native American Nations' governing bodies * UK Research Councils, government agencies responsible for an area of research in the United Kingdom * United Nations Security Council, a decision-making body at the United Nations * Vatican Council, a high-level policy-council of the Roman Catholic Church *

Village council (Palestinian Authority) A Village council is a type of local government used in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) for Palestinian localities that usually number between 800 and 3,000+ inhabitants. The village council is also known D-level municipalities. There are ...

, a local-government body in Palestine * Workers' council, a council composed of working-class or proletarian members

In other fields

Types of councils encountered in other spheres include: * Arts council, a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts * Bar council, a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the Inns of Court * Buddhist councils, important historical events in the history of Buddhism *

Council (Boy Scouts) The program of the Boy Scouts of America is administered through 253 local councils, with each council covering a geographic area that may vary from a single city to an entire state. Each council receives an annual charter from the National Coun ...

, a non-profit private corporation within Boy Scouts of America * Ecumenical council, a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice * Military council *

Student council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

, a student organization present in many elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities *

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

in a Christian church * University Council running a university *

War Council A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated ...

, discussions pertaining to a declaration of war, or tactics and strategy of a coming battle * Works council, a body representing the workers of a plant, factory, etc., elected to negotiate with the management about working conditions, wages, etc. * Youth council, an example of youth voice engaged in youth-led decision-making

External links

{{wiktionary Deliberative groups Legislatures ja:評議会 ko:평의회

In politics

In other fields

See also

Articles

Disambiguation pages

External links