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 or county/ shire 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, 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 A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

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, 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 The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an international organization comprising prominent independent Turkic countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz ...

, also known as the Organisation of Turkic states is the body responsible for determining future of the

Turkic countries The following is a list of dynasties, states or empires which are Turkic-speaking, of Turkic origins, or both. There are currently six recognised Turkic sovereign states. Additionally, there are six federal subjects of Russia in which a Turkic l ...

. * Borough council, a form of local government *

Catholic Ecumenical Councils According to the Catholic Church, a Church Council is ecumenical ("world-wide"), if it is "a solemn congregation of the Catholic bishops of the world at the invitation of the Pope to decide on matters of the Church with him". In addition to ec ...

, ecclesiastical gatherings for ordering the Catholic Church * City council, a form of local government *

Community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

, 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 human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a ...

, a political, intergovernmental organization with 47 member countries *

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

, the upper house of the European Union *

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, an organ of government in many states *

County council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

, a council that governs a county in the British Isles * District council, a unit of government in various jurisdictions * Ecumenical Councils, pan-Christian discussion bodies * European Council, the body of heads of states or of governments of the European Union * Labour council, an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area *

Municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

, a form of local government * National security council, an executive-branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues *

Parish councils in England Parish councils are civil local authorities found in England which are the lowest tier of local government. They are elected corporate bodies, with variable tax raising powers, and they carry out beneficial public activities in geographical area ...

, a form of local government in part of the United Kingdom * Privy council, 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 Fran ...

, 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 Australi ...

, 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 khalifa (Islamic leader) may be selected, ...

, the formerly upper house of the Egyptian parliament. *

Town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

, a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or parishes * Tribal Council, First Nations' and Native American Nations' governing bodies *

UK Research Councils Research Councils UK, sometimes known as RCUK, was a non-departmental public body which coordinated science policy in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2018. It was an umbrella organisation that coordinated the seven separate research councils th ...

, 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 a ...

, 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 {{see also, Bar association A bar council ( ga, Comhairle an Bharra) or bar association, in a common law jurisdiction with a legal profession split between solicitors and barristers or advocates, is a professional body that regulates the profes ...

, a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the Inns of Court *

Buddhist councils Since the death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities ("''sangha''") have periodically convened to settle doctrinal and disciplinary disputes and to revise and correct the contents of the sutras. These gatherin ...

, 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 A military council is an approach to organization by a council with representatives from various bodies. The term "military council" applied to organisational groupings of senior ranking officers in the European armies of the 19th century during o ...

* Student council, a student organization present in many elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities * Synod 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 works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...

, 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