A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, or the throne is vacant and the new monarch has not yet been determined. One variation is in the Monarchy of Liechtenstein, where a competent monarch may choose to assign regency to their of-age heir, handing over the majority of their responsibilities to prepare the heir for future succession. The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency. A regent or regency council may be formed ''ad hoc'' or in accordance with a constitutional rule. ''Regent'' is sometimes a formal title granted to a monarch's most trusted advisor or

personal assistant A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task,. it is a sub-specialty of secretarial duties ...

. If the regent is holding their position due to their position in the line of succession, the compound term ''

prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

'' is often used; if the regent of a minor is their mother, she would be referred to as ''queen regent''. If the formally appointed regent is unavailable or cannot serve on a temporary basis, a may be appointed to fill the gap. In a monarchy, a regent usually governs due to one of these reasons, but may also be elected to rule during the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

when the royal line has died out. This was the case in the Kingdom of Finland and the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, where the royal line was considered extinct in the

aftermath of World War I The aftermath of World War I saw drastic political, cultural, economic, and social change across Eurasia, Africa, and even in areas outside those that were directly involved. Four empires collapsed due to the war, old countries were abolished, ne ...

. In Iceland, the regent represented the

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...

as sovereign of Iceland until the country became a republic in 1944. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795), kings were elective, which often led to a fairly long interregnum. In the interim, it was the Roman Catholic primate (the

archbishop of Gniezno This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.San Marino, the two Captains Regent, or , are elected semi-annually (they serve a six-month term) as joint heads of state and of government. Famous regency periods include that of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, giving rise to many terms such as Regency era and Regency architecture. Strictly this period lasted from 1811 to 1820, when his father George III was insane, though when used as a period label it generally covers a wider period. Philippe II, Duke of Orléans was Regent of France from the death of Louis XIV in 1715 until Louis XV came of age in 1723; this is also used as a period label for many aspects of French history, as in French, again tending to cover a rather wider period than the actual regency. For a period of a month and a half, the Second French Empire was a regency. The Emperor departed with his army, giving his political powers to his wife who essentially carried out all his roles and even sent him orders. He would never be able to return to France, and the empire ended as a regency two days after his defeat and imprisonment at the Battle of Sedan. The equivalent Greek term is (), meaning overseer. Liechtenstein (under Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein) is the only country with an active regency. In 2016, at the age of 96,

Prem Tinsulanonda Prem Tinsulanonda ( th, เปรม ติณสูลานนท์, , ; 26 August 1920 – 26 May 2019) was a Thai military officer, politician, and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 3 March 1980 to 4 August 1988, ...

became the oldest regent of any nation, when he became the regent for

Rama X Vajiralongkorn ( th, วชิราลงกรณ; , ; born 28 July 1952) is the King of Thailand. He is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. In 1972, at the age of 20, he was made crown prince by his father. After his ...

of Thailand. Previously this record was held by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, who was 91 at the end of his regency.

Other uses

Frans Hals - De regentessen van het oudemannenhuis

The term regent may refer to positions lower than the ruler of a country. The term may be used in the governance of organisations, typically as an equivalent of "director", and held by all members of a governing board rather than just the equivalent of the chief executive. In the Society of Jesus, a regent is an individual training to be a Jesuit and who has completed his novitiate and philosophy studies but has not yet progressed to theology studies. A regent in the Jesuits is often assigned to teach in a school or some other academic institution. Some university managers in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

are called regents, and a management board for a college or university may be titled the " Board of Regents". In New York State, all activities related to public and private education ( P-12 and

postsecondary Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

) and professional licensure are administered by the

Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over University of the State of New York and the New York State Education Depa ...

, the appointed members of which are called regents.

Europe

The term "regent" is also used for members of governing bodies of institutions such as the national banks of France and Belgium. In the Dutch Republic, the members of the ruling class, not formally hereditary but forming a de facto patrician class, were informally known collectively as '' regenten'' (the Dutch plural for ''regent'') because they typically held positions as "regent" on the boards of town councils, as well as charitable and civic institutions. The

regents group portrait A regents group portrait (''regentenstuk'' or ''regentessenstuk'' in Dutch, literally "regents' piece"), is a group portrait of the board of trustees, called regents or regentesses, of a charitable organization or guild. This type of group portrai ...

, ''regentenstuk'' or ''regentessenstuk'' for female boards in Dutch, literally "regents' piece", is a group portrait of the board of trustees, called regents or regentesses, of a charitable organization or guild. This type of group portrait was popular in Dutch Golden Age painting during the 17th and 18th centuries. Again in Belgium and France (''régent'' in French, or in Dutch), "regent" is the official title of a teacher in a lower secondary school (

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

), who does not require a college degree but is trained in a specialized ''école normale'' ( normal school).

Southeast Asia

In the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, a regent was a native prince allowed to rule ''de facto'' colonized 'state' as a . Consequently, in the successor state of Indonesia, the term regent is used in English to mean a ''bupati'', the head of a ''

kabupaten A regency ( id, kabupaten), sometimes incorrectly referred to as a district, is an administrative division of Indonesia, directly under a province and on the same level with city (''kota''). Regencies is divided into districts (''Kecamatan'', ''D ...

'' (second level local government). In Malaysia, a regent or "pemangku raja" in Malay is the interim ruler of a Malay state if the king is elected as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or is unable to assume the role as head of state. For example, the regent of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah held the post after his father, Abdullah of Pahang was elected as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2019. In the Philippines specifically, the University of Santo Tomas the Father Regent, who must be a

Dominican priest The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

and is often also a teacher, serves as the institution's spiritual head. They also form the Council of Regents that serves as the highest administrative council of the university.

Africa

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, where

succession to the throne In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...

is not immediate, the Ndlovukati, a position similar to queen mother, rules as regent until the new king is determined.

References

{{Authority control Heads of state Titles Monarchy

Other uses

Europe

Southeast Asia

Africa

See also

References