National Assembly

National Assembly politically is either a legislature, or the lower house[n 1] of a bicameral legislature in some countries. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the representatives of the nation."[1] The population base represented by this name is manifestly the nation as a whole, as opposed to a geographically select population, such as that represented by a provincial assembly. Its powers vary according to the type of government. It may possess all the powers, generally governing by committee, or it may function within the legislative branch of the government. The name also must be distinguished from the concept. Conceptually such an institution may appear under variety of names, especially if "national assembly" is being used to translate foreign names of the same concept into English. Also, the degree to which the National Assembly speaks for the nation is a variable. To achieve a quorum, the ancient Athenian Assembly employed Scythian police to arrest citizens at random from the street. On the other hand, the early Parliaments of Europe were mainly of an aristocratic composition. The word had its origins and inspirations from the National Assembly that was responsible for drafting a constitution during the French Revolution. The exact words, "national assembly," have been used prolifically in the international community of nations since the 18th and 19th centuries, considered the Age of Revolution in western Europe. Nations that formed republics in this age subsequently formed empires. Extensive cross-cultural influences brought much of their language and institutions to the provinces. When these empires collapsed finally, the emancipated countries formed states and other institutions on the model of the former imperial nations. Some examples of international influences are as follows: In Germany, a Nationalversammlung was elected following the revolutions of 1848–1849 and 1918–1919, to be replaced by a permanent parliament (Reichstag) later. The legislature of the Estado Novo regime in Portugal

Portugal was known as the National Assembly, while the Corporative Chamber

Corporative Chamber was a purely advisory chamber. The national assembly was also defined in the Republic

Republic of China constitution. This is different from the Legislative Yuan

Legislative Yuan by the ROC constitution. In 2005, Taiwan revised the constitution and national assembly was abolished. Examples have multiplied greatly under the policy of self-determination adopted by the western nations. Many more are to be found in the articles listed below.

Contents

1 Origin of the Expression 2 Unicameral
Unicameral national legislatures 3 Lower house
Lower house of bicameral national legislature 4 Upper house of bicameral national legislature 5 Entire bicameral legislature 6 Historical 7 Other 8 Unrecognised Nations 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References

Origin of the Expression[edit] Perhaps the best known National Assembly was that established during the French Revolution
French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale. Consequently, the name is particularly common in Francophone countries. It was also the name of the legislature during France's First Republic
Republic and the Consulate, and since 1946 has been the lower house of the French parliament, first under the Fourth Republic, and from 1958, the Fifth Republic. The expression, however, did not originate in 1789. It was already in use in the French language of the times. Louis XIII of France (1601-1643), par la grace de Dieu Roy de France
France & de Navarre, in a Declaration of April 14, 1627, concerning the sovereignty of his kingdom, prohibits ministers of foreign countries from any jurisdiction in France, citing, as precedent, his Lettres de Declaration of April 17, 1623, forbidding religious officials from treating with foreign countries. He describes his Declaration as ordonné qu'en Assemblées Provinciales & Nationales des nosdites sujets.[2] This was the "registration" that the Parlement
Parlement of Paris refused to perform for Louis XVI of France
France in 1787-1788. When the Estates-General of 1789
Estates-General of 1789 formed the National Assembly of 1789, they did not believe they were instituting anything new. In the Assembly of Notables of 1787, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette had used National Assembly and Estates General synonymously when he suggested that France
France needed a national assembly to solve its financial problems. National Assembly is also found in some Commonwealth countries. Its use there is not a translation of Assemblée nationale, as the phrase is equally embedded in the English language. For example, at the end of the First English Civil War, an Act of Parliament, 1648, "Concerning the Members of the Classical and Congregational Presbyteries, in the several counties of the Kingdom of England, and Dominion of Wales," establishes a national congregational church in England and Wales, corresponding to the presbyteries of Scotland. The language is: "The National Assembly shall be constituted of members chosen by and sent from the several Provincial Assemblies."[3] This National Assembly appears to have no direct link to any French words, although the concept is the same. Unicameral
Unicameral national legislatures[edit]

Country Article Local Name

Albania National Assembly of Albania Kuvendi i Shqipërisë

Angola National Assembly of Angola Assembleia Nacional

Armenia National Assembly of Armenia Ազգային Ժողով

Azerbaijan National Assembly of Azerbaijan Milli Məclis

Benin National Assembly of Benin Assemblée Nationale

Bhutan National Assembly of Bhutan

Bulgaria National Assembly of Bulgaria Народно събрание

Burkina Faso National Assembly of Burkina Faso Assemblée Nationale

Cameroon National Assembly of Cameroon

Cape Verde National Assembly of Cape Verde Assembleia Nacional

Central African Republic National Assembly of the Central African Republic Assemblée Nationale

Chad National Assembly of Chad Assemblée Nationale

Ivory Coast National Assembly of Ivory Coast

Cuba National Assembly of People's Power Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular

Djibouti National Assembly of Djibouti Assemblée Nationale

Eritrea National Assembly of Eritrea

Gambia National Assembly of Gambia

Greece National Assembly of Greece

Guinea National Assembly of Guinea Assemblée Nationale

Guinea-Bissau National People's Assembly of Guinea-Bissau

Guyana National Assembly of Guyana

Hungary National Assembly of Hungary Országgyűlés

Kuwait National Assembly of Kuwait مجلس الامة

Kurdistan Regional Government Kurdistan National Assembly المجلس الوطني لكوردستان

Democratic People's Republic
Republic of Korea (North) Supreme People’s Assembly 최고인민회의 (Choego Inmin Hoe-ui)

Republic
Republic of Korea (South) National Assembly of the Republic
Republic of Korea 국회 (Gukhoe)

Islamic Republic
Republic of Pakistan National Assembly of Pakistan مجلس شوریٰ

Panama National Assembly of Panama Asamblea Nacional de Panamá

Laos National Assembly of Laos

Malawi National Assembly of Malawi

Mali National Assembly of Mali Assemblée Nationale

Mauritius National Assembly of Mauritius

Nicaragua National Assembly of Nicaragua Asamblea Nacional

Niger National Assembly of Niger Assemblée Nationale

Saint Kitts and Nevis National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis

São Tomé and Príncipe National Assembly of São Tomé and Príncipe Assembleia Nacional

Senegal National Assembly of Senegal Assemblée Nationale

Serbia National Assembly of Serbia Народна скупштина Србије (Narodna skupština Srbije)

Seychelles National Assembly of Seychelles

Sudan National Assembly of Sudan

Suriname National Assembly of Suriname Nationale Assemblee

Tanzania National Assembly of Tanzania

Togo National Assembly of Togo Assemblée Nationale

Turkey Grand National Assembly of Turkey Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi

Uganda National Assembly of Uganda

Venezuela National Assembly of Venezuela Asamblea Nacional

Vietnam National Assembly of the Socialist Republic
Republic of Vietnam Quốc hội nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam

Wales National Assembly for Wales Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru

Zambia National Assembly of Zambia

Lower house
Lower house of bicameral national legislature[edit]

Country Article Local Name

Algeria People's National Assembly

Bhutan National Assembly of Bhutan

Botswana National Assembly of Botswana

Burundi National Assembly of Burundi

Cambodia National Assembly of Cambodia រដ្ឋសភាកម្ពុជា (Rodsaphea)

Congo (DRC) National Assembly of the Democratic Republic
Republic of the Congo Assemblée nationale

Congo (Rep.) National Assembly of the Republic
Republic of the Congo Assemblée nationale

France National Assembly of France Assemblée nationale

Ivory Coast National Assembly of Ivory Coast Assemblée nationale

Kenya National Assembly of Kenya

Gabon National Assembly of Gabon

Lesotho National Assembly of Lesotho

Madagascar National Assembly of Madagascar

Mauritania National Assembly

Namibia National Assembly of Namibia

Pakistan National Assembly of Pakistan مجلس شوری

Slovenia National Assembly of Slovenia Državni zbor

South Africa National Assembly of South Africa

Upper house of bicameral national legislature[edit]

Country Article Local Name

Tajikistan National Assembly of Tajikistan Majlisi Milliy

Nepal National Assembly of Nepal

Entire bicameral legislature[edit]

Country Article Local Name

Afghanistan National Assembly of Afghanistan ملی شورا

Bahrain National Assembly of Bahrain

Belarus National Assembly of Belarus Нацыянальны сход/Национальное собрание

Belize National Assembly of Belize

Haiti National Assembly of Haiti Assemblée Nationale

Jordan National Assembly of Jordan Majlis al-Umma

Nigeria National Assembly of Nigeria

Poland National Assembly of Poland Zgromadzenie Narodowe

Russia Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

Thailand National Assembly of Thailand รัฐสภา

Tunisia National Assembly of Tunisia

Historical[edit]

Country/Territory Name Period Notes

Batavian Republic, Netherlands National Assembly of the Batavian Republic: - First National Assembly - Second National Assembly 1 March 1796 - 31 August 1797 1 September 1797 - 22 January 1798 (coup)

Germany
Germany ("Weimar Republic") Weimar National Assembly 1919-1933

Republic
Republic of China National Assembly of the Republic
Republic of China 1913-2005 defunct constitutional convention

Nepal National Assembly of Nepal 1990-1997

Philippines National Assembly of Representatives National Assembly of the Philippines National Assembly of the Second Philippine Republic 1898-1899 1935-1941 25 September 1943 - 2 February 1944 During Japanese occupation

Other[edit]

Country/Territory Name Local Name Notes

Iraq National Assembly of Iraq

A constitutional convention

Quebec, Canada National Assembly of Quebec Assemblée nationale
Assemblée nationale du Québec A unicameral provincial legislative assembly

Republika Srpska National Assembly (Republika Srpska) Народна скупштина Републике Сpпcке (Narodna Skupština Republike Srpske) Autonomous entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Wales National Assembly for Wales Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru Can make Acts of the Assembly and Delegated legislation

Unrecognised Nations[edit]

Country/Territory Name Notes

The Republic
Republic of Molossia Molossian National Assembly Rarely acknowledged