ModernEgypt, Muhammad Ali by Auguste Couder, BAP 17996

''Wāli'', ''Wā'lī'' or ''vali'' (from ar, والي ''Wālī'') is an administrative title that was used in the

Muslim World The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

(including the

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

and

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

) to designate governors of

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

s. It is still in use in some countries influenced by Arab or Muslim culture. The division that a ''Wāli'' governs is called ''

Wilayah A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as " governorate". The word comes f ...

'', or in the case of Ottoman Turkey, "'' Vilayet''". The title currently also refers to the ceremonial head of the Bangsamoro, a Muslim-majority autonomous region of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Algerian term

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, a ''wāli'' is the "

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

" and administrative head of each of the 58 provinces of the country, and is chosen by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Iranian term

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

the term is known as Vāli and refers to the governor-general or local lord of an important province. During the

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

reign 1501-1722 the former rulers of the then subordinated provinces of the Georgian Kartli and

Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region ( mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises ...

kingdom, the Kurdish emirate of Ardalan, the chiefs of Lorestān Province and of Khuzestan Province in western

were regarded as hereditary governor-generals titled ''Vāli'' equal to the Beylerbeylik (Safavid Persia). These "lords of the marches" should protect Iran's western borders against foreign powers. During the Qajar rule 1785-1925 the

kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

was lost to Russia and the hereditary lords were replaced by officials of the central power. Mainly these officials came from the group of imperial princes and royal notables and were made Vāli of important provinces. For example, the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...

bore traditionally the title of Vāli of

Azerbaijan (Iran) Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan ( fa, آذربایجان, ''Āzarbāijān'' ; az-Arab, آذربایجان, ''Āzerbāyjān'' ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan ...

Ottoman Empire term

''"Vali"'' (translated as "gouverneur-général" in French,
info page on book
at Martin Luther University) // CITED: p. 41-43 (PDF p. 43-45/338). (''genikos dioikētēs''), νομάρχης (''nomarchēs'', which may mean "

nomarch A nomarch ( grc, νομάρχης, egy, ḥrj tp ꜥꜣ Great Chief) was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called nomes (singular , plural ). A nomarch was the government official responsib ...

" or "prefect of department") or also "valē", βαλή
info page on book
at Martin Luther University) // CITED: p. 45 (PDF p. 47). * lad, governador de provinsiya , group=note such as in the Ottoman constitution) was the title in the Ottoman Empire of the most common type of Ottoman

, in charge of a '' vilayet'' (in

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

), often a military officer such as a

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...

; see Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire.

Omani Sultanate term

The Sultanate of Oman, when it ruled

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, appointed a ''wali'' for the city known locally as ''LiWali''. The term is still used today to denote settlements of Oman, such as the ''Wilayat Madha,'' a settlement which intersects the road between

Madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French ''madam ...

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...

and Hatta in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Many Rulers of the

Trucial States The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had ...

(also called Trucial Oman in the past) appointed ''walis'' to look after towns on their behalf, including employing slaves for that purpose.

Moroccan term

Since 1997 regionalisation reform, a ''Wāli'' is the governor of one of the twelve regions of Morocco.

Pakistani term

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, the rulers of the former princely state of

Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

were given the title of ''Wali''.

Philippine term

In the

, the term ''Wa'lī'' is the name for the titular head of

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ar, منطقة بانجسامورو ذاتية الحكم فى مسلمى مينداناو , native_name = , settlement_type = Autonomous region , anthem = Bangsamoro Hymn , image_skyline ...

, an autonomous region in the large southern island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. The ''Wa'lī'' have ceremonial functions and powers such as moral guardianship of the territory and convocation and dissolution of its

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Tunisian term

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, a ''wāli'' is the "

" and administrative head of each of the 24 provinces of the country, and is chosen by the

Turkish term

In Turkey a Vali is a provincial governor of one of the 81 Turkish provinces. He is nominated by the interior minister and appointed by the president. A Vali supervises the functioning of the state functions such as security and maintenance and oversees also the elected provincial and municipal councils. During the OHAL State of emergency from 1987 to 2002, there existed a so called Super Vali who oversaw the Valis of up to 13 provinces in southeast Anatolia.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wali Arabic words and phrases Gubernatorial titles Civil servants from the Ottoman Empire Egyptian royal titles Ottoman titles Titles in Afghanistan Titles in Bangladesh Titles in Pakistan Titles in Algeria Titles in Iran Turkish titles Titles in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Ottoman period