Sacerdotal State
A sacerdotal state is a state whose head is also an ecclesiastical leader designated by a religious body. An example of this kind of state is the Vatican City, whose head of state is the pope of the Catholic Church since the eighth century. Andorra operates under a semi-sacerdotal system, as one of its co-heads of state is the bishop of Urgell, while the other is the president of France. However unlike the Vatican, the co-princes of Andorra are not closely involved in the government. In the past it was common for bishops to assume civil as well as clerical power and rule as prince-bishops. This was common in the Holy Roman Empire, where three of the seven imperial electors were prince-archbishops (Trier, Mainz and Cologne). After the Peace of Westphalia certain prince-bishoprics became bi-confessional and alternated between Catholic bishops and Protestant administrators. Current Sacerdotal States The following are sacerdotal or partly sacerdotal states: Andorra Andorra ope ...
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Head Of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and legitimacy. Depending on the country's form of government and separation of powers, the head of state may be a ceremonial figurehead or concurrently the head of government and more (such as the president of the United States, who is also commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces). In a parliamentary system, such as the United Kingdom or India, the head of state usually has mostly ceremonial powers, with a separate head of government. However, in some parliamentary systems, like South Africa, there is an executive president that is both head of state and head of government. Likewise, in some parliamentary systems the head of state is not the head of government, but still has significant powers, for example Morocco. In contrast, ...
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