Consul (abbrev. ''cos.'';

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, and subsequently also an important title under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. The title was used in other European city-states through antiquity and the Middle Ages, in particular in the Republics of Genoa and Pisa, then revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic. The related adjective is consular, from the Latin '' consularis''. This usage contrasts with modern terminology, where a consul is a type of diplomat.

Roman consul

A consul held the highest elected political office of the

(509 to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the highest level of the '' cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired). Consuls were elected to office and held power for one year. There were always two consuls in power at any time.

Other uses in antiquity

Private sphere

It was not uncommon for an organization under Roman private law to copy the terminology of state and city institutions for its own statutory agents. The founding statute, or contract, of such an organisation was called ''lex'', 'law'. The people elected each year were patricians, members of the upper class.

City-states

While many cities, including the Gallic states and the Carthaginian Republic, had a double-headed chief magistracy, another title was often used, such as the Punic '' sufet'', ''Duumvir'', or native styles like ''Meddix''.

Medieval city-states, communes and municipalities

Republic of Genoa

The city-state of Genoa, unlike ancient Rome, bestowed the title of ''consul'' on various state officials, not necessarily restricted to the highest. Among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with the local authorities. Great Britain reciprocated by appointing consuls to Genoa from 1722. This institution, with its name, was later emulated by other powers and is reflected in the modern usage of the word (see Consul (representative)).

Republic of Pisa

In addition to the Genoese Republic, the Republic of Pisa also took the form of "Consul" in the early stages of its government. The Consulate of the Republic of Pisa was the major government institution present in Pisa from 1087 to 1189. Despite losing space within the government since 1190 in favor of the Podestà, for some periods of the 13th century some citizens were again elected as consuls.

Other uses in the Medieval period

Throughout most of southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, a consul ( or ') was an office equivalent to the of the north and roughly similar with English aldermen. The most prominent were those of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

and

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, which came to be known as jurats and capitouls, respectively. The capitouls of Toulouse were granted transmittable nobility. In many other smaller towns the first consul was the equivalent of a mayor today, assisted by a variable number of secondary consuls and jurats. His main task was to levy and collect tax. The Dukes of Gaeta often used also the title of "consul" in its Greek form " Hypatos" (see List of Hypati and Dukes of Gaeta).

French Revolution

French Republic 1799–1804

After Napoleon Bonaparte staged a coup against the Directory government in November 1799, the French Republic adopted a constitution which conferred executive powers upon three consuls, elected for a period of ten years. In reality, the first consul, Bonaparte, dominated his two colleagues and held supreme power, soon making himself consul for life (1802) and eventually, in 1804,

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. The office was held by: * Napoleon Bonaparte, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès, Roger Ducos, provisional consuls (10 November – 12 December 1799) * Napoleon Bonaparte (first consul), Jean-Jacques Cambacérès (second consul), Charles-François Lebrun (third consul), consuls (12 December 1799 – 18 May 1804)

Bolognese Republic, 1796

The short-lived Bolognese Republic, proclaimed in 1796 as a French client republic in the Central Italian city of Bologna, had a government consisting of nine consuls and its head of state was the ''Presidente del Magistrato'', i.e.,

chief magistrate A chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admi ...

, a presiding office held for four months by one of the consuls. Bologna already had consuls at some parts of its Medieval history.

Roman Republic, 1798–1800

The French-sponsored

(15 February 1798 – 23 June 1800) was headed by multiple consuls: * Francesco Riganti, Carlo Luigi Costantini, Duke Bonelli-Crescenzi, Antonio Bassi, Gioacchino Pessuti, Angelo Stampa, Domenico Maggi, provisional consuls (15 February – 20 March 1798) * Liborio Angelucci, Giacomo De Mattheis, Panazzi, Reppi, Ennio Quirino Visconti, consuls (20 March – September 1798) * Brigi, Calisti, Francesco Pierelli, Giuseppe Rey, Federico Maria Domenico Michele, Zaccaleoni, consuls (September – 24 July 1799) Consular rule was interrupted by the Neapolitan occupation (27 November – 12 December 1798), which installed a Provisional Government: * Prince Giambattista Borghese, Prince Paolo-Maria Aldobrandini, Prince Gibrielli, Marchese Camillo Massimo, Giovanni Ricci (29 November 1798 - 12 December 1798) Rome was occupied by France (11 July – 28 September 1799) and again by Naples (30 September 1799 – 23 June 1800), bringing an end to the Roman Republic.

Revolutionary Greece, 1821

Among the many petty local republics that were formed during the first year of the Greek Revolution, prior to the creation of a unified Provisional Government at the First National Assembly at Epidaurus, were: * The Consulate of Argos (from 26 May 1821, under the Senate of the Peloponnese) had a ''single'' head of state, styled consul, 28 March 1821 – 26 May 1821: Stamatellos Antonopoulos * The Consulate of East Greece ( Livadeia) (from 15 November 1821, under the Areopagus of East Greece) was headed 1 April 1821 – 15 November 1821 by three consuls: Lambros Nakos, Ioannis Logothetis & Ioannis Filon ''Note: in Greek, the term for "consul" is "hypatos" (ὕπατος), which translates as "supreme one", and hence does not necessarily imply a joint office.''

Paraguay, 1813–1844

In between a series of juntas and various other short-lived regimes, the young republic was governed by "consuls of the republic", with two consuls alternating in power every 4 months: * 12 October 1813 – 12 February 1814, José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco * 12 February 1814 – 12 June 1814, Fulgencio Yegros y Franco de Torres * 12 June 1814 – 3 October 1814, José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco; he stayed on as " supreme dictator" 3 October 1814 – 20 September 1840 (from 6 June 1816 styled "perpetual supreme dictator") After a few presidents of the Provisional Junta, there were again consuls of the republic, 14 March 1841 – 13 March 1844 (ruling jointly, but occasionally styled "first consul", "second consul"): Carlos Antonio López Ynsfrán (b. 1792 – d. 1862) + Mariano Roque Alonzo Romero (d. 1853) (the lasts of the aforementioned juntistas, Commandant-General of the Army) Thereafter all republican rulers were styled "president".

Modern uses of the term

In modern terminology, a consul is a type of diplomat. The ''American Heritage Dictionary'' defines consul as "an official appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country and represent its interests there." '' The Devil's Dictionary'' defines Consul as "in American politics, a person who having failed to secure an office from the people is given one by the Administration on condition that he leave the country". In most governments, the consul is the head of the consular section of an embassy, and is responsible for all consular services such as immigrant and non-immigrant visas, passports, and citizen services for expatriates living or traveling in the host country. A less common modern usage is when the consul of one country takes a governing role in the host country.

Sources and references

WorldStatesmen.org
see each present country Specific {{Reflist Ancient Roman titles Heads of government Heads of state Military ranks of ancient Rome Latin political words and phrases Collective heads of state Cursus honorum Diplomats by role cs:Konzul (antický Řím) hr:Konzul io:Konsulo ku:Konsûl sr:Конзул tl:Konsulado