A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

or county/

shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or national level are not considered councils. At such levels, there may be no separate executive branch, and the council may effectively represent the entire

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. A board of directors might also be denoted as a council. A committee might also be denoted as a council, though a committee is generally a subordinate body composed of members of a larger body, while a council may not be. Because many schools have a student council, the council is the form of governance with which many people are likely to have their first experience as electors or participants. A member of a council may be referred to as a councillor or councilperson, or by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.

In politics

Notable examples of types of councils encountered in politics include: * Borough council, a form of local government * Catholic ecumenical councils, ecclesiastical gatherings for ordering the Catholic Church. * City council, a form of local government. * Community council, the most local official representative body in Scotland and in Wales. *

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, a political, intergovernmental organization with 47 member countries. * Council of the European Union, the upper house of the European Union. * Council of state, an organ of government in many states. * County council, a council that governs a county in the British Isles. * District council, a unit of government in various jurisdictions. * Ecumenical council, pan-Christian discussion bodies. * European Council, the body of heads of states or of governments of the European Union. * Labour council, an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. * Municipal council, a form of local government. * National security council, an executive-branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues. * Parish council (England), a form of local government in part of the United Kingdom. * Privy council, a body that advises the head of state of a country. * Provincial council, a governing body for a province. * Regional council, a local-government body in various countries. * Shire council, an entity of local government in Australia. * Shura Council, the formerly upper house of the Egyptian parliament. *

Town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

, a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or parishes * Tribal council, First Nations' and Native American Nations' governing bodies * Research Councils UK, government agencies responsible for an area of research in the United Kingdom * United Nations Security Council, a decision-making body at the United Nations * Vatican Council, a high-level policy-council of the Roman Catholic Church * Village council (State of Palestine), a local-government body in Palestine * Workers' council, a council composed of working-class or proletarian members.

In other fields

Types of councils encountered in other spheres include: * Arts council: a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts. * Bar council: a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the Inns of Court. * Buddhist councils: important historical events in the history of Buddhism. * Council (Boy Scouts): a non-profit private corporation within Boy Scouts of America. * Ecumenical council: a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. * Military council: * Science research council * Student council: a student organization present in many elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities. * Synod: in a Christian church. * University Council: running a university. * War Council: discussions pertaining to a declaration of war, or tactics and strategy of a coming battle. * Works council: a body representing the workers of a plant, factory, etc., elected to negotiate with the management about working conditions, wages, etc. * Youth council: an example of youth voice engaged in youth-led decision-making.

In politics

In other fields

References

See also