Council

Group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions

For other uses, see Council (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with counsel.

Greater London Authority Chamber

A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions.[1] A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire 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 board of directors might also be denoted as a council.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed] 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

[edit]

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, 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 Councils, 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 councils in 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 democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or parishes
* Tribal Council, First Nations' and Native American Nations' governing bodies
* UK Research Councils, 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 (Palestinian Authority), a local-government body in Palestine
* Workers' council, a council composed of working-class or proletarian members

## In other fields

[edit]

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.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Council Definition".

## See also

[edit]

* Consul
* Legislative Council
* Pontifical Council
* Local government in Australia
* United Nations Security Council
* Directorial system: a form is government where a group of people act as the head of State and/or Government.

Media related to Councils at Wikimedia Commons

Look up council in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Authority control databases

National|

* Korea

Other|

* Historical Dictionary of Switzerland