Executive (government)
The
executive is the branch of a
government charged with implementing, or
executing, the
law and running the day-to-day affairs of the government or
state. The
de facto most senior figure in an executive is referred to as the
head of government. The executive may be referred to as the
administration, in
presidential systems, or simply as the
government, in
parliamentary systems.
In some
constitutional monarchies, such as the
United Kingdom, the monarch, who is the
Head of State, is the
de jure and
theoretical head of the executive, and the Prime Minister, whom he or she technically appoints, is the head of the monarch's government (i.e. "
Her Majesty's Government"). In practice, however, a symbolic or
figurehead Head of State does not actively exercise executive power, though decisions may be
formally made in his or her name.
Along with the
Prime Minister or executive
President, the executive branch consists of the
cabinet and the executive departments or
ministries of the government.
Executives differ in character when they operate under a
separation of powers, as in the American system.
Executive authority within a
presidential system is exercised by a president who is also head of state. The president will not usually be designated by the legislature, and may instead be elected directly, or in the case of the
President of the United States, indirectly, by an
electoral college. Under presidential systems the legislature and the executive are formally distinct, and it is usually expressly forbidden for the president and other executive officers to be members of the legislature.
In
parliamentary systems, the executive branch is generally comprised of a
prime minister and a
cabinet, who must directly or indirectly secure the support of the legislature.
In a
semi-presidential system (such as
France, for example) executive powers are shared between the president and the prime minister.
It is usually the role of the executive to:
*Enforce the law. To achieve this the executive administers the prisons and the police force, and prosecutes criminals in the name of the state.
*Conduct the foreign relations of the state.
*Command the armed forces.
*Appoint state officials, including judges and diplomats.
*Administer government
departments and
public services, including the work of
government agencies and similar bodies.
*Issue
executive orders (also known as
secondary legislation,
ordinances,
edicts or
decrees).
Most
constitutions require that certain executive powers may only be exercised in conjunction with the
legislature. For example, often the consent of the legislature is required to ratify
treaties, appoint important officials, or to declare war. In the
United Kingdom, however, the executive is exempt from most such limitations under the
royal prerogative.
*
List of democracy and elections-related topics*
Head of state*
Head of government*
Separation of powers**
Legislature**
Judiciary**
White houseBiographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774-1989.,
Robert Sobel and
David B. Sicilia, Editors. (Updated 2003)
