Council

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, city or county level, but most legislative bodies at the state 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. 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 by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.

In politics

Notable examples of types of councils encountered in the political sphere include:

• Borough council, a form of local government
• City council, a form of local government
• Community council, the most local official representative bodies in Scotland and 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
• European Council, the body of heads of states or governments of the European Union
• Labour council, an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area
• Municipal council, borough/city council in France (conseil municipal)
• 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 the United Kingdom
• Privy council, a body that advises the head of state of a nation
• Town council, a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or parishes
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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

See also

Articles

• Consul
• Legislative Council
• Pontifical Council
• Local government in Australia
• United Nations Security Council

Disambiguation pages

External links

Look up council in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.