Governor
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A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a governor may be either appointed or elected, and the governor's powers can vary significantly, depending on the public laws in place locally. The adjective pertaining to a governor is gubernatorial, from the Latin root gubernare.[1]
Ancient empires
Pre-Roman empires
Though the legal and administrative framework of provinces, each administered by a governor, was created by the Romans, the term governor has been a convenient term for historians to describe similar systems in antiquity. Indeed, many regions of the pre-Roman antiquity were ultimately replaced by Roman 'standardized' provincial governments after their conquest by Rome. Plato used the metaphor of turning the Ship of State with a rudder; the Latin word for rudder is gubernaculum.
Egypt
- In Pharaonic times, the governors of each of the various provinces in the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt (called "nomes" by the Greeks, and whose names often alluded to local patterns of religious worship) are usually known by the Greek word.
Pre- and Hellenistic satraps
- Persiaintroduced the satrapy, probably inspired by the Assyrian / Babylonian examples
- Lagids('Ptolemies' in Hellenistic Egypt)
- in later Persia, again under Iranian dynasties:
- Parthia
- the Sassaniddynasty dispensed with the office after Shapur I (who had still 7 of them), replacing them with petty vassal rulers, known as shahdars
Ancient Rome
From the creation of the earliest Roman subject provinces, a governor was appointed each year to administer each of them. The core function of a Roman governor was as a magistrate or judge, and the management of taxation and the public spending in their area.
Under the Republic and the early Empire, however, a governor also commanded military forces in his province. Republican governors were all men who had served in senior magistracies (the
A special case was Egypt, a rich 'private' domain and vital granary, where the emperor almost inherited the theocratic status of a pharaoh. The emperor was represented there by a governor sui generis styled
Emperors Diocletian (see Tetrarchy) and Constantine in the third and fourth centuries AD carried out a root and branch reorganisation of the administration with two main features:
- Provinces were divided up and became much more numerous (Italy itself, before the 'colonizing homeland', was brought into the system for the first time); they were then grouped into dioceses, and the dioceses in turn into four praetorian prefectures (originally each under a residing co-emperor);
- Military responsibilities were removed from governors and given to new officials called comes rei militaris (the comital title was also granted to many court and civilian administrative positions) or dux, later also magister militum.
The prestigious governorships of Africa and Asia remained with the title proconsul, and the special right to refer matters directly to the emperor; the
Byzantium
This system survived with few significant changes until the collapse of the empire in the West, and in the East, the breakdown of order with the Persian and Arab invasions of the seventh century. At that stage, a new kind of governor emerged, the Strategos. It was a role leading the themes which replaced provinces at this point, involving a return to the amalgamation of civil and military office which had been the practice under the Republic and the early Empire.
Legacy
While the Roman administration in the West was largely destroyed in the barbarian invasions, its model was remembered; this model became very influential through two particular vehicles: Roman law and the Christian Church.
Holy Roman/Habsburg Empires and successor states
Turkish rule
In the Ottoman Empire, all
British Empire and Commonwealth realms
This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. . (March 2018) |
In the
Today, crown colonies of the United Kingdom continue to be administered by governors who hold varying degrees of power. Because of the different constitutional histories of the former colonies of the United Kingdom, the term governor now refers to officials with differing amounts of power.
Frequently the name 'Government House' is given to governors' residences.
- The term can also be used in a more generic sense, especially for compound titles which include it: lieutenant-governor.
Vice-regal governors
United Kingdom overseas territories
In the United Kingdom's remaining
In some minor overseas territories, instead of a governor, there is an
Australia
In
As with the governors-general of Australia and other Commonwealth realms, state governors usually exercise their power only on the advice of a government minister.
Canada
In
Each of the three territories is headed by a
British Hong Kong (1841–1997)
In the colonial period of
New Zealand
The
Within the United Kingdom
Within the United Kingdom itself, there was a position of Governor of Northern Ireland from 1922 until the suspension of the devolved Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1973.
Within England
From the 16th century until 1995, there was a
Other colonial empires
European powers other than the United Kingdom, with colonies in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, gave their top representatives in their colonies the title of governor. Those representatives could be from chartered companies that ruled the colonies. In some of these colonies, there are still officials called governors.
See:
- Danish colonial empire
- Dutch Empire
- Empire of Japan
- French colonial empire
- German colonial empire
- Italian Empire
- Portuguese Empire
- Spanish Empire
- Swedish overseas colonies
Russia and former Soviet Union
In the
A special case was the
On July 1, 1903, the Chinese Eastern Railway was opened and given authority of its own CER Administration (Russian: Upravleniye KVZhD), vested in the Directors of the Chinese Eastern Railway, with the additional quality of Governors of the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone (in Harbin; as such being August 12, 1903 – July 1, 1905 subordinated to the imperial Viceroyalty of the Far East, see
Some of the administrative
Other European countries and empires
Austria
A
Benelux monarchies
- In the Netherlands, the government-appointed heads of the provinces were known as Gouverneur from 1814 until 1850, when their title was changed to King's (or Queen's) Commissioner. In the southern province of Limburg, however, the commissioner is still informally called Governor.
- In the Dutch crown's Caribbean Overseas territories (Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten), the style governor is still used, alongside the political head of government.
- In Belgium, each of the ten provinces has a governor, appointed by the regional government. He represents not only the regional, but also the federal government in the province. He controls the local governments and is responsible for law and order, security and emergency action. The national capital of Brussels, which is not part of a province, also has a governor with nearly the same competences.
France
During the
Germany
Until 1933, the term Landeshauptmann (state governor) was used in
Greece
Ioannis Kapodistrias was the first (and, with the exception of the short tenure of his younger brother Augustinos Kapodistrias, the only) head of state of Greece to bear the title of governor.
Italy
- The essentially maritime empire of the Venetian republic, comprising Terra Firma, other Adriatic (mainly Istria and Dalmatia) and further Mediterranean (mainly Greek) possessions, used different styles, such as (castelleno e) provveditore(generale) or baile.
- In the fascist regime there was the governor of the colonies of the Italian colonial empire.
- In today's Italy, the official name of a head of a Regione(the Italian subnational entity) is Presidente della Giunta regionale (President of the regional executive council), but since 2000, when a constitutional reform decided the direct election of the president by the people, it has been usual to call him/her governatore/governatrice (governor).
- In the various Italian provinces (former principalities and city-states) that became amalgamated as the Papal States, the Holy See exerted temporal power via its delegates, including some cardinals
- Also in Avignon and the surrounding southern French Comtat Venaissin, the home of the popes during their 'Babylonian exile', and retained centuries after, but never incorporated into the Papal States, legates and vice-legates were appointed.
- The sovereign modern remnant of the formerly large Papal States, the tiny Vatican City State, is now a mere enclave in Rome, the capital of Italian Republic. As it is too small to have further administrative territorial divisions, it is the equivalent of a prime minister, governor and mayor all rolled into one post, styled the Governor of Vatican City.
Other modern Asian countries
China
In the
The title can be also used while referring to a
India
In India, each state has a ceremonial governor appointed by the president of India. These governors are different from the governors who controlled the British-controlled portions of the Indian Empire (as opposed to the princely states) prior to 1947.
A governor is the head of a state in India. Generally, a governor is appointed for each state, but after the 7th Constitutional Amendment, 1956, one governor can be appointed for more than one state.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, the title gubernur refers to the highest ranking executive of a provincial government. The governor and the vice governor are elected by a direct vote from the people as a couple, so the governor is responsible to the provincial residents. The governor has a term of five years to work in office and can be re-elected for another single period. In case of death, disability, or resignation, the vice governor would stand in as acting governor for some time before being inaugurated as the permanent governor.
The elected governor is inaugurated by
Principally, the governor has the tasks and the authorities to lead governmental services in the province, based upon the policies that have been made together with the provincial parliament. The governor is not the superordinate of regents or mayors, but only guides, supervises, and coordinates the works of city/municipal and regency governments. In other parts, municipal and regency governments have the rights to manage each governance affairs based on autonomy principle and assistantship duties.
Japan
In
See
Malaysia
In
Pakistan
In Pakistan, each of the four provinces has a governor who is appointed by the president. The governor is the representative of the federal in their province and is the ceremonial head of the province whereas the chief minister is the head of the provincial government. The governor exercises powers similar to the president's, in their respective province.
Papua New Guinea
In Papua New Guinea, the leaders of the provinces have been known as governors since August 1995. Previously they were called premiers.
Philippines
In the
During both the
The highest ranking executive of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was called regional governor. The regional governor is elected every three years, separately from a regional vice governor who replaces the regional governor if the latter vacates the position. Bangsamoro, its replacement, has the wa'lī (Arabic for "governor") as its head of the region, and is elected by parliament for a six-year term.
Sri Lanka
The provincial councils of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka are headed by governors, as representatives of the president. Prior to 1948, in Ceylon (former name for Sri Lanka), the governor of Ceylon was the head of the British colony.
Thailand
In Thailand, the title Governor (ผู้ว่าราชการ Phuwa Ratcha Gaan in Thai) refers to the administrator of each Thai province, who is appointed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The only exception is the specially governed district of Bangkok, whose governor is elected by its population, thus making him or her equivalent to a mayor.
Other modern countries in North America
United States
In the
In colonial North America, governors were chosen in a variety of ways, depending on how the colony was organized. In the
Before achieving statehood, many of the fifty states were territories. Administered by the federal government, they had governors who were appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate rather than elected by the resident population.
Mexico
In
Other modern countries in South America
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2020) |
Many of the South American republics (such as Chile and Argentina) have provinces or states run by elected governors, with offices similar in nature to U.S. state governors.
Brazil
Until the
Modern equivalents
As a generic term, governor is used for various 'equivalent' politician who are the head of a state or province, rendering other official titles such as:
This also applies to non-western or antique culture
Other meanings of the word
The word governor refers to a member of confederation of governors of a private sector entity who is a shareholder himself/herself and elected by all of the other shareholders of that private sector entity to be a member of confederation of governors at a private sector entity (for profit and non-profit).
See also
- Bey
- Chief executive
- Chief minister
- Deputy governor
- Governorate
- Governor-in-chief
- Governor-general
- Lieutenant governor
- Premier
- Viceroy
- Voivode
References
- ^ "Penguin Random House". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Archived from the original on 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ "Gubernatorial elections to return to Russia this autumn". Pravda.ru. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ Duden; Definition of Landeshauptmann, in German. [1] Archived 2015-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Liu Weiping elected governor of Gansu province". Chinadaily.com.cn. 2011-01-18. Archived from the original on 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
- ^ "Zhou Qiang re-elected governor of Hunan Province". Chinadaily.com.cn. 2008-01-24. Archived from the original on 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
- ^ "Local Government in Asia and the Pacific – China". Unescap.org. 1997-07-01. Archived from the original on 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
- ISBN 9789812700414.
- ^ "地方自治法". Archived from the original on 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ^ "Appointment Of Persons To Important Posts". Malaysian Monarchy. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-04-13.