Directorial system (Redirected from Directorial republic)

Systems of government
Republican forms of government:
 Presidential republics with an executive presidency separate from the legislature
 Semi-presidential system with both an executive presidency and a separate head of government that leads the rest of the executive, who is appointed by the president and accountable to the legislature
 Parliamentary republics with a ceremonial and non-executive president, where a separate head of government leads the executive and is dependent on the confidence of the legislature
 Republics in which a combined head or directory of state and government is elected or nominated by the legislature

Monarchical forms of government:
 Constitutional monarchies with a ceremonial and non-executive monarch, where a separate head of government leads the executive
 Semi-constitutional monarchies with a ceremonial monarch, but where royalty still hold significant executive or legislative power
 Absolute monarchies where the monarch leads the executive

 Countries where constitutional provisions for government have been suspended
 Countries which do not fit any of the above systems (e.g. provisional government or unclear political situations)

A directorial republic is a country ruled by a college of several people who jointly exercise the powers of a head of state and/or a head of government.

Current directorial systems

Directorial republic in Switzerland

One country now using this form of government is Switzerland (and to a lesser extent, San Marino), where directories rule all levels of administration, federal, cantonal and municipal. On the face of it, the Swiss Federal Council might appear to be a typical parliamentary government; technically, however, it is not a meeting of ministers, but a college of heads of state. The current President of the Confederation is in fact only a primus inter pares (first among equals) with representative functions in particular for diplomacy with other States, without any power either of direction or of coordination of the activity of colleagues. The Swiss Federal Council is elected by the Federal Assembly for four years, and is composed of seven members, among whom one is president and one is vice-president on a rotating basis, although these positions are symbolic in normal circumstances. The link between the Swiss managerial system and the presidential system is even more evident for the cantonal governments, where currently all directors are all individually directly elected by the voters.

History

In political history, the term directory, in French directoire, is applied to high collegial institutions of state composed of members styled director. Early directorial systems were the Ambrosian Republic (1447-1450), the Bohemian Revolt (1618–1620), New England Confederation (1643–1686), partially in First Stadtholderless Period of Dutch Republic (1650–1672), Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 and the Directory of 1795–1799 in France.

The French Directory was inspired by the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, which prominently featured a collegial 12-member Supreme Executive Council with the President in fact only primus inter pares (first among equals). Variants of this form of government, based on the French model, were also established in the European regions conquered by France during the French Revolutionary Wars. Directorial systems have a lower presidentialism metric value compared to presidential systems due to lower concentration of political power in the hands of one individual. Military juntas differ from the directorial system by not being elected. Utilizing sortition to select multiple executives can lead to a directorial system.

Former directorial systems

In the past, countries with elected directories include:

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-02-04 15:47 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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