Acouncil 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, cityorcounty/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]
Acommittee 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 councillororcouncilperson, or by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.
Notable examples of types of councils encountered in politics include:
Types of councils encountered in other spheres include:
Media related to Councils at Wikimedia Commons
