The seat of government is (as defined by Brewer's Politics) "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority".[1]
In most countries, the nation's capital is also seat of its government, thus that city is appropriately referred to as the national seat of government. The terms are not however, completely synonymous, as some countries' seat of government differs from the capital. The Netherlands, for example, has Amsterdam as its capital but The Hague is the seat of government; and the Philippines, with Manila as its capital but the metropolitan area of the same name (Metro Manila; also known as National Capital Region (NCR)), is the seat of government.
Local and regional authorities usually have a seat, called an administrative centre, as well. Terms for seats of local government of various levels and in various countries include:
Israel and Palestine: Jerusalem is considered to be the national capital of Israel since 1950 but was fully declared the undivided capital of the nation from 1980 according to the Jerusalem Law, though most government offices are located in West Jerusalem. This move is not recognized by the international community but majority of the embassies are located in Tel Aviv. In addition, the State of Palestine also declares East Jerusalem or the entirety of Jerusalem to be its capital but the seat of government resides in Ramallah as with the Palestinian National Authority. (For more details see: Status of Jerusalem.)
Ivory Coast: Yamoussoukro was designated the national capital in 1983, but most government offices and embassies are still located in Abidjan.
Malaysia: Putrajaya the federal administrative centre of the Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya because of overcrowding and congestion in the former.
Montserrat: Its official capital is Plymouth, but it was permanently abandoned in 1997 after it was completely destroyed by the eruptions of the Soufrière Hills volcano. Since 1998 the de facto capital is Brades. [3] The move was initially intended to be temporary, but it has remained the island's de facto capital ever since.[4] Several names have been suggested for the new official capital now being constructed in the Little Bay area.
Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte is the official administrative capital of Sri Lanka.[5] It is a satellite city of and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic and legislative capital, Colombo.
Tanzania: Until 1974, Dar es Salaam served as Tanzania's capital city, at which point the capital city commenced transferring to Dodoma, by order of then-president Julius Nyerere,[6] which was officially completed in 1996. However, as of 2018[update], it remained focus of central government bureaucracy, although this is in the process of fully moving to Dodoma.
Switzerland: As of 2020[update], no Swiss city holds an official status of national capital. In 1848, the Federal Assembly voted to locate the seat of government in Bern, but no official status was granted to the city. The city has since been informally referred to as "Federal City".
Federal Republic of Germany: Since German reunification in 1990 at the end of the Cold War and until 1999, Berlin was its capital and Bonn was the seat of government. However, the Berlin-Bonn Act specifies that many federal government institutions are to maintain a seat in Bonn indefinitely. Prior to reunification, the question as to what was the de jure capital was complicated by questions regarding the status of Berlin.
Kingdom of France: The traditional capital was Paris, though in the periods 1682–1789 and 1871–1879 the seat of government was at the Palace of Versailles, located southwest of Paris.