Government

The highest executive body of a state. Sometimes called the council of ministers or cabinet of ministers, governments are headed by a prime minister, a chancellor, or by the chairman of the council of ministers or cabinet of ministers. In some countries the government is headed by the head of state—in the USA, for example, by the president. Such members of the government as ministers, secretaries, and secretaries of state direct state administrative departments. Governments may be composed of one or of several parties. Federal states have a central or federal government as well as governments of the political units, for example, states or provinces, that form the federation.
In capitalist countries governments are formed by a parliament or are appointed by the monarch or president. In the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland, and Japan the head of state appoints as premier or chancellor a person elected by parliament. In many countries the government according to law is responsible to parliament, but in reality all the power is generally wielded by the government and its head; this system of government by ministers has replaced parliamentarism. In capitalist countries, the government’s delegated legislative power is of great importance. Bourgeois governments are continually under the influence of large capitalist conglomerates, which determine the government’s composition and policies. Thus, the government becomes in actuality the political instrument of a small group of leading monopolists, who utilize the government to control society.
In socialist states the government is formed by the highest body of the people’s representatives, to which it is responsible and accountable. The governments of the socialist countries are the highest executive and administrative bodies of state authority. Their formation, composition, and scope are determined by constitutions or by constitutional laws.
Category:Politics