Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/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. A committee 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. 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 councillor or councilperson, or by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.
In politics
    
Notable examples of types of councils encountered in politics include:
- Borough council, a form of local government
 - Catholic Ecumenical Councils, ecclesiastical gatherings for ordering the Catholic Church
 - City council, a form of local government
 - Community council, the most local official representative body in Scotland and in Wales
 - Council of Europe, a political, intergovernmental organization with 47 member countries
 - Council of the European Union, the upper house of the European Union
 - Council of State, an organ of government in many states
 - County council, a council that governs a county in the British Isles
 - District council, a unit of government in various jurisdictions
 - Ecumenical Councils, pan-Christian discussion bodies
 - European Council, the body of heads of states or of governments of the European Union
 - Labour council, an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area
 - Municipal council, a form of local government
 - National security council, an executive-branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues
 - Parish councils in England, a form of local government in part of the United Kingdom
 - Privy council, a body that advises the head of state of a country
 - Provincial council, a governing body for a province
 - Regional council, a local-government body in various countries
 - Shire council, an entity of local government in Australia
 - Shura Council, the formerly upper house of the Egyptian parliament.
 - Town council, a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or parishes
 - Tribal Council, First Nations' and Native American Nations' governing bodies
 - UK Research Councils, government agencies responsible for an area of research in the United Kingdom
 - United Nations Security Council, a decision-making body at the United Nations
 - Vatican Council, a high-level policy-council of the Roman Catholic Church
 - Village council (Palestinian Authority), a local-government body in Palestine
 - Workers' council, a council composed of working-class or proletarian members
 
In other fields
    
Types of councils encountered in other spheres include:
- Arts council, a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts
 - Bar council, a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the Inns of Court
 - Buddhist councils, important historical events in the history of Buddhism
 - Council (Boy Scouts), a non-profit private corporation within Boy Scouts of America
 - Ecumenical council, a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice
 - Military council
 - Student council, a student organization present in many elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities
 - Synod in a Christian church
 - University Council running a university
 - War Council, discussions pertaining to a declaration of war, or tactics and strategy of a coming battle
 - Works council, a body representing the workers of a plant, factory, etc., elected to negotiate with the management about working conditions, wages, etc.
 - Youth council, an example of youth voice engaged in youth-led decision-making
 
See also
    
    Articles
    
- Consul
 - Legislative Council
 - Pontifical Council
 - Local government in Australia
 - United Nations Security Council
 - Directorial system a form is government where a group of people act as the head of State and/or Government.
 
Disambiguation pages
    
- Accreditation Council
 - Advisory Council
 - Affairs Council
 - American Council
 - Australian Council
 - Canadian Council
 - Christian Council
 - Common Council
 - Cooperation Council
 - Council High School
 - Council house
 - Council of Elders
 - Crown Council
 - Dance Council
 - Danish Council
 - Defence Council
 - Dental Council
 - District council
 - Dutch Council
 - European Council
 - Examinations Council
 - Executive Council
 - Federal Council
 - Federation Council
 - French Council
 - Funding Council
 - General council
 - General Teaching Council
 - Grand Council
 - High Council
 - Hong Kong Council
 - Indian Council
 - International Council
 - Iraqi Council
 - Local Council
 - Medical Council
 - Military Council
 - Muslim Council
 - National Council
 - Olympic Council
 - Policy Council
 - Polish Council
 - Press Council
 - Regional Council
 - Restoration Council
 - Revolutionary Council
 - Scottish Council
 - State Council
 - Supreme Council
 - The Council
 - Valley Council
 - Vietnamese Council
 - World Council
 
External links
    
 Media related to Councils at Wikimedia Commons