Directorial system
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.
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1 This map was compiled according to the Wikipedia list of countries by system of government. See there for sources.Full presidential republics2 Semi-presidential republics2 Republics with an executive president or directory elected by or nominated by the legislature that may or may not be subject to parliamentary confidence Parliamentary republics2 Parliamentary constitutional monarchies where royalty does not hold significant power Parliamentary constitutional monarchies which have a separate head of government but where royalty holds significant executive and/or legislative power Absolute monarchies One-party states Countries where constitutional provisions for government have been suspended (e.g. military juntas) Countries that do not fit any of the above systems (e.g. provisional governments/unclear political situations) Overseas possessions, colonies, and places without governments
2 This map presents only the de jure form of government, and not the de facto degree of democracy. Some countries which are de jure republics are de facto authoritarian regimes. For a measure of the degree of democracy in countries around the world, see the Democracy Index or V-Dem Democracy indices.
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.[1] 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.[2] Military juntas differ from the directorial system by not being elected. Utilizing sortition to select multiple executives can lead to a directorial system.
Current directorial systems
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Switzerland: Federal Council and equivalent executives of each canton
San Marino: Captains Regent (Diarchy)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Triumvirate)
European Union: European Council and European Commission
Directorial republic in Switzerland
The only country now using this form of government is Switzerland[3] (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.[4] 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.[5]
Former directorial systems
In the past, countries with elected directories include:
- Bohemian Revolt from 1618 to 1620
New England Confederation from 1643 to 1686
Commonwealth of England from 1649 to 1653
Dutch Republic partially in First Stadtholderless Period from 1650 to 1672
Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1790
First French Republic French Directory from 1795 to 1799
Costa Rica The Town's Legates Junta and High Government Junta from 1821 to 1823.svg.png.webp)
Roman Republic (1849) from 1849 to 1850 (Triumvirate).svg.png.webp)
Ukrainian People's Republic Directorate of Ukraine from 1919 to 1920[6]
Uruguay National Council of Administration and National Council of Government from 1952 to 1967
See also
References
- Directory (French history) at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- Sigman, Rachel; Lindberg, Staffan I. (November 1, 2017). "Neopatrimonialism and Democracy: An Empirical Investigation of Africa's Political Regimes". doi:10.2139/ssrn.3066654 – via Social Science Research Network.
- "Switzerland | History, Flag, Map, Capital, Population, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- Pierre Cormon (2014). Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners. Ginevra: Slatkine.
- Buchs, Aurélia; Soguel, Nils (2022-04-01). "Fiscal performance and the re-election of finance ministers–evidence from the Swiss cantons". Public Choice. 191 (1): 31–49. doi:10.1007/s11127-021-00949-z. ISSN 1573-7101. S2CID 246371550.
- Directory (Ukrainian ruling body) at the Encyclopædia Britannica