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:
 * Science research 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.