Introduction to Executives

The executive is often what one thinks of when referring to "the government," but in fact it is just one of the three branches of government. On this page you will find out more about the three different elements of the executive - the symbolic, the political, and the permanent - and learn more about the different ways the executive is structured in political systems around the world. Also, a set of links to the main Web sites run by many countries of the world is available here. 

For more detailed information about Canada you can visit the Canadian Executive section of this site. 

SYMBOLIC EXECUTIVE

  Every system of government has an official who fulfills the important symbolic role of embodying the state and who acts as head of state. In a monarchy such as Canada, Great Britain, or Spain, the queen or king plays an important symbolic function. You may visit the Web site run by the royal family in Britain and learn more about the functions of the monarchy today, as well as learn more about the British monarchy through the ages. Alternatively, you can visit the Dutch monarchy. In "constitutional monarchies" such as in Canada, Britain, and Holland, the royal family is limited almost entirely to performing symbolic functions. 

In Canada, the symbolic functions are usually filled not by the Queen, who lives in England, but by the Governor General in Ottawa and the Lieutenant Governors in the provinces. However, when the Queen does visit Canada, she undertakes a range of symbolic duties as part of a royal tour. 

Many monarchies have been replaced by republics, where there is no hereditary head of state. Australians are currently engaged in a lively debate about whether they should end their connection to the British monarchy. In 1998, a report of the Constitutional Convention (archived site) recommended that a referendum be held on replacing the British monarch as Australia's head of state with an official elected by the two houses of parliament. On November 6, 1999, Australians voted on  a referendum about whether to become a republic, but there was not enough support for any of the alternatives to the monarchy. The Australian Republic Movement's site provides material on abolishing the monarchy's connection to Australia. 

Many countries with parliamentary systems of government have a President as head of state; examples include Germany and India.

In some countries, the head of state and head of government are the same official. Thus, one individual fills the symbolic functions as well as directs the political element of the executive branch of government. The U.S. President is both head of state and head of government in the American political system. Even in some monarchies this dual role is filled by the monarch; for example, you can read about the present King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and how he directs the government's decision making. 

Impeachment Proceedings Against President Clinton

After the release of the Starr Report, the Judicial Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives recommended that formal hearings be held to decide whether President Clinton should be impeached.  The White House has issued a rebuttal of the allegations. 

A useful background paper on the impeachment process is "'High Crimes and Misdemeanors': A Short History of Impeachment" 

Sites with on going coverage of the impeachment process include  CNN's All Politics - Investigating the President and Time's The President on Trial. 

A trial was held for President Bill Clinton in the U.S. Senate in 1998 on two articles of impeachment. C-Span provides a concise summary of the procedure in an impeachment trial. A president would be impeached if two-thirds of the senators voted for the articles of impeachment. In Bill Clinton's case, Article 1 was voted down 55 to 45, while Article 2 received a 50 to 50 vote. 

POLITICAL EXECUTIVE

  The real work of directing the policies of the government is done by the political executive. In many countries this part of the executive is called "the cabinet" or "the ministry," and may be either elected or appointed. The person who directs the political executive is the head of government. 

In Canada, the Prime Minister is the head of government. The governor general appoints as prime minister that person who leads the party which can command a majority in the legislature. The prime minister chooses the other members of Cabinet and the Ministry, although the governor general officially appoints them to their positions. 

As in most other parliamentary systems, the prime minister does not run in a national election where all the voters can directly choose who should be prime minister. However, Israel has adapted this parliamentary form of government and now holds a direct election for Prime Minister. 

France has adopted a dual-executive system, where the head of government functions are shared between the President and the Prime Minister, although the President is ultimately much more important. 

To find out more about the head of government in other countries you can visit the sites run by: 

PERMANENT EXECUTIVE

  The day-to-day work of all governments is carried out by the career bureaucrats who work for the state. The civil service plays a vital role in implementing and administering the policies endorsed by the legislature and political executive. Also, senior bureaucrats are deeply involved in developing policy proposals for the political executive to consider. 

The permanent executive is divided into a great many specialized departments and agencies concerned with specific policy areas. The following sites provide sets of links to the departments and agencies listed for each of the countries and administrative regions: 

You can find more links to foreign government Web sites at the World Gazeteer.