Executive (government)
Branch overseeing administration of the state
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Learn it on Lably
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- ExecutiveClass 11 · Political Science
- The Parliamentary System: Legislature and ExecutiveClass 8 · Social Science
- The Three Main Organs of the Indian Government: Legislature, Executive, JudiciaryClass 8 · History & Civics
- Grassroots Democracy — Part 1: GovernanceClass 6 · Social Science
- The State, the Government, and YouClass 7 · Social Science
Function
The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. They are usually laid out in a constitution. In democratic countries, the executive often exercises broad influence over national politics, though limitations are often applied to the executive.
In political systems based on the separation of powers, government authority is distributed between several branches to prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of a single person or group. To achieve this, each branch is subject to checks by the other branches; in general, the executive or the legislature can propose laws, the legislature can pass or block laws, laws are then enforced by the executive, and interpreted by the judiciary. The executive can also be the source of certain types of law or law-derived rules, such as a decree, executive order, or delegated legislation. For example, the U.S. federal legislative branch frequently delegates rulemaking (creation of regulations) to the U.S. federal executive branch.
In those that have fusion of powers, typically parliamentary systems, such as the United Kingdom, the executive is often referred to as the 'government', and its members generally belong to the political party or political parties that control the legislature. Since the executive requires the support and approval of the legislature, the two bodies are "fused" together, rather than being independent. The principle of parliamentary sovereignty means powers possessed by the executive are solely dependent on those granted by the legislature, which can also subject its actions to judicial review. However, the executive often has wide-ranging powers stemming from the control of the government bureaucracy, especially in the areas of overall economic or foreign policy.
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Political creation
In parliamentary systems, the executive is responsible to the elected legislature, and must maintain the confidence of the legislature, or one part of it, if bicameral. In certain circumstances (varying by state), the legislature can express its lack of confidence in the executive, which causes either a change in the governing party or group of parties or a general election.
Parliamentary systems have a head of government (who leads the executive, often called ministers) normally distinct from the head of state (who continues through governmental and electoral changes). In the Westminster type of parliamentary system, the principle of separation of powers is not as entrenched as in some others.
Members of the executive (ministers) are also members of the legislature, and hence play an important part in both the writing and enforcing of law. In presidential systems, the directly elected head of government appoints the ministers. Ministers can be directly elected by voters, such as in Switzerland at the cantonal (state) level.
Internal organization and personnel
In a presidential system, the leader of the executive is both the head of state and government. In some cases, such as South Korea, there is a Prime Minister who assists the President, but who is not the head of government but is the second in the chain.
In a parliamentary system, a cabinet minister responsible to the legislature is the head of government, while the head of state is usually a largely ceremonial monarch or president.
The top leadership roles of the executive branch may include:
- head of government – often the prime minister, overseeing the administration of all affairs of state.
- defence minister – overseeing the armed forces, determining military policy, and managing external safety.
- interior minister – overseeing the police forces, enforcing the law, and managing internal control.
- foreign minister – overseeing the diplomatic service, determining foreign policy and managing foreign relations.
- finance minister – overseeing the treasury, determining fiscal policy and managing national budget.
- justice minister – overseeing criminal prosecutions, corrections, enforcement of court orders.