A government is a body that has the authority to make and the
power to enforce laws within a civil, corporate, religious,
academic, or other organization or group. In its broadest sense,
"to govern" means to administer or supervise, whether over a
state, a set group of people, or a collection of assets.
The word government is derived from the Greek Κυβερνήτης (kyvernites),
which means "steersman", "pilot" or "rudder".
Typically, "the government" refers to the executive function. In
many countries (particularly those having parliamentary
systems), the government refers to the executive branch of
government or a specifically named executive, such as the Blair
government (compare to the administration as in the Clinton
administration in U.S. usage). In countries using the
Westminster system, the party in government will also usually
control the legislature.
The "Welsh Assembly Government" is the name of the executive
branch of Wales, and "Scottish government" is the unofficial
term to describe the Scottish Executive. |
