Directorial system

Part of a series on
Politics
Index Outline Category
Primary topics Index of politics articles Outline of political science Politics by country Politics by subdivision Political economy Political history Political history of the world Political philosophy
Political systems Anarchy City-state Democracy Dictatorship Directory Federacy Feudalism Meritocracy Monarchy Parliamentary Presidential Republic Semi-parliamentary Semi-presidential Theocracy
Academic disciplines Political science (political scientists) International relations (theory) Comparative politics
Public administration Bureaucracy (street-level) Adhocracy
Policy Public policy (doctrine) Domestic and foreign policy Civil society Public interest
Organs of government Separation of powers Legislature Executive Judiciary Election commission
Related topics Sovereignty Theories of political behavior Political psychology Biology and political orientation Political organisations Foreign electoral intervention
Subseries Electoral systems Elections (voting) Federalism Form of government Ideology Political campaigning Political parties
Politics portal

Part of the Politics series
Basic forms of government
Power source
Democracy (rule by many) Demarchy Direct Liberal Representative Social Socialist Others Oligarchy (rule by few) Anocracy Aristocracy Ergatocracy Gerontocracy Kleptocracy Kritarchy Noocracy Particracy Plutocracy Stratocracy Technocracy Autocracy (rule by one) Despotism Dictatorship Military dictatorship Tyranny Anarchism (rule by none) Anarchy Free association Stateless
Power ideology
Monarchy vs. republic (socio-political ideologies) Absolute Constitutional Directorial Legalist Parliamentary Presidential Semi-presidential Socialist Authoritarian vs. libertarian (socio-economic ideologies) Anarchism Colonialism Communism Despotism Distributism Feudalism Socialism Totalitarianism Tribalism Global vs. local (geo-cultural ideologies) Commune Civilization state City-state Intergovernmental organisation National government World government Nationalism Internationalism Globalism
Power structure
Unitary Unitary state Empire Principality Client state Associated state Dependent territory Dominion Protectorate Puppet state Puppet monarch Satellite state Self-governing colony Tributary state Vassal state Federalism Confederation Devolution Federation Superstate Supranational union International relations Small power Regional power Middle power Great power Superpower
Politics portal

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.

In political history, the term directory, in French directoire, is applied to high collegial institutions of state composed of members styled director. The most important of these by far was the Directory of 1795–1799 in France.[1] The system was inspired by the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, which prominently featured a collegial 12-member Supreme Executive Council with a primus inter pares President. 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.

In the past, Uruguay, Yugoslavia (after 1974), Ukraine,[2] and other countries were ruled by directories. The government of the Soviet Union could in some ways be characterized as a directory, but it developed in a much different pattern discussed in the article on Communist states.

The sole 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. The Swiss Federal Council is elected by the Parliament for four years (its members cannot be dismissed), 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. There is no relationship of confidence between Parliament and the Federal Council. It is a shared system of government that reflects and represents the heterogeneity and multiethnicity of the Swiss people. Direct popular elections are used at the local level.