Governorate
Encyclopedia
A governorate is an administrative division
of a country. It is headed by a governor
. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states, provinces, or colonies, the term governorate is often used in translation from non-English-speaking administrations.
The most common usage is as a translation of the Arabic
Muhafazah
rarely Wilayah
. It may also refer to the guberniya
and general-gubernatorstvo
of Imperial Russia or the 34 gobernaciones of Imperial Spain
.
; others closely follow traditional boundaries inherited from the Ottoman Empire
's vilayet system.
With the exception of Tunisia, all translations into the term governorate originate in the Arabic word muhafazah
.
, the gobernaciones ("governorships" or "governorates") were an administrative division, roughly analogous to a province
directly beneath the level of the audiencia or captaincy general
, and the viceroy
in areas directly under the viceroy's administration. The powers and duties of a governor
were identical to a corregidor
but a governor managed a larger or more prosperous area than the former.
of Baden-Württemberg
, Bavaria, Hesse
, and North Rhine-Westphalia
there are - and earlier in many more German states there were - sub-state administrative regions called in , which is sometimes translated into English as governorate.
During the time of the Third Reich
, a "General Government
for the Occupied Polish Areas" (German: Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete) existed. The German (based on a traditional Prussia
n term) is sometimes translated as General Governorate.
administrated three governorates: Bessarabia Governorate, Bukovina Governorate and Transnistria Governorate
.
, the pope
's executive authority for Vatican City
is exercised by the Governorate for Vatican City State. The President
of Vatican City's legislative body is ex officio the President of the Governorate. The other key officers of the Governorate are the General Secretary and the Vice General Secretary. All three officers are appointed by the pope for five-year terms.
Administrative division
An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...
of a country. It is headed by a governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states, provinces, or colonies, the term governorate is often used in translation from non-English-speaking administrations.
The most common usage is as a translation of the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
Muhafazah
Muhafazah
A ' is a first-level administrative division of many Arab countries, and a second-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia. The term is usually translated to governorate in English, and occasionally to province. It comes from the Arabic root 'h-f-ẓ' which means to 'keep and guard'...
rarely Wilayah
Wilayah
A wilāyah or vilâyet , or vilayat in Urdu and Turkish, is an administrative division, usually translated as "province", rarely as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic "w-l-y", "to govern": a wāli — "governor" — governs a wilayah, "that which is governed"...
. It may also refer to the guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
and general-gubernatorstvo
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
of Imperial Russia or the 34 gobernaciones of Imperial Spain
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
.
Arab countries
The term governorate is widely used in Arab countries to describe an administrative unit. Some governorates combine more than one wilayahWilayah
A wilāyah or vilâyet , or vilayat in Urdu and Turkish, is an administrative division, usually translated as "province", rarely as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic "w-l-y", "to govern": a wāli — "governor" — governs a wilayah, "that which is governed"...
; others closely follow traditional boundaries inherited from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
's vilayet system.
With the exception of Tunisia, all translations into the term governorate originate in the Arabic word muhafazah
Muhafazah
A ' is a first-level administrative division of many Arab countries, and a second-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia. The term is usually translated to governorate in English, and occasionally to province. It comes from the Arabic root 'h-f-ẓ' which means to 'keep and guard'...
.
- Governorates of BahrainGovernorates of BahrainBahrain is split into five governorates. These governorates are:- Former municipalities :Bahrain was formerly split into twelve municipalities that were all administered from the capital city of Manama. On July 3, 2002, these were superseded by the five governorates of Bahrain...
- Governorates of EgyptGovernorates of EgyptEgypt is divided for administrative purposes into 27 governorates . Egyptian governorates are the top tier of the country's five-tier jurisdiction hierarchy. A governorate is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Egypt and serves at the president's discretion...
- Governorates of IraqGovernorates of Iraq||Iraq is composed of 18 provinces :#Baghdād #Salāh ad-Dīn #Diyālā #Wāsit #Maysān #Al-Basrah #Dhī Qār #Al-Muthannā #Al-Qādisiyyah...
(official translation, sometimes also translated as province) - Governorates of JordanGovernorates of Jordan||The country of Jordan is divided into 12 governorates .-References:...
- Governorates of KuwaitGovernorates of KuwaitKuwait is divided into 6 governorates .The governorates are further subdivided into districts.-See also:*ISO 3166-2:KW...
- Governorates of LebanonGovernorates of Lebanon||Lebanon is divided into six governorates , listed with their capitals in parentheses:#Beirut #Mount Lebanon #North #Beqaa #Nabatiye #South...
- Governorates of Oman
- Governorates of Palestine
- Governorates of Saudi ArabiaGovernorates of Saudi Arabia||Governorates are the second level of regional administration within Saudi Arabia. Each of Saudi Arabia's 13 emirates is sub-divided into governorates. Governorates are further sub-divided into sub-governorates , though some sub-governorates report directly to the emirate capital rather than to...
- Governorates of SyriaGovernorates of SyriaSyria has fourteen governorates, or muhafazat . The governorates are divided into sixty districts, or manatiq , which are further divided into subdistricts, or nawahi...
- Governorates of TunisiaGovernorates of Tunisia||Tunisia is divided into 24 governorates : Ariana Béja Ben Arous Bizerte Gabès Gafsa Jendouba Kairouan Kasserine Kebili Kef Mahdia Manouba Medenine Monastir Nabeul Sfax Sidi Bouzid Siliana Sousse Tataouine...
(wilayahWilayahA wilāyah or vilâyet , or vilayat in Urdu and Turkish, is an administrative division, usually translated as "province", rarely as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic "w-l-y", "to govern": a wāli — "governor" — governs a wilayah, "that which is governed"...
) - Governorates of YemenGovernorates of Yemen|Yemen is divided into 21 governorates :The governorates are subdivided into 333 districts , which are subdivided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages ....
Russian Empire
- History of the administrative division of RussiaHistory of the administrative division of RussiaThe modern administrative-territorial structure of Russia' is a system of territorial organization which is a product of a centuries-long evolution and reforms.-Early history:...
- GuberniyaGuberniyaA guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
and :Category:Governorates of the Russian Empire
Spanish Empire
In the Spanish EmpireSpanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
, the gobernaciones ("governorships" or "governorates") were an administrative division, roughly analogous to a province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
directly beneath the level of the audiencia or captaincy general
Captaincy
A captaincy is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. Each was governed by a captain general.-In the Portuguese Empire:...
, and the viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
in areas directly under the viceroy's administration. The powers and duties of a governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
were identical to a corregidor
Corregidor (position)
A corregidor was a local, administrative and judicial position in Spain and its empire. He was the highest authority of a Corregimiento. In the Americas a corregidor was often called an alcalde mayor. They began to be appointed in fourteenth century Castile and the institution was definitively...
but a governor managed a larger or more prosperous area than the former.
Germany
In today's German statesStates of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Bavaria, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, and North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
there are - and earlier in many more German states there were - sub-state administrative regions called in , which is sometimes translated into English as governorate.
During the time of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, a "General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
for the Occupied Polish Areas" (German: Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete) existed. The German (based on a traditional Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n term) is sometimes translated as General Governorate.
Romania
During World War II, RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
administrated three governorates: Bessarabia Governorate, Bukovina Governorate and Transnistria Governorate
Transnistria (World War II)
Transnistria Governorate was a Romanian administered territory, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, and occupied from 19 August 1941 to 29 January 1944...
.
Vatican City
Under the Fundamental Law of Vatican City StateFundamental Law of Vatican City State
The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 26 November 2000, is the Supreme Law of the Vatican. It obtained the Force of Law of 22 February 2001, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle, and replaced in its entirety law N. I...
, the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
's executive authority for Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
is exercised by the Governorate for Vatican City State. The President
President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
The President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State is the leader of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, the legislative body of Vatican City. As a senior member of the Roman Curia, the president is normally a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church...
of Vatican City's legislative body is ex officio the President of the Governorate. The other key officers of the Governorate are the General Secretary and the Vice General Secretary. All three officers are appointed by the pope for five-year terms.