The
presidium or
praesidium (from Latin
praesidium meaning protection or defense, so plural
presidia or
praesidia) is the name for the heading organ of various legislative and organizational bodies.
Historical usage
In Communist states the presidium was the permanent heading body of legislative bodies such as the
Supreme SovietThe Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...
in the
USSRThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The
Presidium of the Supreme SovietThe Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was a Soviet governmental institution – a permanent body of the Supreme Soviets . This body was of the all-Union level , as well as in all Soviet republics and autonomous republics...
of the USSR existed from 1936, when the Supreme Soviet of the USSR replaced the
Congress of SovietsThe Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and several other Soviet republics from 1917–36 and again from 1989-91. After the creation of the Soviet Union, the Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union functioned as its legislative branch...
with its
Central Executive CommitteeThe Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union was the highest governing body in the Soviet Union in the interim of the sessions of the Congress of Soviets, existed from 1922 until 1938, when it was replaced by the Supreme Soviet of first convocation....
that administered in between sessions, headed by "the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee." In 1936 this was replaced with the
Presidium of the Supreme SovietThe Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was a Soviet governmental institution – a permanent body of the Supreme Soviets . This body was of the all-Union level , as well as in all Soviet republics and autonomous republics...
alone, no Central Executive Committee, and from this year to 1989 the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was the formal title of the head of state of the USSR until the office of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet was introduced in 1990, later to be replaced by the
President of the Soviet UnionThe President of the Soviet Union , officially called President of the USSR was the Head of State of the USSR from 15 March 1990 to 25 December 1991. Mikhail Gorbachev was the only person to occupy the office. Gorbachev was also General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between...
.
From 1952 to 1966 the Politburo of the
Communist Party of the Soviet UnionThe Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
was known as the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party but despite the similarity in name with the
Presidium of the Supreme SovietThe Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was a Soviet governmental institution – a permanent body of the Supreme Soviets . This body was of the all-Union level , as well as in all Soviet republics and autonomous republics...
, the two Presidia were very different in power and function.
Current usage
The word Presidium is currently used by
North KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
(Supreme People's Assembly Presidium) and in the
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
In Flemish studentclubs the word Presidium is used as an umbrella word for all the chairmen in the club's administration.