Congress

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

In politics, Congress ("a gathering of people") is the name of the main legislative body in a state that operates under a congressional system of government. In non-political usage congress is a term applied to a large national or international grouping of people meeting together with common interests or concerns, e.g. an academic conference.

[edit] Political congress

[edit] Legislative congress

A congress is different from a parliament (Westminster System of Government) in that legislative initiative is vested into it. In a congressional system the executive and legislative branches of government are clearly differentiated. Head of State (president) and Head of Government (prime minister) are typically merged into one office, and cabinet members are only rarely taken from the congress.

Countries with Congresses within a presidential system:

• The United States Congress heads the constitutional legislative branch of the United States federal government.
• The Congress of Mexico (spanish: Congreso de la Unión) is the legislative branch of Mexican government.
• The Congress of the Republic of Peru (spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of Peru.
• The Congress of the Argentine Nation (spanish: Congreso de la Nación Argentina) is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina.
• The Congress of the Philippines (Filipino: Kongreso ng Pilipinas) is the legislative branch of the Philippine government.
• The National Congress of Brazil (portuguese: Congresso Nacional) is Brazil's legislature.
• The National Congress of Chile (spanish: Congreso Nacional) is the legislative branch of the government of Chile.
• The National Congress of Ecuador is the unicameral legislature of Ecuador.
• In France, the congrès is a formal and exceptional joint meeting of both houses of Parliament in order to ratify an amendment to the Constitution.

Other Countries with Congresses:

• The legislature of the People's Republic of China is known in English as the National People's Congress. The PRC is nevertheless not a congressional system.
• Congress_of_Guatemala
• Congress_of_Honduras
• Congress_of_Panama
• Congress_of_Paraguay
• Congress_of_Micronesia
• Congress of the Dominican Republic
• National Congress of American Indians
• National Congress of Belgium
• National Congress of Bolivia
• National Congress of Fiji
• National Congress of the Canaries
• National Congress (Sudan)
• Spanish Congress of Deputies (spanish: Congreso de los Diputados), the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch
• The Congress of Council of Europe (Strasbourg, abbrev.CLRAE), an institution of the Council of Europe, similar to its Parliamentary Assembly (not to be confused with the European Parliament); 46 member states in the European region +Armenia, Cyprus & Turkey.

[edit] Political party

Congress is included in the name of several political parties, especially those in former British colonies:

• The People's National Congress of Guyana
• The Indian National Congress of India
• The Nationalist Congress Party of India
• The Nationalist Trinamool Congress of India
• The Tamil Maanila Congress of India
• The Basotho Congress Party of Lesotho
• The Lesotho Congress for Democracy of Lesotho
• The Lesotho Peoples' Congress of Lesotho
• The Malawi Congress Party of Malawi
• The Malaysian Indian Congress of Malaysia
• The Congress of Democrats of Namibia
• The Nepali Congress of Nepal
• The All People's Congress of Sierra Leone
• The African National Congress of South Africa
• The Pan-Africanist Congress of South Africa
• The All Ceylon Tamil Congress of Sri Lanka
• The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress of Sri Lanka
• The Ngwane National Liberatory Congress of Swaziland
• The United National Congress of Trinidad and Tobago
• The Ugandan People's Congress of Uganda

[edit] Political gatherings

Congress has also been used to describe certain historical gatherings, such as

• the Congress of Vienna (1815), reorganizing Europe after the Napoleon wars,
• the Congress of Berlin (1877-78), reorganizing conditions in the Balkans,
• the Congress of Tucumán (1816) and Congress of Panama (1826) to become independent of Spain.

It has been used for meetings of independence-minded nationalists or revolutionaries:

• The United States Continental Congress
• The Indian National Congress
• The Iraqi National Congress

(Note, the political parties mentioned above also began as groups of this type).

Congress is also part of the name of certain international bodies, such as

• The Congress of the Council of Europe.

[edit] Party congress

Many political parties also have a Party Congress which is held every few years to make decisions for the party and elected governing bodies. These are sometimes called political conventions.

[edit] Non-political congress

[edit] Scientific congress

Congress is an alternative name for a large national or international academic conference.

[edit] Chess congress

Chess congress

A Chess congress is a chess tournament, in one city, where a large number of contestants gather to play competitive chess over a limited period of time; typically one day to one week.

[edit] See also

• List of democracy and elections-related topics
• Encyclopedia Jr articles "Congress"
• List of African Union member states by political system
• Congressional Country Club
• Congress Poland, Congress Bundestag
• Doctor's Guide Congress Resource Center