Congress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A congress is a gathering of people.
Congress is the name of the main legislative body in a nation that operates under a congressional system of government.
A congress is different from a parliament in that it has no Prime Minister as its leader, and rarely has a sitting member as the nation's head of State or head of Government.
Countries with Congresses:
- The United States Congress is the legislature of the United States federal government
- The National People's Congress is the highest legislative body in the People's Republic of China
Congress is included in the name of several political parties:
- The Congress Party of India
- The African National Congress.
Congress has also been used to describe certain historical gatherings of independence-minded nationalists or revolutionaries:
- The United States Continental Congress
- The Indian National Congress
- The Iraqi National Congress
Many parties also have a Party Congress which is held every few years to make decisions for the party and elected governing bodies. There are sometimes called political conventions.