The seat of government is (as defined by Brewer's Politics) "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". [1]
In most countries, the nation's capital is also seat of its government, thus that city is appropriately referred to as the national seat of government. The terms are not however, completely synonymous, as some countries' seat of government differs from the capital. The Netherlands, for example, has Amsterdam as its capital but The Hague is the seat of government; and the Philippines, with Manila as its capital but the metropolitan area of the same name (Metro Manila; also known as National Capital Region (NCR)), is the seat of government.
Local and regional authorities usually have a seat, called an administrative centre, as well. Terms for seats of local government of various levels and in various countries include:
Examples of seats of government include:
There are several countries where, for various reasons, the official capital and de facto seat of government are separated:
Colombo is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, the Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the Municipality. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is itself within the urban/suburban area of Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments.
Yaren is a district of the Pacific island country of Nauru. It is the de facto capital of Nauru and is coextensive with Yaren Constituency. It is also the fourth-least-populated capital in the world.
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
A capital city or just capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the government's offices and meeting places; the status as capital is often designated by its law or constitution. In some jurisdictions, including several countries, different branches of government are in different settlements, sometimes meaning multiple official capitals. In some cases, a distinction is made between the official (constitutional) capital and the seat of government, which is in another place.
Aiwo is a district in the Pacific country of Nauru. It belongs to Aiwo Constituency.
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the supreme legislative body of Sri Lanka. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the island. It is modeled after the British Parliament. The 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka will convene for the first time on 21 November 2024.
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte, is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is located adjacent to the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, Colombo.
A temporary capital or a provisional capital is a city or town chosen by a government as an interim base of operations due to some difficulty in retaining or establishing control of a different metropolitan area. The most common circumstances leading to this are either a civil war, where control of the capital is contested, or during an invasion, where the designated capital is taken or threatened.
The government of the Philippines has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional republic in which the president functions as both the head of state and the head of government of the country within a pluriform multi-party system.
The states and territories are the second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the federal government. They have their own constitutions, legislatures, executive governments, judiciaries and law enforcement agencies that administer and deliver public policies and programs. Territories can be autonomous and administer local policies and programs much like the states in practice, but are still legally subordinate to the federal government.
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, and highcourt of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of a supreme court are binding on all other courts in a nation and are not subject to further review by any other court. Supreme courts typically function primarily as appellate courts, hearing appeals from decisions of lower trial courts, or from intermediate-level appellate courts. A supreme court can also, in certain circumstances, act as a court of original jurisdiction.
Battaramulla is an Urban Area under the administration of Kaduwela and is situated 8.4 km (5 mi) from the Colombo Fort, near the Parliament of Sri Lanka. It is one of the fastest developing administrative, commercial and residential areas in the Colombo District, being home to the country's elite. Battaramulla is an important town in Sri Lanka, because of the Sri Lankan government's decision to locate all the government department head offices in this town.
This is an overview of current and former national capital cities in the Philippines, spanning from the Spanish colonial period to the current Fifth Philippine Republic. The current capital city, Manila, has been the country's capital throughout most of its history and regained the title through a presidential order in 1976, with Metro Manila serving as the National Capital Region (NCR) since 1978.
The Government of the Republic of China, is the national authority whose actual-controlled territory consists of main island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other island groups, collectively known as Taiwan Area or Free Area. A unitary state, the ROC government, under the current constitutional amendments, is run by a de facto semi-presidential system, consists of the presidency and five branches (Yuan): the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan. The president is the head of state, with the premier as the head of government, currently ruled by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) since 2016. Since the 2005 amendments of the Additional Articles of the Constitution, the Legislative Yuan has been the de facto unicameral parliamentary body of the country.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nauru:
A tropical rainforest climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as Bermuda, the coast of southernmost Florida, United States, and Okinawa, Japan that fall into the tropical rainforest climate category. They experience high mean annual temperatures, small temperature ranges, and rain that falls throughout the year. Regions with this climate are typically designated Af by the Köppen climate classification. A tropical rainforest climate is typically hot, very humid, and wet with no dry season.
Charmaine Eraidinomo Scotty is a Nauruan politician who has been a Member of Parliament for Yaren since 2013. She was a cabinet minister from 2013 to 2019.