A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state. The specific naming of the head of state depends on the country's form of government and separation of powers; the head of state may be a ceremonial figurehead or concurrently the head of government and more.
The Sejm, officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
Separation of powers is the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with others. The typical division into three branches of government, sometimes called the trias politica model, includes a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary. It can be contrasted with the fusion of powers in monarchies, but also parliamentary and semi-presidential systems where there can be overlap in membership and functions between different branches, especially the executive and legislative.
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was, beginning in 1936, the highest body of state authority of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and based on the principle of unified power was the only branch of government in the Soviet state. Prior to 1936, the Congress of Soviets was the supreme legislative body. During 1989–1991 a similar, but not identical structure was the supreme legislative body. The Supreme Soviet appointed the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court, and the Procurator General of the USSR as well as elected the Presidium which served as the USSR's collective head of state by the both 1936 and 1977 Soviet Constitution.
A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation of powers. This head of government is in most cases also the head of state. In a presidential system, the head of government is directly or indirectly elected by a group of citizens and is not responsible to the legislature, and the legislature cannot dismiss the president except in extraordinary cases. A presidential system contrasts with a parliamentary system, where the head of government comes to power by gaining the confidence of an elected legislature.
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comintern after Bolshevisation and the communist states within the Comecon, the Eastern Bloc, and the Warsaw Pact. Marxism–Leninism currently still remains the ideology of a few parties around the world. After its peak when many communist states were established, the Revolutions of 1989 brought down most of the communist states, however, it is still the official ideology of the ruling parties of China, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and to a lesser extent, North Korea. During most of the 20th century, before the Revolutions of 1989, around one-third of the world's population lived under communist states.
The Vietnamese Constitution or the Constitution of Vietnam, fully the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the fundamental and supreme law of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The current constitution was adopted on November 28, 2013, by the Thirteenth National Assembly and took effect on January 1, 2014, being the third constitution adopted by the Vietnamese state since the political reunification of the country in 1976.
The unitary executive theory is a normative theory of United States constitutional law which holds that the President of the United States possesses the power to control the entire federal executive branch. The doctrine is rooted in Article Two of the United States Constitution, which vests "the executive Power" of the United States in the President.
The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's congresses. This system is based on the principle of unified state power, in which the legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), is constitutionally enshrined as "the highest state organ of power." As China's political system has no separation of powers, there is only one branch of government which is represented by the legislature. The CCP through the NPC enacts unified leadership, which requires that all state organs, from the Supreme People's Court to the President of the People's Republic of China, are elected by, answerable to, and have no separate powers than those granted to them by the NPC. By law, all elections at all levels must adhere to the leadership of the CCP. The CCP controls appointments in all state bodies through a two-thirds majority in the NPC. The remaining seats are held by nominally independent delegates and eight minor political parties, which are non-oppositional and support the CCP. All government bodies and state-owned enterprises have internal CCP committees that lead the decision-making in these institutions.
The Great National Assembly was the supreme body of state power of the Socialist Republic of Romania. The Great National Assembly was the only branch of government in Romania, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. After the overthrow of Communism in Romania in December 1989, the Great National Assembly was dissolved by decree of the National Salvation Front (FSN) and eventually replaced by the bicameral parliament, made up of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
Civilian control of the military in communist states have differed from country to country. There are typically three models of civilian control of the military: party-run, state-run, and hybrid. In all three models, the communist party has an internal organisation in the military.
The highest organ of state power is the representative organ in communist states that functions as the sole branch of government according to the principle of unified power. For example, the government of the Soviet Union was designated as the highest executive and administrative body of the highest organ of state power, the All-Union Supreme Soviet.
The system of people's congress under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the form of government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), and is based on the principle of unified power, in which all state powers are vested in the National People's Congress (NPC). No separation of powers exists in the PRC. All state organs are elected by, answerable to and have no separate powers than those granted to them by the NPC. By law, all elections at all levels must adhere to the leadership of the CCP.
The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 1991. The government was headed by a chairman, most commonly referred to as the premier of the Soviet Union, and several deputy chairmen throughout its existence. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), as "The leading and guiding force of Soviet society and the nucleus of its political system" per Article 6 of the state constitution, controlled the government by holding a two-thirds majority in the All-Union Supreme Soviet. The government underwent several name changes throughout its history, and was known as the Council of People's Commissars from 1922 to 1946, the Council of Ministers from 1946 to 1991, the Cabinet of Ministers from January to August 1991 and the Committee on the Operational Management of the National Economy from August to December 1991.
The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR was the supreme soviet and the highest organ of state power of Belarus (Byelorussia), then known as the Byelorussian SSR from 1938 to 1991. It was the only branch of government in the republic, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it. The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR was preceded by the All-Byelorussian Central Executive Committee (1920-1938) and the All-Byelorussian Congress of Soviets (1919-1937). The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR was briefly disbanded in 1941 due to the Great Patriotic War and was re-established in 1947. The Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR was briefly succeeded by the Supreme Soviet of Belarus from 1991 to 1996. The Supreme Soviet of Belarus was succeeded by the National Assembly of Belarus in 1996.
The central committee is designated as the highest organ of a communist party between congresses. Per the principles of democratic centralism and unified power, the central committee is empowered to deal with any issue that falls under the party's purview. While formally retaining this role in socialist states, commonly referred to as communist states by outside observers, in practice, it delegates this authority to numerous smaller internal organs due to the infrequency of its meetings. The term of a central committee of a ruling communist party is usually five years. The party congress elects individuals to the central committee and holds it accountable. At the first central committee session held immediately after a congress, it elects the party leader, an office usually titled general secretary of the central committee, a political organ, commonly known as the politburo, an executive organ, customarily named the secretariat.
Democratic centralism is the organisational principle of communist states and of most communist parties to reach dictatorship of the proletariat. In practice, democratic centralism means that political decisions reached by voting processes are binding upon all members of the political party. It is mainly associated with Leninism, wherein the party's political vanguard of revolutionaries practice democratic centralism to select leaders and officers, determine policy, and execute it.
The concept of separation of powers has been considered and disputed in Hong Kong and its various forms of government. Prior to the Handover of Hong Kong in 1997, the government of British Hong Kong did not have a Western-style separation of powers. The post-handover Hong Kong Basic Law does not explicitly prescribe a separation of powers, but allocates power to the Executive Council, Legislative Council, and Judiciary. Since the 1997 handover, whether the separation of powers principle exists within the Hong Kong political system has been disputed among the Hong Kong SAR Government, central Chinese Government, and public media.
