The Government of Colombia is a

republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

with

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to 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 those of the other branches. The typi ...

into executive, judicial and legislative branches. Its legislature has a congress, its judiciary has a supreme court, and its executive branch has a president. The citizens of Colombia cast votes concerning their government, and they employ a ''public'' sector office for an inspector general to oversee the public interface of

the government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. This safeguards the public, and guarantees the

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

spelled out in the '' Constitution of 1991'', which provides the framework for a welfare state and a

unitary republic A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only t ...

. Colombia has "control institutions" that mix government and public officials, who work alongside one another. For example, the public's inspector general works closely with the government's controller general, whose job it is to ensure governmental

fiscal responsibility A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) is a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it is a budget that has no budget ...

. An independent

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

deals with maladministration complaints and functions.

Executive

The executive branch of power in Colombia is headed by the President of the Republic. He is supported by the Vice President of Colombia, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...

and Government entities of Colombia, Administrative Departments of Colombia. The government is in charge of creating and developing policies concerning Colombia, while the governors of the

Departments of Colombia Colombia is a unitary republic made up of thirty-two departments ( Spanish: ''departamentos'', sing. ''departamento'') and a Capital District ('' Distrito Capital''). Each department has a governor (''gobernador'') and an Assembly (''Asamblea ...

are elected by popular vote to represent the president and the executive branch of government. Mayors are subordinated to the governors, who are the maximum representatives of the executive branch of government at a

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

level. Mayors are also elected in regional elections, along with the department governors. In 2015, Colombia's Congress limited presidency to single term, preventing the president from seeking re-election.

Legislative

The legislative branch is the branch that makes laws. Representatives are elected by the people and support their thoughts in government.

Judiciary

The judiciary of Colombia (Spanish: Rama Judicial de Colombia) is a branch of the State of Colombia that interprets and applies the laws of Colombia, to ensure equal justice under law, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The judiciary comprises a hierarchical system of courts presided over by judges, magistrates and other adjudicators. Colombia is a centralized state, thus there is only one jurisdiction (with the exception of special indigenous jurisdictions), which is functionally divided by subject matter into an ordinary, penal, administrative, disciplinary, constitutional and special jurisdictions (military,

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

, and indigenous matters).

References

External links

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Government of Colombia
{{Colombia-stub