A governorate or governate is an

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

headed by a

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. As

English-speaking The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

nations tend to call regions administered by governors either

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...

divisions of non-English-speaking administrations. The most common usage are as a translation of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

"Farmandari" or the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Muhafazah A is a first-level administrative division of many Arab countries, and a second-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia. The term is usually translated as "governorate", and occasionally as "province". It comes from the Arabic triconsonant ...

''. It may also refer to the '' guberniya'' and '' general-gubernatorstvo'' of

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

or the '' gobiernos'' of Imperial Spain.

Arab countries

The term ''governorate'' is widely used in Arab countries to describe an administrative unit. Some governorates combine more than one ''

''; others closely follow traditional boundaries inherited from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

's ''

vilayet A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...

'' system. With the exception of Tunisia, all translations into the term governorate originate in the Arabic word ''muhafazah'' (). *

Governorates of Bahrain The Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain is divided into four governorates: the Capital Governorate, Bahrain, Capital, Northern Governorate, Northern, Southern Governorate, Southern and Muharraq Governorate, Muharraq. The Central Governorate, Bahrain, Ce ...

Governorates of Egypt Egypt is administratively organized under a dual system that may consist of either two or three tiers, with further subdivisions occasionally resulting in an additional layer. It follows a centralized system of local government, officially term ...

Governorates of Iraq Iraq consists of 19 governorates (; ), also known as "provinces". Per the Iraqi constitution, governorates can form a Federal regions of Iraq, federal region. Four governorates, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Halabja and Duhok, constitute the semi-autono ...

(official translation, sometimes also translated as province) *

Governorates of Jordan Jordan is divided into twelve historical regions (''muhafazah, almanatiq altaarikhia''), further subdivided into districts (''Liwa (Arabic), liwa''), and often into sub-districts (''qada (sub-district), qada''). 1994 reform In 1994, four new gov ...

Governorates of Kuwait Kuwait is divided into 6 governorates (''muhafazah''). The governorates are further subdivided into Areas of Kuwait, areas. Each governorate is headed by a Governor appointed by a ministerial decree for a period of 4 years which can be renewed ...

Governorates of Lebanon Lebanon is divided into nine governorates (Arabic: ). Each governorate is headed by a governor (Arabic: ). All of the governorates except for Beirut Governorate, Beirut and Akkar Governorate, Akkar are divided into districts of Lebanon, dis ...

Governorates of Oman Oman is divided into eleven governorates ('' muhafazah'') as of 28 October 2011. Each of the 11 governorates are divided into '' wilayat'' ( provinces). Regions and governorates before 2011 Before 28 October 2011, Oman was divided into five re ...

Governorates of Palestine Palestine is a unitary state, but is divided into sixteen governorates for administrative purposes. After the signing of the Oslo Accords, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were placed under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority, wh ...

Governorates of Saudi Arabia The Governorates of Saudi Arabia, officially the Governorates of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, () are the second-level administrative divisions of Saudi Arabia after the 13 first-level Provinces of Saudi Arabia. There are 136 governorates class ...

Governorates of Syria Syria is a unitary state, but for administrative purposes, it is divided into fourteen governorates, also called provinces or counties in English (Arabic language, Arabic ''muḥāfaẓāt'', singular ''Muhafazah, muḥāfaẓah''). The governo ...

Governorates of Tunisia Tunisia is divided into 24 governorates (''wilayat'', sing. ''wilayah''). This term in Arabic can also be translated as province. The governorates are divided into 264 delegations (''mutamadiyat''), and further subdivided into municipalitie ...

(the local term is ''

wilayah A wilayah ( or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu, Pashto and ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", " province" or occasionally as " governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "''w-l-y''", "to govern": a '' wāli''� ...

'') *

Governorates of Yemen The Republic of Yemen is divided into twenty-one governorates ('' muhafazah'') and one municipality ( amanah): The governorates are subdivided into 333 districts (''muderiah''), which are subdivided into 1,996 sub-districts, and then into 4 ...

Germany

In the modern

German states The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, and

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, as well as others in the past, there are sub-state administrative regions - , , which are sometimes translated into English as "governorates". During the time of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, a "

General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...

for the Occupied Polish Areas" () existed. The German (based on a traditional

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n term) is sometimes translated as ''General Governorate''.

Greece

The "New Lands" added to the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

by the 19121913

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

Epirus, Macedonia, Crete, and islands in the eastern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

initially continued their Ottoman divisions and administrators but these were overseen by new Greek governor generals. The territory was reorganized in 1915 amid the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but the governorate generals (, ''Genikaí Dioikíseis'', sing. , ''Genikí Dioíkisis'') continued in use in various forms until their complete abolishment in 1955.

Italian Empire

Governorates of Italian East Africa The Italian colony of Italian East Africa () was composed of six governorates which made up the first level of country subdivisions for the colony. The governorates of Amhara, Galla-Sidamo, Harar and Scioa constituted the " Italian Empire o ...

Portuguese Empire

In the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

, a governorate general ( Portuguese: ''governo-geral'') were a colonial administration. They usually were created in order to be a centralized government over smaller colonies or territories of the Portuguese Empire. Governorate Generals of the Portuguese Empire: *

Governorate General of Brazil The Governorate General of Brazil (''Governo-Geral do Brasil'') was a colonial administration of the Portuguese Empire in present-day Brazil. A governorate was equivalent in status to a viceroyalty, though the title viceroy didn't come into use un ...

(1549-1572 / 1578-1607 / 1613–1621) * Governorate General of Bahia (1572-1578 / 1607–1613) *

Governorate General of Rio de Janeiro The Governorate General of Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese: ''Governo-Geral do Rio de Janeiro'') was a colonial administration of the Portuguese Empire. History In 1534, John III of Portugal started granting land rights to colonize Portuguese terr ...

(1572-1578 / 1607–1613)

Romania

During World War II,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

administrated three governorates, two of them part of Romania, the

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered t ...

and the

Bukovina Governorate The Bukovina Governorate () was an administrative unit of Romania during World War II. Background and history In 1775, the region of Bukovina, historically part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia, officially became part of the Austrian Ha ...

, and one under Romanian administration, but not as an integral part of Romania, the

Transnistria Governorate The Transnistria Governorate () was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territo ...

Russian Empire

History of the administrative division of Russia The modern administrative-territorial structure of Russia is a system of territorial organization which is a product of a centuries-long evolution and reforms. Early history The Kievan Rus' as it formed in the 10th century remained a more or ...

Governorate (Russia) A governorate (, , ) was a major and principal administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire. After the October Revolution, Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, governorates remained as subdivisions in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, By ...

and :Governorates of the Russian Empire

Congress Kingdom of Poland

*See

Subdivisions of Congress Poland Congress Poland was subdivided several times from its creation in 1815 until its dissolution in 1918. Congress Poland ("Russian Poland") was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw. In 1816 the ...

Grand Duchy of Finland

Governorates of the Grand Duchy of Finland The administrative division of the Grand Duchy of Finland, while part of the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1917, followed the Russian imperial model, using governorates (, , ) led by governors. However, few changes were made compared to the Swedis ...

Spanish Empire

In the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

, the ''gobernaciones'' ("governorships" or "governorates") were an administrative division, roughly analogous to a

directly beneath the level of the '' audiencia'' or

captaincy general The Captaincy General was a division of a viceroyalty in Spanish or Portuguese colonial administration. Captaincies general were established districts that were under threat from foreign invasion or attack from indigenous peoples. Their gove ...

, and the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

in areas directly under the viceroy's administration. The powers and duties of a

were identical to a ''

corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

'' but a governor managed a larger or more prosperous area than the former.

Ukraine

When

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

claimed autonomy in 1917 and then independence from Russia in 1918, it inherited the imperial subdivision of its land with nine governorates, two okruhas, and three cities with special status. Each governorate ( Ukrainian ) was subdivided by the smaller unit of county () and still smaller . By the end of the Soviet-Ukrainian war in 1920, the Soviets had made them part of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

. Soviet Ukraine was reorganized into twelve governorates, which were reduced to nine in 1922, and then replaced with okruhas in 1925.

Vatican City

Under the

Fundamental Law of Vatican City State The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State () is the Constitution, main governing legal document of the Vatican City State, Vatican's civil entities. The Fundamental Law has existed since 1929. History The Fundamental Law was first published on ...

, the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

executive authority The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

for

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

is exercised by the

Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State The Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (, ) is the legislative body of Vatican City. It consists of a president, who also holds the title of President of the Governorate and deputizes as the head of government of Vatican City, as well ...

, a legislative body led ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' by the President of the Governorate of Vatican City State. The other key officers of the Governorate are the General Secretary and the Vice General Secretary. All three officers are appointed by the pope for five-year terms.

References

{{Authority control Types of administrative division