
In
government and
politics, inauguration is the process of
swearing
Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...
a person into
office and thus making that person the
incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal
ceremony
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''.
Church and civil (secular) ...
or special event, which may also include an inaugural
address by the new
official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...
.
The word ''inauguration'' stems from the
Latin ''
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...
'', which refers to the
rituals of ancient
Roman priests
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...
seeking to interpret if it was the will of the gods for a public official to be deemed worthy to assume office.
Public office
The inaugurations of public figures, especially those of political leaders, often feature
lavish ceremonies in which the figure publicly takes their
oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...
(sometimes called "swearing in"), often in front of a large crowd of spectators. A
monarchical inauguration may take on different forms depending on the nation: they may undergo a
coronation rite or may simply be required to take an oath in the presence of a country's legislature.
The "inaugural address" is a speech given during this ceremony which informs the people of their intentions as a leader. A famous inauguration speech is
John F. Kennedy's.
Presidential inaugurations
*
Croatian Presidential inauguration
*
Irish presidential inauguration
*
Philippine presidential inauguration
*
Russian presidential inauguration
*
United States presidential inauguration
See also
*
Coronation
*
Enthronement
*
Opening (disambiguation)
Opening may refer to:
* Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an
* The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron
* Backgammon opening
* Chess opening
* A title sequence or opening credits
* , a term from contract bridge
* , a te ...
References
External links
Gaelic Inauguration
{{Authority control