A government is a body that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws within a civil, corporate, religious, academic, or other organization or group. In its broadest sense, "to govern" means to administer or supervise, whether over a state, a set group of people, or a collection of assets.

The word government is derived from the Greek Κυβερνήτης (kyvernites), which means "steersman", "governor", "pilot" or "rudder".

Typically, "the government" refers to the executive function. In many countries (particularly those having parliamentary systems), the Government refers to the executive branch of government or a specifically named executive, i.e. the Blair Government (compare to the administration as in the Clinton administration in U.S. usage). The Welsh Assembly Government is the name of the executive branch of Wales, and Scottish Government is the unofficial term to describe the Scottish Executive. In countries using the Westminster system, the party in government will also usually control the legislature.

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Headlines from the Associated Press


Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:54:15 -0000
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats clear impasse over abortion holding up vote on health care legislation....
Lawmakers' briefing causes confusion on wounded
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:21:42 -0000
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A pair of military briefings to members of Congress about the Fort Hood rampage resulted in confusion and conflicting information late Friday on the number of wounded....
Frank takes dig at colleague in health care debate
By The Associated Press Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:10:35 -0000
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Rep. Barney Frank took a dig Friday at the Republican lawmaker who organized a protest by conservatives against health care legislation....

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