Department is the name given to the administrative

Administrative division

An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...

 and political subdivision

Political division

A political division is a term of art of geography defining the concept of a geographic region accepted to be in the jurisdiction of a particular government entity...

s of many countries.

As a territorial unit, "department" was first used by the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

ary governments, apparently to emphasize that each territory was simply an administrative sub-division of the united sovereign nation. (The term "department", in other contexts, means an administrative sub-division of a larger organization.) This attempt to de-emphasize local political identity contrasts strongly with countries which are divided into "states" (implying local sovereignty).

Today, departments may exist either with or without a representative assembly

Representative assembly

A representative assembly is a political institution in which a number of persons representing the population or privileged orders within the population of a state come together to debate, negotiate with the executive and legislate...

 and executive

Senior management

Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...

 head depending upon the countries constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

al and administrative structure.

The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 used this designation for the "Department of Alaska

Department of Alaska

The Department of Alaska was the designation for the government of Alaska from its purchase by the United States of America in 1867 until its organization as the District of Alaska in 1884. During the department era, Alaska was variously under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army , the United States...

" during the early period of US rule in Alaska.

Countries using departments

Argentina

Departments of Argentina

Departments form the second level of administrative division in the provinces of Argentina. There are no departments in the city of Buenos Aires, which has so far been divided into neighbourhoods as its administrative divisions, but is to be divided now into communes by a recently passed local act...

 Benin

Departments of Benin

||Benin is divided into 12 departments , and subdivided into 77 communes . In 1999, the previous six departments were each split into two halves, forming the current 12...

 Bolivia

Departments of Bolivia

Bolivia is divided into nine departments . Each of the departments is subdivided into provinces , which are further subdivided into municipalities ....

 Burkina Faso

Departments of Burkina Faso

The provinces of Burkina Faso are divided into 301 departments or communes. The departments are listed below, by province:-Balé:* Bagassi Department* Bana Department* Boromo Department* Fara Department* Oury Department* Pâ Department...

 Cameroon Colombia

Departments of Colombia

Colombia is an unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District . Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly , elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods...

 Republic of the Congo
Côte d'Ivoire

Departments of Côte d'Ivoire

The regions of Côte d'Ivoire are divided into 81 departments .A 1978 law created 27 self governing Communes in Cote 'Ivoire , alongside Sous-Prefectures, dividing each of the Departments. The Commune, , is administered by a Municipal Council, presided over by a Mayor...

 El Salvador

Departments of El Salvador

||A list of the departments of El Salvador in alphabetical order.Department :# Ahuachapán # Cabañas # Chalatenango # Cuscatlán # La Libertad # La Paz...

 France Gabon

Departments of Gabon

The provinces of Gabon are divided into thirty-seven departments. The departments are listed below, by province :-Estuaire Province:*Komo *Komo-Mondah *Noya * Cap Estérias Department...

 Guatemala

Departments of Guatemala

||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...

 Haiti

Departments of Haiti

The Communes of Haiti are the third-level divisions of Haiti. The 10 departments have 42 arrondissements which are divided into 140 communes.-Artibonite Department:*Dessalines Arrondissement**Desdunes**Dessalines**Grande Saline...

 Honduras
Nicaragua

Departments of Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a unitary republic, and for administrative purposes, it is divided into 15 departments and two self-governing regions based on the Spanish model:-Zelaya Department:...

 Niger

Departments of Niger

||The Regions of Niger are subdivided into 63 Departments . Before the devolution program on 1999-2005, these Departments were styled arrondissements. Confusingly, the next level up had, before 2002-2005 been styled Departments. Prior to a revision in 2011, there had been 36 Departments. A draft...

 Paraguay

Departments of Paraguay

|Paraguay consists of 17 departments and one capital district . These are, with their capitals indicated in parentheses:- External links :...

 Peru Senegal

Departments of Senegal

The 14 Regions of Senegal are subdivided into 45 departments and 103 arrondissements and by collectivités locales which elect administrative officers.In 2006, the new department of Koungheul was created as a division of Kaolack Department...

 Uruguay

Departments of Uruguay

||Uruguay consists of 19 departments :# Artigas . Formed in 1884 from part of Salto Department. The only department to border both Argentina in the west and Brazil in the north and east.# Canelones . One of the original 6 departments created in 1816...

 USA (historical, for Alaska)

Department of Alaska

The Department of Alaska was the designation for the government of Alaska from its purchase by the United States of America in 1867 until its organization as the District of Alaska in 1884. During the department era, Alaska was variously under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army , the United States...

Former countries using departments

Cisalpine Republic

Cisalpine Republic

The Cisalpine Republic was a French client republic in Northern Italy that lasted from 1797 to 1802.-Birth:After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte proceeded to organize two states: one to the south of the Po River, the Cispadane Republic, and one to the north, the Transpadane...

 French Empire Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)

Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)

The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...

 Italian Republic (Napoleonic)

Italian Republic (Napoleonic)

The Italian Republic was a short-lived republic located in Northern Italy. It was a vassal state of the First French Republic of Napoleon.-The republic:...

 Duchy of Warsaw

Administrative division of Duchy of Warsaw

Administrative division of Duchy of Warsaw was based on departments. Headed by a prefect, it was a solution adopted based on the French model, as entire Duchy was in fact created by Napoleon and based on French ideas, although departaments were divided into Polish powiats .There were 6 initial...

 Kingdom of Westphalia

Kingdom of Westphalia

The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...

See also

Administrative divisions
Departments of the Duchy of Warsaw

• Departments of France
• Overseas departments and territories of France
  Overseas departments and territories of France
  The French Overseas Departments and Territories consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all have representation in the Parliament of France , and consequently the...