Directorial system

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Switzerland and San Marino are the only contemporary countries which maintain a directorial system
of government.

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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian. (February
2013) Click [show] for important translation instructions. [show]
A directorial republic is a country ruled by a college of several people who
jointly exercise the powers of a head of state or a head of government.

In political history, the term directory, in French directoire, is applied to high

collegial institutions of state composed of members styled director. The most
important of these by far was the Directory of 17951799 in France.[1] The
system was inspired by the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776, which
prominently featured a collegial 12-member Supreme Executive Council with
a primus inter pares President. Variants of this form of government, based on
the French model, were also established in the European regions conquered by
France during the French Revolutionary Wars.
In the past, Uruguay, Yugoslavia (after Tito's death), Ukraine,[2] and other
countries were ruled by directories. The government of the Soviet Union could
in some ways be characterized as a directory, but it developed in a much
different pattern discussed in the article on Communist states.
The sole country now using this form of government is Switzerland[3] (and to a
lesser extent, San Marino), where directories rule all levels of administration,
federal, cantonal and municipal. The Swiss Federal Council is elected by the
Parliament for four years (its members cannot be dismissed), and is composed
of seven members, among whom one is President and one is Vice-President,
although these are relatively symbolic. There is no relationship of confidence
between Parliament and the Federal Council. It is a shared system of
government that reflects and represents the heterogeneity and multiethnicity
of the Swiss people. Direct popular elections are used at the local level.