Place from which a government exercises its authority
The seat of government is (as defined by Brewer's Politics) "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a
government exercises its
authority".[1]
In most countries, the nation's
capital is also seat of its government, thus that city is appropriately referred to as the national seat of government. The terms are not however, completely synonymous, as
some countries' seat of government differs from the capital. The
Netherlands, for example, has
Amsterdam as its capital but
The Hague is the seat of government; and the
Philippines, with
Manila as its capital but the
metropolitan area of the same name (Metro Manila; also known as National Capital Region (NCR)), is the seat of government.
Local seats of government
Local and regional authorities usually have a seat, called an
administrative centre, as well. Terms for seats of local government of various levels and in various countries include:
Israel and
Palestine:
Jerusalem is considered to be the national capital of Israel since 1950 but was fully declared the undivided capital of the nation from 1980 according to the
Jerusalem Law, though most government offices are located in
West Jerusalem. This move is not recognized by the international community but majority of the embassies are located in
Tel Aviv. In addition, the State of Palestine also declares
East Jerusalem or the entirety of Jerusalem to be its capital but the seat of government resides in
Ramallah as with the
Palestinian National Authority. (For more details see:
Status of Jerusalem.)
Ivory Coast:
Yamoussoukro was designated the national capital in 1983, but most government offices and embassies are still located in
Abidjan.
Malaysia:
Putrajaya the federal administrative centre of the Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from
Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya because of overcrowding and congestion in the former.
Montserrat: Its official capital is
Plymouth, but it was permanently abandoned in 1997 after it was completely destroyed by the eruptions of the
Soufrière Hills volcano. Since 1998 the de facto capital is
Brades. [3] The move was initially intended to be temporary, but it has remained the island's de facto capital ever since.[4] Several names have been suggested for the new official capital now being constructed in the Little Bay area.
Sri Lanka:
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte is the official administrative capital of
Sri Lanka.[5] It is a satellite city of and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic and legislative capital,
Colombo.
Tanzania: Until 1974,
Dar es Salaam served as Tanzania's capital city, at which point the capital city commenced transferring to
Dodoma, by order of then-president Julius Nyerere,[6] which was officially completed in 1996. However, as of 2018[update], it remained focus of central government bureaucracy, although this is in the process of fully moving to Dodoma.
Switzerland: As of 2020[update], no Swiss city holds an official status of national capital. In 1848, the
Federal Assembly voted to locate the seat of government in
Bern, but no official status was granted to the city. The city has since been informally referred to as "
Federal City".
Federal Republic of Germany: Since
German reunification in 1990 at the end of the
Cold War and until 1999,
Berlin was its capital and
Bonn was the seat of government. However, the
Berlin-Bonn Act specifies that many federal government institutions are to maintain a seat in Bonn indefinitely. Prior to reunification, the question as to what was the de jure capital was complicated by questions regarding the status of Berlin.
Kingdom of France: The traditional capital was
Paris, though in the periods 1682–1789 and 1871–1879 the seat of government was at the
Palace of Versailles, located southwest of Paris.