Federal republic

Encyclopedia : F : FE : FED : Federal republic

The Federal Republic of Germany and its sixteen Bundesländer (federal states)

A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is composed of a number of self-governing states united by a federal government. In a federation, unlike in a unitary state, the self-governing status of autonomous regions is constitutionally entrenched and cannot be revoked by a unilateral decision of the central government. The states in a federation also maintain all political sovereignty that they do not yield to the federation. Usage of the term republic is inconsistent but, as a minimum, it means a state or federation of states that does not have a monarch as head of state.

Three states explicitly describe themselves as federal republics. These are the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. A close variant is the term federative republic, which appears in the full official title of Brazil. Not every federation is a republic; for example Canada, Australia, and Malaysia are each governed under a form of federal constitutional monarchy.

List of federal republics

Contemporary

Federation	Style	Subdivisions	Head of state
Argentina	Republic	Provinces of Argentina	President of Argentina
Austria	Republic	States of Austria	Federal President of Austria
Bosnia and Herzegovina	(None)	Divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil	Federative Republic	States of Brazil	President of Brazil
Comoros	Union	Islands of Comoros, Municipalities of Comoros	President of Comoros
Ethiopia	Federal Democratic Republic	Regions of Ethiopia	President of Ethiopia
Germany	Federal Republic	States of Germany	Federal President of Germany
India	Republic	States of India	President of India
Madagascar	Republic	Provinces of Madagascar	President of Madagascar
Mexico	United Mexican States	States of Mexico	President of Mexico
FS Micronesia	Federated States	States of FS Micronesia	President of FS Micronesia
Nigeria	Federal Republic	States of Nigeria	President of Nigeria
Pakistan	Republic	Provinces of Pakistan	President of Pakistan
Russia	Federation	Subjects of Russia	President of Russia
Switzerland	Confederation	Cantons of Switzerland	Swiss Federal Council
United States	Federation	States of the United States	President of the United States
Venezuela	Bolivarian Republic	States of Venezuela	President of Venezuela

Historic

• United Provinces of Central America (1824-1840)
• "Great Colombia" (1819-1831), later Colombia (federal republic until 1886; unitary republic after 1886)
• Czechoslovakia (1969-1992)
• Yugoslavia (1945-2003)
• Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2006)

Fictional

• Galactic Republic (Star Wars)
• New Republic (Star Wars)
• United Federation of Planets (Star Trek)

See also

• Form of government

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