A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions.^[1] A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or national level are not considered councils. At such levels, there may be no separate executive branch, and the council may effectively represent the entire government. A board of directors might also be denoted as a council.^{[citation needed]}

A committee might also be denoted as a council, though a committee is generally a subordinate body composed of members of a larger body, while a council may not be.^{[citation needed]} Because many schools have a student council, the council is the form of governance with which many people are likely to have their first experience as electors or participants.

A member of a council may be referred to as a councillor or councilperson, or by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.

In politics

Notable examples of types of councils encountered in politics include:

• Borough council, a form of local government
• Catholic Ecumenical Councils, ecclesiastical gatherings for ordering the Catholic Church
• City council, a form of local government
• Community council, the most local official representative body in Scotland and in Wales
• Council of Europe, a political, intergovernmental organization with 47 member countries
• Council of the European Union, the upper house of the European Union
• Council of State, an organ of government in many states
• County council, a council that governs a county in the British Isles
• District council, a unit of government in various jurisdictions
• Ecumenical Councils, pan-Christian discussion bodies
• European Council, the body of heads of states or of governments of the European Union
• Labour council, an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area
• Municipal council, a form of local government
• National security council, an executive-branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues
• Parish councils in England, a form of local government in part of the United Kingdom
• Privy council, a body that advises the head of state of a country
• Provincial council, a governing body for a province
• Regional council, a local-government body in various countries
• Shire council, an entity of local government in Australia
• Shura Council, the formerly upper house of the Egyptian parliament.
• Town council, a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or parishes
• Tribal Council, First Nations' and Native American Nations' governing bodies
• UK Research Councils, government agencies responsible for an area of research in the United Kingdom
• United Nations Security Council, a decision-making body at the United Nations
• Vatican Council, a high-level policy-council of the Roman Catholic Church
• Village council (Palestinian Authority), a local-government body in Palestine
• Workers' council, a council composed of working-class or proletarian members

In other fields

Types of councils encountered in other spheres include:

• Arts council: a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts.
• Bar council: a professional body that regulates the profession of barristers together with the Inns of Court.
• Buddhist councils: important historical events in the history of Buddhism.
• Council (Boy Scouts): a non-profit private corporation within Boy Scouts of America.
• Ecumenical council: a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice.
• Military council:
• Student council: a student organization present in many elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities.
• Synod: in a Christian church.
• University Council: running a university.
• War Council: discussions pertaining to a declaration of war, or tactics and strategy of a coming battle.
• Works council: a body representing the workers of a plant, factory, etc., elected to negotiate with the management about working conditions, wages, etc.
• Youth council:an example of youth voice engaged in youth-led decision-making.