Administration (government)

The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, the administration can be described as a decision-making body.

United States

In American usage, the term generally refers to the executive branch under a specific president (or governor, mayor, or other local executives); or the term of a particular executive; for example: "President Y's administration" or "Secretary of Defense X during President Y's administration." It can also mean an executive branch agency headed by an administrator, as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Small Business Administration or the National Archives and Records Administration.

The term "administration" has been used to denote the executive branch in presidential systems of government.

Europe

The term's usage in Europe varies by country. Still, most typically the word "administration" refers to managerial functions in general, which may include local governments, or the hierarchy of national and local government, that applies to a town or district. More specifically, it may refer to public administration, the business of administering public policy as determined by the government. However, outside France and Romania, this usage of the word is uncommon.

For the British sense of the word, most countries use the term government, referring to the "administration" of Winston Churchill as the "Churchill government". This is also true for the non-European members of the Commonwealth of Nations.