Executive Department

Executive Department, branch of government that has the duty of enforcing the laws. This is distinguished from the legislative department or legislature, which enacts or repeals laws, and the judicial department, which interprets, upholds, or invalidates them. In various countries the executive department serves as an aid to the chief executive in many ways: it devises and executes broad policies in accordance with which the laws are to be applied; it represents the nation in its diplomatic relations; it maintains the armed forces; and it conducts research and makes recommendations with regard to legislation. The division of powers between the executive and the other branches of government was known in ancient Greece and Rome, and was practised to a limited extent in many medieval governments. The principle of the division of powers, however, was first formulated in the 18th century by Charles Montesquieu. Political traditions outside Europe, and many within it, tended to fuse the different departments of government. In democratic nations today, the executive branch is generally regarded as the administrator and executor of the popular will, as expressed in the acts of the representative legislature. The executive branch of a totalitarian state exercises supreme governmental power and rules without regard to juridical or other restrictions.