A congress is a formal meeting of representatives from different countries (or by extension constituent states), or independent organisations (such as different trade unions).

The term Congress was chosen for the US Congress to emphasise the status of each state represented there as a self-governing unit. Subsequently to the use of congress by the US legislature, the term has been adopted by many states within unions, and by unitary countries in the Americas, to refer to their legislature, although this usage does not correspond to the proper meaning of the word.

The term Congress is often identified with the presidential system of government.

Political congress

National congress

Countries with Congresses and presidential systems:

• The Congress of Guatemala (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of Guatemala.
• The Congress of Honduras (Spanish: Congreso nacional) is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.
• The Congress of Mexico (Congreso de la Unión) is the legislative branch of Mexican government.
• The Congress of Paraguay is the bicameral legislature of Paraguay.
• The Congress of the Argentine Nation (Spanish: Congreso de la Nación Argentina) is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina.
• The Congress of the Dominican Republic is the bicameral legislature of the Dominican Republic.
• The Palau National Congress (Palauan: Olbiil era Kelulau) is the bicameral legislative branch of the Republic of Palau.
• The Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia is the unicameral legislature of the Federated States of Micronesia.
• The Congress of the Philippines (Filipino: Kongreso ng Pilipinas) is the legislative branch of the Philippine government.
• The Congress of the Republic of Peru (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of Peru.
• The Congress of the United States is the bicameral legislative branch of the United States federal government.
• The National Congress of Bolivia is the national legislature of Bolivia.
• The National Congress of Brazil (Congresso Nacional) is Brazil's legislature.
• The National Congress of Chile (Spanish: Congreso Nacional) is the legislative branch of the government of Chile.
• The National Congress of Ecuador is the unicameral legislature of Ecuador.

Other countries with Congresses:

• In France, the congrès is a formal and exceptional joint meeting of both houses of Parliament in order to ratify an amendment to the Constitution.
• Spanish Congress of Deputies (Spanish: Congreso de los Diputados), the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch
• The legislature of the People's Republic of China is known in English as the National People's Congress. The PRC is nevertheless not a congressional system.

Political party and organizations

Congress is included in the name of several political parties, especially those in former British colonies:

• The African National Congress of South Africa
• The All Ceylon Tamil Congress of Sri Lanka
• The All People's Congress of Sierra Leone
• The Basotho Congress Party of Lesotho
• The Congress of Democrats of Namibia
• The Indian National Congress of India
• The Lesotho Congress for Democracy of Lesotho
• The Lesotho Peoples' Congress of Lesotho
• The Malawi Congress Party of Malawi
• The Malaysian Indian Congress of Malaysia
• The National Congress of American Indians
• The National Congress of Fiji
• The National Congress of the Canaries
• The National Congress (Sudan)
• The Nationalist Congress Party of India
• The Nationalist Trinamool Congress of India
• The Nepali Congress of Nepal
• The Ngwane National Liberatory Congress of Swaziland
• The Pan-Africanist Congress of South Africa
• The People's National Congress of Guyana
• The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress of Sri Lanka
• The Tamil Maanila Congress of India
• The Ugandan People's Congress of Uganda
• The United National Congress of Trinidad and Tobago

Political gatherings

Congress has also been used to describe certain historical gatherings, such as

• The Congress of Berlin (1878), reorganizing conditions in the Balkans,
• The Congress of Gniezno (1000)
• The Congress of Panama was an 1826 meeting of representatives from several Latin American republics organized by Simon Bolivar in an attempt to promote Pan-American unity.
• The Congress of Tucumán (1816)
• The Congress of Vienna (1815), reorganizing Europe after the Napoleon wars,
• The National Congress of Belgium was a temporarly legislative assembly in 1830, formed to create a constitution for the new state.

It has been used for meetings of independence-minded nationalists or revolutionaries:

• The African National Congress
• The Indian National Congress
• The Iraqi National Congress
• The United States Continental Congress

(Note, the political parties mentioned above also began as groups of this type).

Congress is also part of the name of certain international bodies, such as

• The Congress of the Council of Europe.

Party congress

Many political parties also have a Party Congress which is held every few years to make decisions for the party and elected governing bodies. These are sometimes called political conventions.

Non-political congress

Chess congress

A Chess congress is a chess tournament, in one city, where a large number of contestants gather to play competitive chess over a limited period of time; typically one day to one week.

Scientific congress

Congress is an alternative name for a large national or international academic conference.

Transportation

• Congress, a ship caught in a storm at St Ives, Cornwall in 1909.

Other

• Congress is the title of an instrumental on the 2005 Enter the Haggis album, Casualties of Retail.

References

See also

• Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
• Congress Poland
• Congressional Country Club
• List of African Union member states by political system
• U. S. Congress