Everything about Public Official totally explained
An
official is someone who holds an office (function or
mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual
working space with it) in an
organisation or
government and participates in the exercise of
authority (either his own or that of his superior and/or employer, public or legally private).
A
government official or
functionary is an official who is involved in
public administration or government, through either
election,
appointment, or
employment. A
bureaucrat is a member of the
bureaucracy. An
elected official is a person who is an official by virtue of an election. Officials may also be appointed
ex officio (by virtue of another office, often in a specified capacity, such as presiding, advisory, secretary). Some official positions may be
inherited.
A person who currently holds an office is referred to as an
incumbent.
Word history
The word
official as a
noun has been recorded since the
Middle English period, first seen in 1314. It comes from the
Old French official (12th century), from the
Latin officialis ("attendant to a magistrate, public official"), the noun use of the original
adjective officialis ("of or belonging to duty, service, or office") from
officium ("office"). The meaning "person in charge of some public work or duty" was first recorded in 1555. The adjective is first attested in English in 1533, via the Old French .
The informal term
officialese, the
jargon of "officialdom," was first recorded in 1884.
Uses of the noun
In Roman Antiquity
An
officialis (plural
officiales) was the official term (somewhat comparable to a modern civil servant) for any member of the
officium (staff) of a high dignitary such as a governor.
Ecclesiastical judiciary
In
Canon law, the word or its Latin original
officialis is used absolutely as the legal title of a diocesan bishop's judicial
vicar who shares the bishop's
ordinary judicial power over the diocese and presides over the diocesan
ecclesiastical court.
The 1983 Code of Canon Law gives precedence to the title
Judicial Vicar, rather than that of Officialis (canon 1420). The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches uses only the title Judicial Vicar (canon 191).
In German, the related noun
Offizialat was also used for an official bureau in a diocese that did much of its administration, comprising the
vicariate-general, an adjoined secretariat, a registry office and a chancery.
The title of
official principal, together with that of
vicar-general, has in Anglicanism? England been merged in that of
Diocesan chancellor of a diocese.
Other officials
In
sports, the term official is used to describe a person enforcing playing in the capacity of a
linesman,
referee and
umpire; also specified by the discipline, for example
American football official,
Ice hockey official.
The term
officer is close to being a synonym (but has more military
connotations). A
functionary is someone who carries out a particular role within an organization; this again is quite a close synonym for
official, as a
noun, but with connotations closer to
bureaucrat. Any such person acts in their
official capacity, in carrying out the duties of their office; they're also said to
officiate, for example in a
ceremony. A
public official is an official of central or local
government.
Max Weber on bureaucratic officials
Max Weber gave as definition of a bureaucratic official :
- he is personally free and appointed to his position on the basis of conduct
- he exercises the authority delegated to him in accordance with impersonal rules, and his loyalty is enlisted on behalf of the faithful execution of his official duties
- his appointment and job placement are dependent upon his technical qualifications
- his administrative work is a full-time occupation
- his work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career.
An official must exercise his judgment and his skills, but his duty is to place these at the service of a higher authority; ultimately he's responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned tasks and must sacrifice his personal judgment if it runs counter to his official duties.
Official as an adjective
As an
adjective,
official often but not always means pertaining to the government, either as state employee or having state recognition, or to analogous governance, or to formal (especially legally regulated) proceeding as opposed to informal business. Some examples:
An official holiday is a public holiday, having national (or regional) recognition.
An official language is a language recognised by a government, for its own use in administration, or for the use of citizens (for example on signposts).
An official spokesperson would be an individual empowered to speak for the government, or some part of it such as a ministry, on a range of issues and on the record for the media.
An official statement is issued by an organisation as an expression of its corporate position or opinion; an official apology is an apology similarly issued by an organisation (as opposed to an apology by an individual).
Official policy is policy publicly acknowledged and defended by an organisation. In these cases unofficial is an antonym, and variously may mean informal, unrecognised, personal or unacknowledged.
An official strike is a strike organised and recognised by a labour union, as opposed to an unofficial strike at grassroots level.
An official school is a school administered by the government or by a local authority, as opposite to a private school or religious school.
An official history, for example of an institution or business, or particularly of a war or military unit, is a history written as a commission, with the assumption of co-operation with access to records and archives; but without necessarily full editorial independence.
An official biography is usually on the same lines, written with access to private papers and the support of the family of the subject.Further Information
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