National Assembly

In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house[n 1] of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the representatives of the nation."[1] The population base represented by this name is manifestly the nation as a whole, as opposed to a geographically select population, such as that represented by a provincial assembly. The powers of a National Assembly vary according to the type of government. It may possess all the powers of government, generally governing by committee, or it may function solely within the legislative branch of the government.

For other uses, see National Assembly (disambiguation).

The name also must be gaming from the concept. Conceptually such an institution may appear under variety of names, especially if "national assembly" is being used to translate foreign names of the same concept into English. Also, the degree to which the National Assembly speaks for the nation is a variable. To achieve a quorum, the ancient Athenian Assembly employed Scythian police to arrest citizens at random from the street. On the other hand, the early Parliaments of Europe were mainly of an aristocratic composition. The word had its origins and inspirations from the National Assembly that was responsible for drafting a ring the French Revolution. Is there

The exact words, "national assembly," have been used prolifically in the international community of nations since the 18th and 19th centuries, considered the Age of Revolution in western Europe. Nations that formed republics in this age subsequently formed empires. Extensive cross-cultural influences brought much of their language and institutions to the provinces. When these empires collapsed finally, the emancipated countries formed states and other institutions on the model of the former imperial nations. Some examples of international influences are as follows:

In Germany, a Nationalversammlung was elected following the revolutions of 1848–1849 and 1918–1919, to be replaced by a permanent parliament (Reichstag) later. The legislature of the Estado Novo regime in Portugal was known as the National Assembly,The national assembly was also defined in the Republic of China constitution. This is different from the Legislative Yuan by the ROC constitution. In 2005, Taiwan revised the constitution and national assembly was abolished. Examples have multiplied greatly under the policy of self-determination adopted by the western nations. Many more are to be found in the articles listed below.

Origin of the expression

Perhaps the best known National Assembly was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale. Consequently, the name is particularly common in Francophone countries. It was also the name of the legislature during France's First Republic and the Consulate, and since 1946 has been the lower house of the French parliament, first under the Fourth Republic, and from 1958, the Fifth Republic.

The expression, however, did not originate in 1789. It was already in use in the French language of the times. Louis XIII of France (1601–1643), par la grace de Dieu Roy de France & de Navarre, in a Declaration of April 14, 1627, concerning the sovereignty of his kingdom, prohibits ministers of foreign countries from any jurisdiction in France, citing, as precedent, his Lettres de Declaration of April 17, 1623, forbidding religious officials from treating with foreign countries. He describes his Declaration as ordonné qu'en Assemblées Provinciales & Nationales des nosdites sujets.[2] This was the "registration" that the Parlement of Paris refused to perform for Louis XVI of France in 1787–1788. When the Estates-General of 1789 formed the National Assembly of 1789, they did not believe they were instituting anything new. In the Assembly of Notables of 1787, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette had used National Assembly and Estates General synonymously when he suggested that France needed a national assembly to solve its financial problems.

National Assembly is also found in some Commonwealth countries. Its use there is not a translation of Assemblée nationale, as the phrase is equally embedded in the English language. For example, at the end of the First English Civil War, an Act of Parliament, 1648, "Concerning the Members of the Classical and Congregational Presbyteries, in the several counties of the Kingdom of England, and Dominion of Wales," establishes a national congregational church in England and Wales, corresponding to the presbyteries of Scotland. The language is: "The National Assembly shall be constituted of members chosen by and sent from the several Provincial Assemblies."[3] This National Assembly appears to have no direct link to any French words, although the concept is the same.

Unicameral national legislatures

Country	Article	Local Name
Albania	National Assembly of Albania	Kuvendi i Shqipërisë
Angola	National Assembly of Angola	Assembleia Nacional
Armenia	National Assembly of Armenia	Ազգային Ժողով
Azerbaijan	National Assembly of Azerbaijan	Milli Məclis
Benin	National Assembly of Benin	Assemblée Nationale
Bhutan	National Assembly of Bhutan
Botswana	National Assembly of Botswana
Bulgaria	National Assembly of Bulgaria	Народно събрание
Burkina Faso	National Assembly of Burkina Faso	Assemblée Nationale
Cameroon	National Assembly of Cameroon
Cape Verde	National Assembly of Cape Verde	Assembleia Nacional
Central African Republic	National Assembly of the Central African Republic	Assemblée Nationale
Chad	National Assembly of Chad	Assemblée Nationale
Cuba	National Assembly of People's Power	Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular
Djibouti	National Assembly of Djibouti	Assemblée Nationale
Eritrea	National Assembly of Eritrea
Gambia	National Assembly of Gambia
Greece	National Assembly of Greece
Guinea	National Assembly of Guinea	Assemblée Nationale
Guinea-Bissau	National People's Assembly of Guinea-Bissau
Guyana	National Assembly of Guyana
Hungary	National Assembly of Hungary	Országgyűlés
Ivory Coast	National Assembly of Ivory Coast
Kuwait	National Assembly of Kuwait	مجلس الامة
Kurdistan Regional Government	Kurdistan National Assembly	المجلس الوطني لكوردستان
Laos	National Assembly of Laos
Malawi	National Assembly of Malawi
Mali	National Assembly of Mali	Assemblée Nationale
Mauritius	National Assembly of Mauritius
Nicaragua	National Assembly of Nicaragua	Asamblea Nacional
Niger	National Assembly of Niger	Assemblée Nationale
North Korea	Supreme People’s Assembly	최고인민회의 (Choego Inmin Hoe-ui)
Pakistan	National Assembly of Pakistan	مجلس شوریٰ
Panama	National Assembly of Panama	Asamblea Nacional de Panamá
Saint Kitts and Nevis	National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis
São Tomé and Príncipe	National Assembly of São Tomé and Príncipe	Assembleia Nacional
Senegal	National Assembly of Senegal	Assemblée Nationale
Serbia	National Assembly of Serbia	Народна скупштина Србије (Narodna skupština Srbije)
Seychelles	National Assembly of Seychelles
South Korea	National Assembly of the Republic of Korea	국회 (Gukhoe)
Sudan	National Assembly of Sudan
Suriname	National Assembly of Suriname	Nationale Assemblee
Tanzania	National Assembly of Tanzania
Togo	National Assembly of Togo	Assemblée Nationale
Turkey	Grand National Assembly of Turkey	Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi
Uganda	National Assembly of Uganda
Venezuela	National Assembly of Venezuela	Asamblea Nacional
Vietnam	National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam	Quốc hội nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam
Wales	National Assembly for Wales	Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru
Zambia	National Assembly of Zambia

Lower house of bicameral national legislature

Country	Article	Local Name
Algeria	People's National Assembly
Bhutan	National Assembly of Bhutan
Burundi	National Assembly of Burundi
Cambodia	National Assembly of Cambodia	រដ្ឋសភាកម្ពុជា (Rodsaphea)
Congo (DRC)	National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Assemblée nationale
Congo (Rep.)	National Assembly of the Republic of the Congo	Assemblée nationale
France	National Assembly of France	Assemblée nationale
Ivory Coast	National Assembly of Ivory Coast	Assemblée nationale
Kenya	National Assembly of Kenya
Gabon	National Assembly of Gabon
Lesotho	National Assembly of Lesotho
Madagascar	National Assembly of Madagascar
Mauritania	National Assembly
Namibia	National Assembly of Namibia
Pakistan	National Assembly of Pakistan	مجلس شوری
Slovenia	National Assembly of Slovenia	Državni zbor
South Africa	National Assembly of South Africa

Upper house of bicameral national legislature

Country	Article	Local Name
Tajikistan	National Assembly of Tajikistan	Majlisi Milliy
Nepal	National Assembly of Nepal

Entire bicameral legislature

Country	Article	Local Name
Afghanistan	National Assembly of Afghanistan	ملی شورا
Bahrain	National Assembly of Bahrain
Belarus	National Assembly of Belarus	Нацыянальны сход/Национальное собрание
Belize	National Assembly of Belize
Haiti	National Assembly of Haiti	Assemblée Nationale
Jordan	National Assembly of Jordan	Majlis al-Umma
Nigeria	National Assembly of Nigeria
Poland	National Assembly of Poland	Zgromadzenie Narodowe
Russia	Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
Thailand	National Assembly of Thailand	รัฐสภา
Tunisia	National Assembly of Tunisia

Historical

Country/Territory	Name	Period	Notes
Batavian Republic, Netherlands	National Assembly of the Batavian Republic: - First National Assembly - Second National Assembly	1 March 1796 – 31 August 1797 1 September 1797 – 22 January 1798 (coup)
Republic of China	National Assembly (Beiyang government) National Assembly of the Republic of China	1913 – 1925 1947 – 2005	Congress (Beiyang) Defunct constitutional convention
Estonia	Rahvuskogu	1937	Constituent assembly
Germany ("Weimar Republic")	Weimar National Assembly	1919 – 1920
Nepal	National Assembly of Nepal	1990 – 1997
Philippines	National Assembly of Representatives National Assembly of the Philippines National Assembly of the Second Philippine Republic	1898 – 1899 1935 – 1941 25 September 1943 – 2 February 1944
Portugal	National Assembly of Portugal	1933 – 1974	During Estado Novo dictatorship

Other

Country/Territory	Name	Local Name	Period	Notes
Iraq	National Assembly of Iraq		2004 – 2005	A constitutional convention
Wales	National Assembly for Wales	Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru	July 1, 1999 – May 6, 2020	Can make Acts of the Assembly and Delegated legislation; The title 'National Assembly' was formerly used to referred the Welsh devolved unicameral legislative system until 6 May, 2020, where they renamed as the Senedd Cymru or literally means 'Welsh Parliament'.

Other

Country/Territory	Name	Local Name	Notes
Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland Assembly	Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann	Can make Acts of the Assembly and Delegated legislation
Quebec, Canada	National Assembly of Quebec	Assemblée nationale du Québec	A unicameral provincial legislative assembly
Republika Srpska	National Assembly (Republika Srpska)	Народна скупштина Републике Српске (Narodna Skupština Republike Srpske)	Autonomous entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

See also

• List of national legislatures

Notes

1. Nepal and Tajikistan being the exception, with their National Assembly as the higher houses of bicameral Parliament

References

1. Merriam-Webster (1986). Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged with Seven Language Dictionary. Volume II H to R. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
2. Le Gentil, Jean (1675). Recueil des actes, titres et mémoires, concernant les affaires du clergé de France, augmenté d'un grand nombre de Pieces, & mis en nouvel ordre. VI. Paris: Frederic Leonard. p. 731.
3. Davies, John; Dancer, John (1661). The civil warres of Great Britain and Ireland: containing an exact history of their occasion, originall, progress, and happy end. London: Printed by R.W. for Philip Chetwind. p. 238.