A federal government is the common government of a federation. Examples include: This article is about federal states. ...

• Government of Australia
• Government of Belgium
• Government of Canada
• Government of Germany
• Government of India
• Government of Malaysia
• Government of Mexico
• Government of Russia
• Government of Switzerland
• Government of the United States

The structure of federal governments vary from institution to institution based on a broad definition of federation. Students of federal governments will note that within a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and govern through common institutions with overlapping or shared powers as prescribed by a constitution. The Commonwealth of Australia is a federative constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. ... The executive branch of the Belgian federal government consists of ministers and secretaries of state (junior ministers or smaller departments) drawn from the political parties which form the government coalition. ... The Government of Canada is the federal government of Canada. ... Politics of Germany takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Federal Chancellor is the head of government, and of a plurality multi-party system. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The politics of Malaysia takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... The United Mexican States are a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party electoral system. ... The politics of Russia (or the Russian Federation) take place in a framework of a federal presidential republic. ... Politics of Switzerland takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary democratic republic, whereby the Federal Council of Switzerland is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... United States Government redirects here. ... This article is about federal states. ... An institution is a group, tenet, maxim, or organization created by a group of humans. ...

The United States is considered the first modern federation. After gaining independence from Britain, the U.S. adopted its first constitution, Articles of Confederation in 1781. This was the first step towards federalism by establishing the federal congress. Yet, congress was limited as to its ability to pursue economic, military, and judiciary reform. In 1787, federal congress participated in what is known as the Philadelphia Convention and by 1789, the U.S. was officially a federation. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, was the first governing document, or constitution, of the United States of America. ... Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy. ...

Other nation-states followed suit in establishing federal governments: Switzerland (1848); Canada (1867); Germany (1871 and again 1949); Australia (1901); Austria (1920 and again 1945).^[1]

See also

• Central government
• National government

Government of Brazil Central government or the national government (or, in federal states, the federal government) is the government at the level of the nation-state. ... National governments or national unity governments are broad coalition governments consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature and are often formed during times of war or national emergency. ...

References

1. ^ Watts, R., "Comparing Federal Systems" (2nd ed.) SPC Queen's U (1999) pp 20-26.