Republic

A nonmonarchical form of government in which some type of representative democracy exists. The term is derived from the Latin res publica, or common wealth. Two major forms of republics exist: the presidential and the parliamentary. In the presidential form, citizens commonly elect both legislators and the president. Under the parliamentary system, citizens commonly elect their legislators, but the legislators elect the prime minister. In both types of republics, the legislative and executive branches check and balance each other's powers. Some republics have both a prime minister and a president; in this case, the two officials serve different state functions. The first known republic was formed in Athens, Greece, and lasted from 1068 BCE to 500 BCE.

The Republic (360 BCE) is also the title of the classical Greek philosopher Plato's influential work of political philosophy, in which the virtues of justice are questioned using the metaphor of both a city's governance and a human's conscience. For more information, see Plato (360 BCE/2007).