The executive is responsible for implementing the laws that are made by the legislature. Executives have the power to make laws (written documents) into actions (such as distributing resources or creating organisations). For example, if a law is passed that all factories need to reduce the amount of pollution they produce, it is the executive’s job to make sure they have the right training, equipment, and resources to do that.

However, the executive has several other roles both nationally and internationally. Some of the most important functions of an executive are:

• Diplomacy (relations with other countries)

• Creating government budgets

• Control of the military

• Management and administration of government workers

• Emergency leadership (in times of natural disaster or violent conflict, for example)

There are two parts of any executive. The head of state is the “leader” who is a representative of the country. They are responsible for speaking for the country and taking part in national ceremonies. Secondly, there is the head of government.

This is the person who is responsible for managing the daily work of running the government. They act as the leader of a group of ministers called a cabinet. Each minister is responsible for organising all of the work that the government does in a specific area such as health, agriculture, or education.

The amount of power the executive has is different in every country. In some presidential systems, presidents have the right to suggest, accept and veto laws made by the legislature. In other countries, their role is to only implement the laws made by legislatures. In this case, they cannot affect the decisions of the legislatures very much. In some countries, there is a president or monarch who is the head of state, and a prime minister who acts as the head of government. These are called parliamentary systems (McLaughlin 2013: 81).