A regent, from the Latin ''regens'' "who reigns" is anyone who acts as head of state, especially if not the monarch (who has higher titles). Thus, the common use is for an acting deputy governor. In a monarchy, a regent usually rules due to the actual monarch's absence, incapacity or minority, and may also be elected to rule during the ''sede vacante'' when the royal line has died out. This was the case in Finland and Hungary , where the royal line was considered extinct in the aftermath of World War I . In Iceland , the regent represented the King of Denmark as sovereign of Iceland until the country became a republic in 1944 .
In San Marino , an ancient independent miniature republic surrounded within Italy, the "Captains Regent", or ''Capitani Reggenti'', are two officials elected annually as joint heads of state and of government.
In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ( 1569 - 1795 ), kings were Elective , which often led to a fairly long Interregnum . In the interim, it was the Polish Roman Catholic Primate who served as the regent, termed the " Interrex " ( Latin : ruler "between kings," as in ancient Rome).
Regents in various Monarchies
It should be noted that those who held a regency briefly, for example during Surgery , are not necessarily listed, particularly if they performed no official acts; this list is also not complete. The list includes some figures who acted as regent, even if they did not themselves hold the title of regent.
Belgium
Bulgaria
China
Egypt
England
- William Marshal, 1st Earl Of Pembroke (1216-1219), during the minority of King Henry III
- John, Duke Of Bedford and Humphrey, Duke Of Gloucester (1422-1435), during the minority of their nephew, Henry VI
- Richard, Duke Of Gloucester (1483), during the minority of his nephew, Edward V
- Edward Seymour, 1st Duke Of Somerset (1547-1550), during the minority of his nephew, Edward VI
- John Dudley, 1st Duke Of Northumberland (1550-1553), during the minority of Edward VI
Finland
After the abdication of Nicholas II Of Russia , the throne of the Grand Duke Of Finland was vacant and according to the constitution of 1772, a regent was installed by the Finnish Parliament during the first two years of Finnish independence, before the country was declared a Republic .
France
- Anne Of Kiev and Baldwin V, Count Of Flanders , during the minority of her son and his nephew Philip I , 1060-1067
- Blanche Of Castile (1226-1234, 1248-1252), during the minority of her son Louis IX and during his time on crusade
- Louis I, Duke Of Anjou (1380-1382), during the minority of his nephew Charles VI
- Jean, Duke Of Berry , Philippe II, Duke Of Burgundy , and Louis II, Duke Of Bourbon (1382-1388), during the minority of their nephew, Charles VI
- Anne Of France (1483-1491), during the minority of her brother, Charles VIII
- Louise Of Savoy (1525-1526), during the captivity of her son, Francis I
- Catherine De' Medici :
- ---While her husband Henry II left the kingdom for the campaign of Metz.
- ---(1560-1563) During the minority of her second son, Charles IX Of France
- Marie De' Medici (1610-1614), during the minority of her son, Louis XIII
- Anne Of Austria (1643-1651), during the minority of Louis XIV
- Philippe II Of Orléans (1715-1723), during the minority of Louis XV ; often called "the Regent", since he was the last regent of France.
--The related era and style are commonly referred to as the '' Régence '' (analogous to the British Regency period).
- --- A 136 carat (27.2 g) diamond he acquired in 1717 is known as 'le régent'
- Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, Comte De Provencce , while living in exile, self-declared Regent for his nephew Louis XVII Of France after the 1793 guillotining of King Louis XVI , until the young pretender's death in 1795.
- Empress Eugenie , three times for her husband, Napoleon III , during his absence.
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Japan
Korea
Liechtenstein
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Scotland
- Robert Stewart, 1st Duke Of Albany (1406-1420), during the minority and captivity of his nephew James I
- Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke Of Albany (1420-1424), during the captivity of his cousin James I
- Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl Of Douglas (1437-1439), during the minority of James II
- William Crichton, 1st Lord Crichton and Sir Alexander Livingston (1439-1445), during the minority of James II
- William Douglas, 8th Earl Of Douglas (1445-1449), during the minority of James II
- Mary Of Gueldres (1460-1463), during the minority of her son, James III
- James Kennedy and Gilbert Kennedy, 1st Lord Kennedy (1463-1466), during the minority of James III
- Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd (1466-1469), during the minority of James III.
- Margaret Tudor (1513-1514), during the minority of her son, James V
- John Stewart, 2nd Duke Of Albany (1514-1524), during the minority of his cousin, James V
- Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl Of Angus and Archbishop James Beaton (1524-1528), during the minority of the former's step-son James V
- James Hamilton, 2nd Earl Of Arran (1542-1554), during the minority of his cousin, Mary Stuart
- Mary Of Guise (1554-1560), during the minority of her daughter Mary Stuart
- James Stuart, 1st Earl Of Moray (1560), during the absence of his half-sister Mary Stuart
- James Stuart, 1st Earl of Moray (1567-1570), during the minority of his nephew James VI
- Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl Of Lennox (1570-1571), during the minority of his grandson James VI
- John Erskine, 1st Earl Of Mar (1571-1572), during the minority of James VI
- James Douglas, 4th Earl Of Morton (1572-1581), during the minority of James VI
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
Other uses
Occasionally, the term regent refers to positions lower than the ruler of a country.
- In the Dutch republic of the United Provinces, the members of the ruling class, not formally hereditary but de facto patricians, were known collectively as ''regenten'' (the Dutch plural for regent)
- In the Dutch Indies , a regent was a native prince allowed to rule de facto colonized 'state' as a Regentschap (see that term)
- --- Hence, in the succeeding republic Indonesia , the term regent is used in English to mean a ''bupati'' or local government official.
- Also used in private spheres, for instance, some university managers in North America are called regents, or the members of certain governing bodies of lofty institutions, such as the national banks, in France and (imitating) Belgium.
- Again in Belgium and France, but far lower on the social ladder, (''Régént'' in French; or in Dutch) Regent is the official title of a secondary school teacher of the lower years (equivalent to junior high school), who does not require a college degree but is trained solely for education in a specialized ''écôle normale = normaalschool''.
See also
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