A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different nations, constituent states, independent organizations (such as trade unions), or groups.
The term was chosen for the Continental Congress to emphasize the status of each colony represented there as a self-governing unit. Subsequent to the use of congress by the U.S. legislature, the term has been adopted by many states within unions, and by unitary nation-states in the Americas, to refer to their legislatures.
The following congresses were formal meetings of representatives of different nations:
The Congress of Berlin (1878)
The Congress of Gniezno (1000)
The Congress of Panama, an 1826 meeting organized by Simon Bolivar.
The Congress of Tucumán (1816)
The Congress of Vienna (1815)
The Congress of the Council of Europe.
Countries with Congresses and presidential systems:
The Congress of Guatemala (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of Guatemala.
The National Congress of Honduras (Spanish: Congreso nacional) is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.
The Congress of Mexico (Spanish: Congreso de la Unión) is the legislative branch of Mexican government.
The Congress of Paraguay is the bicameral legislature of Paraguay.
The Congress of the Argentine Nation (Spanish: Congreso de la Nación Argentina) is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina.
The Congress of the Dominican Republic is the bicameral legislature of the Dominican Republic.
The Palau National Congress (Palauan: Olbiil era Kelulau) is the bicameral legislative branch of the Republic of Palau.
The Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia is the unicameral legislature of the Federated States of Micronesia.
The Congress of the Philippines (Filipino: Kongreso ng Pilipinas) is the legislative branch of the Philippine government.
The Congress of the Republic of Peru (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of Peru.
The Congress of Colombia (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the bicameral legislature of Colombia.
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislative branch of the United States federal government.
The National Congress of Bolivia was the national legislature of Bolivia before being replaced by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.
The National Congress of Brazil (Portuguese: Congresso Nacional) is Brazil's bicameral legislature.
The National Congress of Chile (Spanish: Congreso Nacional) is the legislative branch of the government of Chile.
The National Congress of Ecuador was the unicameral legislature of Ecuador before being replaced by the National Assembly.
The Congress of Mauritania
France: Although France has a Parliament, the term Congress is used on two circumstances:
the Congress of the French Parliament, name used specifically when both houses sit together as a single body, usually at the Palace of Versailles, to vote on revisions to the Constitution, to listen to an address by the President of the French Republic, and, in the past, to elect the President of the Republic
the Congress of New Caledonia, a territorial assembly
ICCA Congress & Exhibition
The Continental Congress (1774-1781) was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution.
The Congress of the Confederation (1781-1789) was the legislature of the United States under the Articles of Confederation.
The National Congress of Belgium was a temporary legislative assembly in 1830, which created a constitution for the new state.
In France, the Congress of France (congrès) denotes a formal and rarely convened joint session of both houses of Parliament to ratify an amendment to the Constitution or to listen to a speech by the President of the French Republic.
Spanish Congress of Deputies (Spanish: Congreso de los Diputados), the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch.
The legislature of the People's Republic of China is known in English as the National People's Congress.
The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union was the legislature and nominal supreme institution of state power in the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991.
Congress of People's Deputies of Russia, a Russian institution modeled after USSR one, existed in 1990—1993.
Political parties and organizations
Congress is included in the name of several political parties, especially those in former British colonies:
Guyana
People's National Congress
India
Indian National Congress
All India Trinamool Congress
Kerala Congress
Nationalist Congress Party
Tamil Maanila Congress
YSR Congress
BSR Congress
NR Congress
Lesotho
Basotho Congress Party
Lesotho Congress for Democracy
Lesotho People's Congress
Malawi
Malawi Congress Party
Malaysia
Malaysian Indian Congress
Namibia
Congress of Democrats
Pakistan
Peoples Revolutionary Congress Pakistan
Sudan
National Congress (Sudan)
Fiji
National Congress of Fiji
Canary Islands
National Congress of the Canaries
Nepal
Nepali Congress
Sierra Leone
All People's Congress
South Africa
African National Congress
Congress of the People
Pan-Africanist Congress
Sri Lanka
All Ceylon Tamil Congress
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
Swaziland
Ngwane National Liberatory Congress
Trinidad and Tobago
United National Congress
Uganda
Ugandan People's Congress
Many political parties also have a party congress every few years to make decisions for the party and elect governing bodies. This is sometimes called a political convention.
National Congress of American Indians
Iraqi National Congress
Congress of Racial Equality
Continental Congress 2.0
Congress of Industrial Organizations
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines
Trades Union Congress
Congress is an alternative name for a large national or international academic conference.
For instance, the World Congress on Men's Health WCMH is an annual meeting on men's medical issues.
Organizations in some athletic sports, such as bowling, have historically been named "congresses". The predecessors to the United States Bowling Congress, formed in 1995, were the male-only American Bowling Congress founded in 1895, and the female-only Women's International Bowling Congress founded in 1927, which combined in 1995 to form the USBC.
A Chess congress is a chess tournament, in one city, where a large number of contestants gather to play competitive chess over a limited period of time; typically one day to one week.
