council of elders
Assembly of seniors
A council of elders is a governing or advisory body composed of older, experienced members of a community.
The concept appears across cultures—from tribal societies to religious organizations to science fiction worlds.
The assumption is that age brings wisdom worth consulting: The council of elders deliberated for three days before announcing their decision.
In modern use, it sometimes appears ironically for any group of senior decision-makers.
- gerontocracyGovernment by the oldest
- consensusGeneral group agreement
- matriarchsFemale family rulers
- clan leadersHeads of kinship groups
- sagesProfoundly learned people
deliberation · ancestral spirits · oral historians · succession laws · mentors · sacred grove · elder councils · chieftaincy · storytellers · proverbs · adjudication · royal court · senate · village chiefs · dispute resolution · oral traditions · lineage · blood ties
- CouncilsSanhedrin, Soviet, Duma, curia, conclave
- governing bodiesgoverning body, senate, board of directors, parliament, executive committee
- assembliesdelegates, gathering, Roman Senate, sessions, general assembly
- local governancemayors, local government, local councils, town meeting, councils
- local leadersvillage chief, village head, village elder, headman, headwoman
- secret societiesFreemasons, Illuminati, secret society, secret societies, Masons
council of eldersdictator
Ruler with total control
autocrat · tyrant · one-man rule · despot · strongman