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An '''official''' is, in the primary sense, someone who holds an
office in an
organisation, of any kind. An '''elected official''' is a person who is an official by virtue of an
election; officials may also be appointed, or sometimes
hereditary.
== Official as a noun ==
For example, in
baseball, the
official scorer is a person appointed with a duty to keep the score, and make a definitive record. The term ''
officer'' is close to being an synonym (but has more military
connotations). A '''functionary''' is someone who carries out a particular role within an organisation; this again is quite a close synonym for '''''official''''', as a
noun, but with connotations closer to
bureaucrat and so sometimes mildly
pejorative in English usage. Any such person acts in their '''official capacity''', in carrying out the duties of their office; they are also said to '''officiate''', for example in a
ceremony. A '''public official''' is an official of central or local
government.
=== Max Weber on bureaucratic officials ===
Max Weber gave a definition of a bureaucratic official:
A bureaucratic official:
* is personally free and appointed to his position on the basis of conduct
* he exercises the authority delegated to him in accordance with impersonal rules, and his loyalty is enlisted on behalf of the faithful execution of his official duties
* his appointment and job placement are dependent upon his technical qualifications
* his administrative work is a full-time occupation
* his work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career.
An official must exercise his judgment and his skills, but his duty is to place these at the service of a higher authority; ultimately he is responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned tasks and must sacrifice his personal judgment if it runs counter to his official duties.
== Official as an adjective ==
As an
adjective, '''''official''''' often but not always means pertaining to the government, either as state employee or having state recognition. Some examples:
*An '''official holiday''' is a
public holiday, having national (or regional) recognition.
*An
official language is a language recognised by a government, for its own use in administration, or for the use of citizens (for example on
signposts).
*An '''official spokesperson''' would be an individual empowered to speak for the government, or some part of it such as a
ministry, on a range of issues and on the record for the
media.
*An '''official statement''' is issued by an organisation as an expression of its corporate position or opinion; an '''official apology''' is an apology similarly issued by an organisation (as opposed to an apology by an individual).
*'''Official policy''' is policy publicly acknowleged and defended by an organisation. In these cases '''unofficial''' is an antonym, and variously may mean informal, unrecognised, personal or unacknowleged.
*An '''official strike''' is a
strike organised and recognised by a
labour union, as opposed to an '''unofficial strike''' at grassroots level.
*An '''official school''' is a
school administered by the government or by a local authority, as opposite to a
private school or
religious school.
*An '''official history''', for example of an institution or business, or particularly of a
war or
military unit, is a history written as a commission, with the assumption of co-operation with access to records and archives; but without necessarily full editorial independence.
*An '''official biography''' is usually on the same lines, written with access to private papers and the support of the family of the subject.
sv:mbetsman
