Prefect (redirected from Prefectorial)

prefect or praefect (both: prē`fĕkt), in ancient Rome, various military and civil officers. Under the empire some prefects were very important. The Praetorian prefects (first appointed 2 B.C.) usually numbered two; they commanded the powerful Praetorians. From the 2d cent. A.D. they had juridical functions, and important legists (e.g., Papinian and Ulpian) held the post. The prefect of the city was at first a deputy for absent consuls; the office fell out of use but was revived by Julius Caesar. Under the empire this prefect had power over the summary court for the region within 100 mi (160 km) of Rome. The prefect of the watch had charge of the fire brigade set up by Augustus. Augustus also established a prefect of the grain supply. There were other officers called prefects, such as the Roman viceroy of Egypt and many other officials of Italian cities.

Bibliography

See L. L. Howe, The Praetorian Prefect from Commodus to Diocletian (1942).

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prefect

In ancient Rome, any of various high officials with primarily judicial and administrative responsibilities. In the early republic, a prefect of the city (praefectus urbi) took over the consul's duties during their absence from Rome. The office lost some importance after the introduction of praetors (mid 4th century BC). Augustus revitalized the office when he appointed five prefects to supervise the city government, the fire brigade, the grain supply, and the Praetorian Guard. The praetorian prefects acquired great power and often became virtual prime ministers.

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prefect

1. (in France, Italy, etc.) the chief administrative officer in a department

2. (in France, etc.) the head of a police force

3. Brit a schoolchild appointed to a position of limited power over his fellows

4. (in ancient Rome) any of several magistrates or military commanders

5. RC Church an official having jurisdiction over a missionary district that has no ordinary

6. RC Church one of two senior masters in a Jesuit school or college (the prefect of studies and the prefect of discipline or first prefect)

7. RC Church a cardinal in charge of a congregation of the Curia

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Prefect 

(1) In ancient Rome, an official who was in charge of a prefecture. From the time of Augustus at the end of the first century B.C., prefects were appointed as governors, first of Egypt and later of other provinces. During the imperial period, the term prefect was applied to the chiefs of various administrative departments. In the republican period, prefects with exclusively juridical functions (praefecti iuri dicundo) assisted the praetors in judging lawsuits in the cities of Italy, and under the empire, in the provinces also.

(2) In France, an official in charge of a department as a representative of the central government. Prefects are appointed by the president of France and are considered the heads of all state institutions within the given department. A prefect exercises broad powers; in particular, he has the right to protest individual acts of the local bodies of self-government and to abrogate resolutions of the department council. In Paris the administrative authority is divided between two prefects—the prefect of the department of the Seine and the prefect of police.