The Congress reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Congress

A congress is a gathering of people.

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Congress is the name of the main legislative body in a nation that operates under a congressional system of government.

A congress is different from a parliament in that it has no Prime Minister as its leader, and rarely has a sitting member as the nation's Head of State or Head of Government.

Countries with Congresses:

• The United States Congress is the legislature of the United States federal government
• The National People's Congress is the highest legislative body in the People's Republic of China

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Congress is included in the name of several political parties:

• The Congress Party of India
• The African National Congress.

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Congress has also been used to describe certain historical gatherings of independence-minded nationalists or revolutionaries:

• The United States Continental Congress
• The Indian National Congress
• The Iraqi National Congress

(Note, the politicial parties mentioned above also began as groups of this type)

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Many parties also have a Party Congress which is held every few years to make decisions for the party and elected governing bodies. There are sometimes called political conventions.

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