commissari

Commissari is a plural noun used in several languages to refer to officials who hold a commission or mandate, or to police and government officers with specific supervisory roles. The term derives from Latin commissarius, via French commissaire and Italian commissario, and has parallel forms in Slavic languages such as komissar. In English-language historiography it appears mainly in transliterated or borrowed forms describing particular offices or ranks.

In Italian, commissario (plural commissari) denotes a police officer rank within the national police forces (Polizia di Stato and Carabinieri) and may also refer to a government or municipal commissioner charged with administrative duties. The plural commissari is used when speaking about several such officials.

In the historical context of Russia and the Soviet Union, the form komissar or commissar referred to political officers responsible for political indoctrination and loyalty within the military and state apparatus. The term also appeared in the title Narodnyye Komissari, meaning People’s Commissars, which were the ministers heading the early Soviet government’s departments.

Other languages use similar forms with equivalent meaning. In Romanian and other Balkan contexts, a closely related term comisar/comisari denotes police or administrative officials, with the plural form used for multiple officers. The sense across languages generally centers on delegated authority to supervise, regulate, or administer a defined remit.

Overall, commissari as a term spans police ranks, political or administrative officers, and historical ministerial offices, varying in exact function by country but sharing a common root in entrusted authority.