mandatario

Mandatario is a term used in Spanish and Portuguese with several related meanings. In political contexts, it most commonly denotes the person who holds a mandate or office, typically a president or other head of state or government. In many Spanish-speaking countries, el mandatario is used in formal and journalistic language to refer to the sitting leader, emphasizing that the individual governs by virtue of a mandate from voters or from a constitution.

In Portuguese, mandatário can have two senses. Politically, it can mean the holder of a public mandate. In civil law, mandatário also means an agent who acts on behalf of another under a mandate (the mandatante is the grantor). The exact sense depends on country and legal tradition, and the word may be used more generally to refer to someone entrusted with authority.

Etymology: mandatario derives from Latin mandatum, a mandate or instruction, from mandare, to entrust or command.

In usage, mandatario highlights the relationship between the officeholder and the authority that empowered them, rather than the title itself. It is commonly used as a synonym for president or other chief executives in media and formal discourse, though regional preferences vary. See also: mandate, mandatary, president, head of state.