A promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the promagistracy was invented in order to provide Rome with governors of overseas territories instead of having to elect more magistrates each year. Promagistrates were appointed by senatus consultum; like all acts of the Roman Senate, these appointments were not entirely legal and could be overruled by the Roman assemblies, e.g., the replacement of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus by Gaius Marius during the Jugurthine War.

Promagistrates were usually either proquaestors (acting in place of quaestors), propraetors, acting in place of praetors, or proconsuls acting in place of consuls. A promagistrate held equal authority to the equivalent magistrate, was attended by the same number of lictors, and generally speaking had autocratic power within his province, be it territorial or otherwise. Promagistrates usually had already held the office in whose stead they were acting, although this was not mandatory. Other promagistrates include the procurator, acting in place of a curator.

The institution of promagistracies developed because the Romans found it inconvenient to continue adding ordinary magistracies to administer their newly-acquired overseas possessions. Therefore, they adopted the practice of appointing an individual to act in place or capacity of (pro) a magistrate (magistratu); a promagistrate was literally a lieutenant. Subsequently, when Pompeius Magnus was given proconsular imperium to fight against Quintus Sertorius, the Senate made a point of distinguishing that he was not actually being appointed a promagistrate: he was appointed to act not in place of a consul (pro consule), but on behalf of the consuls (pro consulibus).

The Roman legal concept of imperium meant that an "imperial" magistrate or promagistrate had absolute authority within the competence of his office; a promagistrate with imperium appointed to govern a province, therefore, had absolute authority within his capacity as governor of that province; indeed, the word provincia referred both to the governor's office or jurisdiction and to the territory he governed. A provincial governor had almost totally unlimited authority, and frequently extorted vast amounts of money from the provincial population — he had total immunity from prosecution during his term in office. It became fairly common for provincial governors to seek continual election to office to avoid trial for extortion and bribery, two famous examples being Gaius Verres and Lucius Sergius Catilina.

The near limitless power of a high-ranking promagistrate has led to the term "proconsul" being used to designate any high-ranking and authoritative official appointed from above (or from without) to govern a territory without regard for local political institutions (i.e., one who is not elected and whose authority supersedes that of local officials). One of the most prominent examples of this is Douglas MacArthur, who was given vast powers to implement reform and recovery efforts in Japan after World War II, and has been described occasionally as "the American proconsul of Japan".

Usage in the Roman Catholic Church

It was formerly the rule that the heads of all Curial Congregations must be cardinals, and until the later twentieth century they were titled Pro-Prefects until they were raised to that dignity.

On their appointment, Nuncios are also appointed bishops. In the time of Pope Pius XII, some priests were appointed Nuncios without being raised to the status of bishop. They were not called "Pro-Nuncios", a title that historically was given to Nuncios from the moment their appointment as cardinals was announced until their departure for Rome, and that was revived for some twenty years (ending in 1991) as a distinct title for Nuncios accredited to those countries that did not follow the tradition of considering the Nuncio as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps from the moment he presented his credentials.

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Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a republican form of government. The republican period began with the overthrow of the Monarchy c.
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The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. This article however is about the latter.
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The Principate is, according to its etymological derivation from the Latin word princeps, meaning chief or first, the political regime dominated by such a political leader, whether or not he is formally head of state and/or head of
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The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 286; the other half of the Roman Empire became known as the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire.
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Dominate was the 'despotic' last of the two phases of government in the ancient Roman Empire between its establishment in 27 BC and the formal date of the collapse of the Western Empire in AD 476.
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Byzantine Empire or Byzantium is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople.
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Consul (abbrev. cos.; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and the Empire.

During the time of the Republic, the Consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for
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Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, either before it was mustered or more typically in the field, or an elected magistrate assigned duties that varied depending on the
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Quaestores were elected officials of the Roman Republic who supervised the treasury and financial affairs of the state, its armies and its officers. The office may date back to the time of the kings of Rome.
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Aedile (Latin Aedilis, from aedes, aedis "temple," "building") was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals.
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For other uses, see Tribune (disambiguation).

Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Greek form tribounos) was a title shared by 2–3 elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic
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For other uses, see Censor.

A Censor was a magistrate of high rank in the ancient Roman Republic. This position (called censura) was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the
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Dictator was a political office of the Roman Republic. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the dictator (Latin for "one who dictates (orders)") — officially known as the Magister Populi ("Master of the People"), the Praetor Maximus
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The Master of the Horse was (and in some cases, is) a historical position of varying importance in several European nations.

The Roman Master of the Horse (Magister Equitum)

The original Master of the Horse (Magister Equitum
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The Tribuni militum consulari potestate, or Consular Tribunes were tribunes elected with consular power during the Conflict of the Orders in the Roman Republic
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King of Rome (Latin: rex, regis) was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. The kings, excluding Romulus who held office by his virtue as the city's founder, were all elected by the people of Rome to serve for life, with none of the kings relying on military force to
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The term triumvirate (a law)(from Latin, "of three men") is commonly used to describe a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals. The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case.
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For the Romanian assassins, see .

Decemviri (singular decemvir) is a Latin term meaning "Ten Men" which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic (cf. Triumviri, Three Men).
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Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (from about 27 BC onwards). The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator (from which English Emperor derives), augustus, caesar and
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legatus (often anglicized as legate) was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes.
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The DUX-53 and DUX-59 were submachine guns designed at the Oviedo Arsenal in Spain. They were based directly on the design of the Finnish 9mm Model 44 submachine gun, which in turn was based on the Soviet PPS-43.
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Promagistrate

Information about Promagistrate

Usage in the Roman Catholic Church

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Etymology

The Roman Master of the Horse (Magister Equitum)

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