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• in Latin, praefectus: a high-ranking military or civil official in the Roman Empire; the title now attaches to the heads of some departments of the Roman Curia, who are traditionally Cardinals, and if they are not are titled Pro-Prefect.

• in the context of schools, a prefect is a pupil who has been given authority over other pupils in the school, such as a hall monitor or safety patrol . In British public schools, prefects, usually sixth formers, have considerable power and effectively run the school outside the classroom. Once they were even allowed to administer corporal punishment. They usually answer to a senior prefect known as the Head of School (colloquially, Head Boy or Head Girl). This system appears prominently in Harry Potter.

• in France, a prefect ( préfet) is the State's representative in a région (thus called préfet de région) or département. His agency is called the préfecture. Sub-prefects (sous-préfets, sous-préfecture) operate in the arrondissementsThe 100 French departements are divided into 342 arrondissements . The capital of an arrondissement is the sous-prefecture''. Arrondissements are further divided into cantons and communes. The cities of Paris, Lyon and Marseille are also divided into arro under his responsibility.

See also

• Ford PrefectFord Prefect is: a model of car see Ford Prefect (car) a character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy named after the car see Ford Prefect (character).
• prefectureThe term prefecture has been used to denote a self-governing body or area since the time of Constantine I, who divided the Roman Empire into 4 districts (each divided into dioceses). Much like a state or city, these were largely self-governed; however eac