noun
1. : a council constituted to advise or share in the functions of a political executive: as
a. : a council composed of the principal government officials and sometimes unofficial appointees that is constituted to advise the governor of a British colony
the Governor shall … preside at all meetings of the Executive Council — Royal Instructions (Nigeria)
b. : a council in several member nations of the British Commonwealth that resembles the Privy Council in power and function
in New Zealand … the Cabinet and the Executive Council have that same membership — Walter Nash
2. : a council that exercises supreme executive power : a plural executive
in Switzerland … the Executive Council is not based upon a party majority in the representative bodies — C.J.Friedrich
replacing the Uruguayan president with an executive council