Editing Commissioner (section)

{{short description|Title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission}}
{{for|the 1994 film|Commissioner (film)}}
A '''commissioner''' (commonly abbreviated as '''Comm'r''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://citeblog.access-to-law.com/?p=113|title=Should It Be "Commissioner", "Comm'r", or "Commr."?|website=citeblog.access-to-law.com|date=27 February 2014 |access-date=22 June 2023}}</ref> is, in principle, a member of a [[Regulatory agency|commission]] or an individual who has been given a [[Wiktionary: commission|commission]] (official charge or authority to do something).

In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to include a variety of senior officials, often sitting on a specific commission. In particular, the commissioner frequently refers to senior [[police]] or government officials. A high commissioner is equivalent to an [[ambassador]], originally between the United Kingdom and the [[Dominion]]s and now between all Commonwealth states, whether [[Commonwealth realms]], [[republics in the Commonwealth of Nations|republics]] or countries having a monarch other than that of the realms. The title is sometimes given to senior officials in the private sector; for instance, many [[North America]]n [[sport]]s leagues.

There is some confusion between commissioners and [[commissary|commissaries]] because other European languages use the same word for both. Therefore titles such as ''commissaire'' in French, ''Kommissar'' in German{{efn|Later borrowed into Russian as [[Commissar]] under the Soviet Union}} and ''comisario'' in Spanish or ''commissario'' in Italian, can mean either commissioner or commissary in English, depending on the context.