A prefecture (from the Latin praefectura) is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international church structures, as well as in antiquity a Roman district. Literal prefectures Antiquity Prefecture originally refers to a self-governing body or area since the tetrarchy, when Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into four districts (each divided into dioceses), grouped under a Vicarius (a number of Roman provinces, listed under that article), although he maintained two pretorian prefectures as an administrative level above the also surviving dioceses (a few of which were split). Ecclesiastic As canon law is strongly inspired by Roman law, it is not surprising that the Catholic Church has several offices under a prefect. That term occurs also in otherwise styled offices, such as the head of a congregation or department of the Roman Curia. Various ecclesiastical areas, too small for a diocese, are termed prefects. Analogous prefectures Brazilian equivalent of prefecture In Brazil, the prefecture (prefeitura or prefeitura municipal in Portuguese) is the executive branch of the government of each Brazilian municipality (município in Portuguese). The term also refers to the office of the mayor (prefeito in Portuguese). Central African Republic The Central African Republic is divided into sixteen prefectures. Greek equivalent of prefecture From 1836 until 2011, modern Greece was divided into (, singular , ) which formed the country's main administrative units. These are most commonly translated into English as "prefectures" or "counties". Each was headed by a prefect (, ), who was a ministerial appointee until ca. 1990, but was then elected by direct popular vote in a process of decentralization that saw the prefectures become local government units. Municipal elections in Greece are held every four years and voting for the election of prefects and mayors was carried out concurrently but with separate ballots. The 2010 Kallikratis plan, which took effect on 1 January 2011, abolished the prefectures as separate administrative units, and transformed them into regional units within the country's thirteen administrative regions. Chinese equivalents of prefecture The ancient sense Xian () When used in the context of Chinese history, especially China before the Tang Dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate xian (). This unit of administration is translated as "county" when used in a contemporary context, because of the increase of the number of