a range of issues and on the record for the media. An official statement is an issued by an organisation as an expression of its corporate position or opinion; an official apology is an apology similarly issued by an organisation (as opposed to an apology by an individual). Official policy is policy publicly acknowledged and defended by an organisation. In these cases unofficial is an antonym, and variously may mean informal, unrecognised, personal or unacknowledged. An official strike is a strike organised and recognised by a labour union, as opposed to an unofficial strike at grassroots level. An official school is a school administered by the government or by a local authority, as opposite to a private school or religious school. An official history, for example of an institution or business, or particularly of a war or military unit, is a history written as a commission, with the assumption of co-operation with access to records and archives; but without necessarily full editorial independence. An official biography is usually on the same lines, written with access to private papers and the support of the family of the subject. See also Bureaucrat Canonical Civil service Politician Title References Further reading Ecclesiastical titles Positions of authority