Government in exile

A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their native country and regain power.

Governments in exile frequently occur during wartime occupation. For example, during the German expansion of the Second World War, numerous European governments and monarchs were forced to seek refuge in England, rather than face certain destruction at the hands of the Nazis.

Currently, there are few governments in exile, and those that exist are not widely recognized. Examples are the administration of Belarus exiled since 1920 and currently led by Ivonka Survilla in Canada, or the government of the Dalai Lama in India, claiming to be the legitimate leaders of the Chinese-occupied nation of Tibet.