Other forms: intendants
During the monarchies of France and Spain, intendants were appointed officials. Generally, intendants were responsible for carrying out the king or queen's orders throughout the country.
Intendants were appointed to oversee the royal provinces, making sure that the king's commands were being followed. These civil servants were chosen from the nobility or upper-class, and intendants were abolished along with the monarchy itself after the French Revolution. The term is still used in several countries today; in Portugal, an intendant is a member of a police force, and in Argentina it's a city mayor, for example.