A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or imperium, could be exercised constitutionally only by a consul.

What is the difference between Consul and Proconsul?

As nouns the difference between consul and proconsul

is that consul is an official residing in a foreign country in order to protect the interests of citizens from his or her nation while proconsul is (in ancient rome) a magistrate who served as a consul and then as the governor of a province.

What is a proconsul in the Roman Republic?

Proconsul, Latin Pro Consule, or Proconsul, in the ancient Roman Republic, a consul whose powers had been extended for a definite period after his regular term of one year. ... Under the empire (after 27 bc), governors of senatorial provinces were called proconsuls.