A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime,[1] is a temporary ad hoc government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed.[2][3] Depending on specific practice, it consists of either randomly selected members of parliament or outgoing members until their dismissal.
Caretaker governments in representative democracies are usually limited in their function, serving only to maintain the status quo, rather than truly govern and propose new legislation. Unlike the government it is meant to temporarily replace, a caretaker government does not have a legitimate mandate (electoral approval) to exercise aforementioned functions.