A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a previous administration or regime. A provisional government holds power until elections can be held or a permanent government can otherwise be established. Provisional governments often occur as the result of a revolution or in wartime when an occupied nation or territory has been liberated or, conversely, when a government has been deposed by an invading army. Examples of provisional governments include the:

• Provisional Government of Hawaii (1893) - established when a committee of American businessmen overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii and its queen, Liliuokalani.
• Provisional Government of the Irish Republic (1916) - a title adopted by the leadership of the short-lived Easter Rising.
• Russian Provisional Government (1917) - established as a result of the February Revolution which overthrew the Tsar.
• Provisional Government of Southern Ireland (1922) - established by agreement between the British government and Irish revolutionaries, in order to pave the way for the establishment of the Irish Free State in the same year.
• Provisional Government of the Syrian Arab Republic (1949) - established by national consensus to draft a new constitution and reintroduce civilian rule after a series of military governments.
• Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (1969-1976) - established as an alternative Communist (Marxist-Leninist) government in 1969. It ruled South Vietnam between the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese troops in 1975 and the creation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976.
• Coalition Provisional Authority, the Iraqi Interim Governing Council, the Iraqi Interim Government and the Iraqi Transitional Government were all provisional authorities established following the 2003 invasion of Iraq to govern pending the adoption of a permanent constitution.

Provisional governments were also established throughout Europe as occupied nations were liberated from Nazi occupation by the Allies. In France the Provisional Government of the Republic was established by the Free French Forces under Charles de Gaulle after the liberation of the country from the Nazis. The government led France from 1944 until the establishment of the Fourth Republic in 1947.