Brazil
Brasília, the capital of Brazil, is set within the Federal District or Distrito Federal. The state includes several other cities. Brasília is a planned city, with no pre-existing status prior to its establishment.
The Federal District is an anomalous unit of the federation, as it is not organized the same manner as a municipality, does not possess the same autonomy as a state (but is ranked among them) and is closely related to the central power.
The District Governor is elected directly for a 4-year term. Local laws are issued by a legislative assembly also elected by the local population. Judiciary affairs are carried out by the Union, instead of being appointed by the governor as in the other states of Brazil. The district has the status of a federal state in many aspects. It has representatives both in the Lower House of Congress (Câmara dos Deputados) and in the national Senate.
The Brazilian federal government was transferred to the Distrito Federal on April 21, 1960, which was then split off from the state of Goiás. Before the transfer, the Brazilian capital was the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. After the transfer, the municipality of Rio de Janeiro became the Estado da Guanabara (State of Guanabara), which existed from 1960 until 1975 when the State of Guanabara was merged into the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Read more about this topic: Capital Districts And Territories