independent

free from external control and constraint

• “an independent mind”
• “a series of independent judgments”
• “fiercely independent individualism”
• “an independent republic”

not dependent on or conditioned by or relative to anything else

of political bodies

• “an autonomous judiciary”
• “a sovereign state”

not contingent

of a clause; able to stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence

• “the main (or independent) clause in a complex sentence has at least a subject and a verb”

not controlled by a party or interest group

a neutral or uncommitted person (especially in politics)

a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them