At present, there is no conceptual model by which public health could be represented as intersectoral governance collaborating with society and the state, and acting as a collective on the determinants of health. In this article, our interdisciplinary group, representing core competencies in public health, suggest two complementary conceptual models as frameworks for a diverse public concerned with public health and its core functions. The first conceptual ‘core model’ roots from the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. It represents the interrelationships of the three main poles united at the biopower level: the collectivity (entire population), the contemporary state and public health. In the second conceptual model, we present the various components in the meta-network of public health governance. We also present the roles of heterogeneous actors and how they can collaborate within a prominent process of capacity building and development of practice in public health. Thus, we emphasize the importance of intersectoral partnerships the contemporary state can make with public health without inducing any rupture with the social fabric. Our two complementary models can help actors from all sectors better understand the most frequent questions in public health governance (functions, roles, ingredients) and the challenges that intersectoral actors may very likely encounter in the implementation of these frameworks. The sustainability of well-balanced transdisciplinary and intersectoral partnerships contribute to a successful implementation of public health governance, and most importantly to a good health status for the collectivity.