Council of Ministers of Anglien
| Ministerrat fonn Anglien | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Constitution of Anglien, Chapter VII |
| Established | 1.VIII.1759 AN (Constitution); transitional Council 15.X.1754 AN |
| Head of government |
Klaes Boerhaaf Prime Minister |
| Appointment |
Sovereign Duke on the Prime Minister's binding proposal |
| Members | 8 (First Boerhaaf government) |
| Ministries | |
| External Affairs | |
| Justice | |
| Territorial Affairs | |
| Defense | |
| Finance and Reconstruction | |
| Constitutional status | |
| Accountable to | Diet (confidence) |
| Current government | First Boerhaaf government |
| Constitutional executive of the Free Duchy of Anglien | |
The Council of Ministers of Anglien (Crandish: Ministerrat fonn Anglien) is the collective executive of the Free Duchy of Anglien. Under Chapter VII of the Constitution of Anglien it consists of the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Free Duchy, and the ministers, who together form the government of the duchy.[1] The Prime Minister chairs the Council, directs its general policy, and answers for it to the Diet.[2]
The Council is formed by the Diet, which elects the Prime Minister by a majority of its full membership and elects the Chancellor of the Free Duchy separately on the Prime Minister's nomination; the ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Sovereign Duke on the Prime Minister's binding proposal.[3] The government holds office on the confidence of the Diet and may be removed only by a constructive vote of no confidence. The Council in office is the first Boerhaaf government, formed in XIII.1759 AN.
The permanent Council succeeded a transitional body of the same name established under the Charter of Anglien, which chaired the ministries by ducal delegation during the post-occupation transition. The Constitution entered into force on 1.VIII.1759 AN, and the transitional arrangement gave way to the permanent Council when the first elected Diet convened and chose a Prime Minister in XIII.1759 AN.
Constitutional basis
The Council of Ministers is established by Chapter VII of the Constitution of Anglien, which entered into force on 1.VIII.1759 AN. Article VII.1 defines the government of the Free Duchy as the Prime Minister (Premierminister), the Chancellor of the Free Duchy (Kanzler fonn der Frii Ataltom), and the ministers, who together form the Council of Ministers.[4] Membership of the government is incompatible with membership of the Burgenraat, with judicial office, and with any other public or private employment.[5]
The Prime Minister chairs the Council and directs its general policy; the Chancellor of the Free Duchy holds a portfolio entrenched by the Constitution and exercised independently of the Prime Minister's direction, covering constitutional affairs, the civil service, the prevention and prosecution of corruption, oversight of the Ducal Police Service, and the State Audit Office.[6]
Composition
The government consists of the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Free Duchy, and the ministers. The Diet elects the Prime Minister and, on the Prime Minister's nomination, the Chancellor; the two offices are removable independently of one another. The ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Sovereign Duke, but only on the binding proposal of the Prime Minister, so that the choice of ministers rests with the head of government while the ducal act remains formal.[7]
The Council in office is the first government formed under the permanent Constitution, in office since XIII.1759 AN.
| Office | Minister | League |
|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Klaes Boerhaaf | te Landbond |
| Chancellor of the Free Duchy | Hendrik Braam | te Verzetsbond |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Edmund Hale | te Eilanderbond |
| Minister of Finance and Reconstruction | Joost Veenstra | te Landbond |
| Minister of Justice | Willem Doornbos | te Landbond |
| Minister of External Affairs | Sanne Okkerse | te Verzetsbond |
| Minister of Defense | Marten Dijkstra | te Verzetsbond |
| Minister of Territorial Affairs | Femke Ravensbergen | te Eilanderbond |
The Deputy Prime Minister is a political designation within the coalition rather than a constitutional office. A fuller account of the current government and its program is given at Government of Anglien.
Ministries
The work of the government is carried on through the ministries, each headed by a member of the Council.
- External Affairs, responsible for the duchy's diplomatic relations and its treaty business.
- Justice, responsible for the courts and the prosecution service.
- Territorial Affairs, responsible for the bailiwicks, local government, and the heritage registries.
- Defense, which administers the Anglian Ducal Guard and the Anglian Maritime Service under civilian control.
- Finance and Reconstruction, responsible for the public finances, the currency board of the Anglian mark, and the reconstruction accounts.
The Chancellor of the Free Duchy, whose portfolio is entrenched by the Constitution and exercised independently of the Prime Minister, oversees the Ducal Police Service and the State Audit Office alongside the ministries.
Confidence and accountability
The government holds office on the confidence of the Diet, the eighty-four-member first chamber of the legislature. The Diet elects the Prime Minister and the Chancellor and may remove them only through a constructive vote of no confidence, in which it must elect a successor by a majority of its full membership in the same vote.[8] The Burgenraat, the thirty-six-member second chamber, has no part in the confidence relationship, so a government is made and unmade in the Diet alone.
The Prime Minister, the Chancellor, and the ministers may each be impeached by a two-thirds majority of the full membership of the Diet and tried by the Constitutional Court sitting as a full bench.[9] A government that has resigned, been removed, or seen the Diet dissolved continues to conduct current affairs until a successor takes office.[10]
Relationship to the Sovereign Duke
The Sovereign Duke is the ceremonial head of state and takes no part in forming a government. Ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Duke only on the Prime Minister's binding proposal, and most acts of the Duke require the countersignature of the Prime Minister or the competent minister. Outside a narrow set of reserve powers, the Duke acts on the advice of the government, and the ministers answer to the Diet for the resulting acts.[11]
History
The Council of Ministers has existed since the founding of the Free Duchy: first as the transitional executive under the Charter, and, since 1.VIII.1759 AN, as the constitutional executive under the permanent Constitution.
Transitional Council
The Council of Ministers was first established under Chapter III of the Charter of Anglien on 15.X.1754 AN, as the executive of the post-occupation transition. The transitional Council was chaired by a Transitional Prime Minister, Eduard Vogt, a former civil administrator of the Grand Duchy of Lac Glacei who had refused cooperation with the NKR authorities during the occupation. It comprised the Transitional Prime Minister and the heads of five ministries, all appointed by and answerable to the Sovereign Duke; the Charter established no parliamentary confidence relationship, and the duchy then had no organized political parties.
Under the Charter the Council was designed as a counterweight to the Sovereign Duke's broad transitional authority. Before issuing decrees on taxation, military deployment, or treaty ratification, the Duke was required to consult the Council; a formal Council objection triggered a thirty-day review period during which the Diet could convene in emergency session. The mechanism was not formally tested during the transition, the Duke and the Transitional Prime Minister having operated by consensus on the major decisions of the period.
The transitional government of Transitional Prime Minister Vogt continued as caretaker through the first competitive general election of XII.1759 AN. Its ministers were Anneke Brandsen (External Affairs), Hendrik Braam (Justice), Torsten Eriksson (Territorial Affairs), Alice Steinbach (Defense), and Catrin Halvordssen (Finance and Reconstruction). When the first elected Diet convened and chose Klaes Boerhaaf as Prime Minister in XIII.1759 AN, the office of Transitional Prime Minister and the caretaker provisions of the Charter lapsed under Section 7 of the Constitution's Schedule of Transition, and the permanent Council of Ministers took its place.[12]
See also
- Free Duchy of Anglien
- Government of Anglien
- Constitution of Anglien
- Prime Minister of Anglien
- Chancellor of the Free Duchy
- Diet of Anglien
- Sovereign Duke of Anglien
- Anglien general election, 1759
- Transitional Prime Minister of Anglien
References
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.1.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.2.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Arts. V.9, VII.4.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.1.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.5.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Arts. VII.2, VII.3.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Arts. V.9, VII.4.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. V.9.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Arts. V.10(3), IX.1.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Art. VII.6.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Arts. IV.7, VII.4.
- ^ Constitution of Anglien, Schedule of Transition, s. 7.
