Federal Government of Germany
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The Cabinet of Germany (German: Bundeskabinett, Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Chancellor and the cabinet ministers.
The details of the cabinet's organisation are set down in articles 62 to 69 of the Basic Law. Article 64 Paragraph 2 states that the Chancellor and the ministers have to be sworn in when taking office.
The Chancellor is responsible for guiding the cabinet; he decides what direction their policies will take and bears the responsibility. The cabinet ministers have the freedom to carry out their duties independently but must follow the Chancellor's directive. This is known as the Ressortprinzip or principle of departmentalisation. The Chancellor decides the scope of each minister's duties.
If two ministers disagree on a particular point, the cabinet resolves the conflict by majority vote (Kollegialprinzip or principle of deference).
The Chancellor directs the government's administrative affairs. Details are laid down in the government's Geschäftsordnung (rules for internal procedure) which states, for example, that the cabinet has quorum if at last half of the ministers including the chair are present.
Present German Cabinet
The current federal cabinet (July 2005) consists of the following ministers.
See also
- List of ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany - an alphabetical list of former ministers