Formed 4 December 1912 Website www.kryeministria.al | Jurisdiction Albania | |
Headquarters Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard, Tirana Minister responsible Edi Rama (PS), Prime Minister | ||
The Cabinet of Albania, also known as Council of Ministers (Albanian: Këshilli i Ministrave) is the executive branch of Albania. The Chairman of the Council (Prime Minister) is appointed by the President; ministers are nominated by the President on the basis of the Prime Minister's recommendation. The Assembly of Albania must give final approval of the composition of the Council. The Council is responsible for carrying out both foreign and domestic policies. It directs and controls the activities of the ministries and other state organs.
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Role
The Council is responsible to the Parliament of Albania. The Parliament may choose to pass a motion of censure forcing the Council of Ministers to resign. This has the effect of forcing the Government to be composed of members from the majority political party in the Assembly or to be allied to the majority in a coalition. Ministers are required to answer written or oral questions put to them by members of Parliament, known as Government questions. In addition, ministers attend sessions of the Parliament when laws concerning their assigned sectors and departmental portfolios are under consideration.
Cabinet ministers cannot propose legislation without parliamentary approval. Ministers can however propose bills to Parliament and any such legislation is generally very likely to pass. On occasion, the majority opinion in Parliament may differ significantly from those of the executive, resulting in a large number of riders.
The Cabinet plays a major role in determining the agenda of the Parliament. It can propose laws and amendments during parliamentary sessions. It also has a number of procedures at its disposal to expedite parliamentary deliberations.
Rank
Council members are subdivided into three substantial ranks, along with one honorary rank: