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The Cabinet of the Government of Jamaica is the ultimate decision-making body of the executive within the Westminster system of government in traditional constitutional theory. The Cabinet of Jamaica is the principal instrument of government policy. It consists of the Prime Minister, and a minimum of thirteen other Ministers of Government, who must be members of one of the two Houses of Parliament. Not more than four members of the Cabinet may be members of the Senate. The Minister of Finance must be an elected member of the House of Representatives.
Contents
- Queen in Council
- Ministers Ministers of State and Ministers without Portfolio
- Ministers of State
- References
The Cabinet of Jamaica is currently composed of The Jamaica Labour Party members because the party won the 2016 General elections.
The following are the members of the Government Cabinet led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
Queen-in-Council
The government of Jamaica, formally referred to as Her Majesty's Jamaican Government, is defined by the constitution as the Queen acting on the advice of her Executive Council; what is technically known as the Queen-in-Council, or sometimes the Governor-in-Council, referring to the governor general as the Queen's stand-in.
As the stipulations of responsible government require that those who directly advise the monarch and governor general on how to exercise the Royal Prerogative be accountable to the elected House of Representatives, the day-to-day operation of government is guided only by a sub-group of the Cabinet made up of individuals who hold seats in parliament. This body of ministers of the Crown is the Cabinet, which has come to be the council in the phrase Queen-in-Council.
Ministers, Ministers of State and Ministers without Portfolio
Each minister of the Crown is responsible for the general administration of at least one government portfolio, and heads a corresponding ministry or ministries. The most important minister, following the prime minister, is the Minister of Finance, while other high-profile ministries include foreign affairs, national security, industry and health.
Further, the prime minister may recommend the governor general appoint to Cabinet some ministers of state and ministers without portfolio. Ministers of state often assume one responsibility of a ministry and are not considered as apart of the Cabinet. In the Jamaican press, Ministers of State of often referred to as Junior Ministers. Ministers without portfolio, often working within the Office of the prime minister, assuming one of the prime minister's subsidiary roles (excluding that of Minister of Defence). One exception exists within the current Cabinet.
Ministers of State
Five ministers of state have been appointed but are not a part of the cabinet although they will help in the operations of their various sectors.