Cabinet of Lower Columbia

The Cabinet of Lower Columbia is the highest decision-making body of the government of Lower Columbia. It is composed of the two Lords of Parliament, and the most senior appointed officials of the federal government's various ministries. The Cabinet is responsible for advising the King of Lower Columbia and exercising government authority in his name.

Composition
With one exception, the ministers who compose the Cabinet are appointed by the King after each general election on the advice of the Lords of Parliament, whom the King selects from the members of whichever political party wins a majority of seats in each house. In the event that no party wins a majority in both houses, or when different parties command majorities in each house, the King has the authority to force the leading parties to form a coalition government with an overall majority; he generally does so by appointing one Lord from each of the two leading parties. In such cases, he also usually appoints Cabinet ministers in a mixture from the two coalition partners. Cabinet ministers are always members of Parliament, and most of them serve in the Federal Assembly; it is unusual for the King to appoint a Councilor of State to a Cabinet office, though there is usually at least one appointed to every Cabinet (in addition to the Lord of the Council).

Ministries represented
Each top-level executive minister is automatically a member of the Cabinet. The specific ministries are described below, in order of significance.

Ministry of Defense
The royal military is administered by the Ministry of Defense. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are the main departments within this ministry. It also operates the nation's space program and military research and development program. The current Minister of Defense is Nathan Hartmann; he and the heads of each branch of the military form the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Among all the government ministries, none has a larger budget than the Ministry of Defense.

Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for enforcing federal laws and prosecuting violations thereof. It also operates the federal prison system. Its attorneys represent the federal government in all court cases in which the government is a party. Departments within the Ministry of Justice include the Royal Marshals, the federal police force, and the Counter-Terrorism Bureau, which protects the kingdom against domestic and foreign terrorist groups. Attorney General Deitra Fisker is the current head of this ministry.

Ministry of Religion
The Ministry of Religion is primarily in charge of reviewing and approving statements of faith which all candidates for federal offices and Parliament are required to submit when they declare their candidacy (Lower Columbia's official religion is Christianity, although this is largely a symbolic choice, as the constitution forbids the government from establishing a particular state church or infringing upon citizens' religious rights); candidates for Minister of Religion, however, submit their statements of faith to the Cabinet for approval by the king. It also is responsible for coordinating charity and disaster relief efforts administered by the nation's churches, organizes interdenominational events such as conferences, and subsidizes the philanthropic efforts of individual churches. The Right Reverend Gunnar Choi is the current Minister of Religion.

The Minister of Religion is the only Cabinet-level minister directly mentioned in the original text of the Lower Columbian Constitution. The position is mentioned in regard to the requirement of all candidates for Parliament and other Cabinet-level offices to submit statements of faith to him, as well as the Minister's administration of the Royal Oath to the King during coronation ceremonies. He is also the only Cabinet minister who is not a member of Parliament and is not bound by parliamentary term limits: the King appoints a prominent church leader to the position after the death of the previous Minister of Religion, and the newly-appointed minister usually serves until his own death or resignation.

Ministry of Commerce
The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for promoting economic growth in Lower Columbia. It regulates domestic and foreign trade, establishes and enforces industrial standards, awards patents and trademarks, gathers data on the country's economy for advisory purposes and enforces labor laws. Nicolas Paquet is the Minister of Commerce.

Ministry of Finance
Government revenues are collected and managed by the Ministry of Finance. It is responsible for collecting taxes and tariffs, producing currency, investigating and prosecuting smugglers and counterfeiters, enforcing tax laws and economic policy, supervising banks and stock markets and managing federal finances. The Ministry of Finance is run by the Lord (or Lady) of the Federal Assembly in his/her role as the Chancellor of the Exchequer; the post is therefore currently held by Jennifer Kurtz.

Ministry of Foreign Relations
The Ministry of Foreign Relations implements Lower Columbian foreign policy. All of the kingdom's ambassadors and consuls are employed by this ministry, and all foreign embassies and consulates in Lower Columbia interact primarily with it. It also administers foreign assistance, gathers foreign intelligence, protects Lower Columbians living and traveling abroad and assists Lower Columbian businesses in the international market. Olaf Bradford is the current Minister of Foreign Relations.

Ministry of Transportation
Lower Columbia's transportation network is built and maintained by the Ministry of Transportation. It oversees the nation's federal highways and all airports, seaports and railroads. It also establishes design standards for all forms of transportation and is responsible for vehicle registration. The Minister of Transportation is Isabella Sheehy.

Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Education is responsible for the educational system of the kingdom. It establishes standards for education at every grade level, administers the national standardized tests, manages the federal financial aid program, and operates the Royal University system, the only institutes of higher learning in Lower Columbia to receive a majority endowment from the royal family. Lars Langlois is the Minister of Education.

Ministry of Health
Although Lower Columbia has no national health care system, its hospitals are indirectly overseen by the Ministry of Health. This ministry establishes standards for private health care and insurance, handles domestic health crises and enforces workplace cleanliness and hygiene standards. The present Minister of Health is Greta Lundquist.

Ministry of Natural Resources
Agricultural subsidies are the main function of the Ministry of Natural Resources. It also enforces quality controls on food products and manages the national park system. Cedric Robert is the Minister of Natural Resources.

Ministry of Home Affairs
Unlike the interior ministries of other countries, Lower Columbia's Ministry of Home Affairs primarily oversees the kingdom's cultural and athletic programs and facilities. It is also the parent ministry of the Royal Office, which manages the king's public relations and schedule, as well as all palaces and other royal properties. In addition, the ministry manages passport services and federal elections, as well as conducting censuses and collecting other national statistics (both via the Statistics Office). Tor Keller is the current Minister for Home Affairs.

Ministry of Energy
The newest federal ministry, the Ministry of Energy is responsible for ensuring a constant and sufficient supply of energy to Lower Columbian homes and businesses. It constructs and manages the nation's hydroelectric dams, establishes safety codes for private energy companies and funds research into renewable energy sources. The Minister of Energy is Per Crawford.

Current Cabinet
The ministers are presented in the table above in order of their rank within the Cabinet. After the Lords of Parliament, the Minister of Religion ranks highest due to his status as the only appointed minister; the others are mostly ranked in order of seniority. The only exception to the seniority rule is the Minister of Defense; although the Ministry of Defense was created in the late 1940s, it is treated for seniority purposes as a continuation of the former Ministry of War.

Cabinet meetings
The Cabinet generally meets once a week to discuss matters of federal government policy in a conference room at Kendall Palace. The day of the week on which meetings are held varies by government term and depends on when, after each general election, the Cabinet ministers are appointed. On rare occasions, typically related to national emergencies, a second or third meeting may be held during the week. The Lords of Parliament are responsible for setting the agenda and schedule of meetings, and as such, meetings' length depends on their particular styles and overall political conditions. Meetings may be as short as 30 minutes when many decisions are made in committee and merely announced in meetings of the full Cabinet, while they may run two to three hours when many decisions remain to be made.

All ministers are expected to attend Cabinet meetings whenever possible. In addition, several junior ministers frequently attend meetings, although they are not required to do so. The chairpersons of the governing parties also commonly attend Cabinet meetings in order to coordinate party and government policy, as do the government leaders in both houses of Parliament (who serve as government whips, and whose familiarity with government policy is therefore important to their jobs). The King sometimes attends meetings, especially during national emergencies and near the beginning of each parliamentary session. When he does not, the Lords of Parliament have an audience with him immediately following meetings to apprise him of the Cabinet's decisions.