Council of Ministers (Italy)

The Council of Ministers (Italian: Consiglio dei Ministri, CdM) is the principal executive organ of the Government of Italy. It comprises the President of the Council (i.e. the prime minister), all the ministers, and the undersecretary to the President of the Council. Junior ministers (Italian: sottosegretari) are part of the government, but are not members of the Council of Ministers.

The Council of Ministers' origins date to the production of the Albertine Statute by the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1848. The Statute, which subsequently became the Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, did not envision collegial meetings of individual ministers, but simply the existence of ministers as heads of their ministries, responsible for their operations. The Council of Ministers subsequently developed as a constitutional convention and the office of the President of the Council emerged from the need to co-ordinate the activities of the individual ministers.

Currently the Council of Ministers is governed by the Constitution and Law no.400 of 23 August 1988.

The Council of Ministers consists of:

All powers of the Council of Ministers rest in the hands of the President of Italy until the ministers assume their offices.

The Presidents of the Regions with Special Statute have the right to participate in sessions of the Council of Ministers in matters relevant to them are discussed (distinct from general issues common to all the regions). The Presidents of Sardinia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Aosta Valley, and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol have only a consultative vote, while the President of Sicily has a full vote and the rank of a minister.

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