Secretary of State (France)
| Government of the French Republic | |
|---|---|
| French: Gouvernement de la République française | |
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| Overview | |
| Established | 1958 (Fifth Republic) |
| State | French Republic |
| Leader | Prime Minister |
| Appointed by | President of the Republic |
| Main organ | Council of Ministers |
| Responsible to | National Assembly |
| Headquarters |
Hôtel Matignon Paris |
| Website | www.gouvernement.fr/en |
The Government of the French Republic (French: Gouvernement de la République française) exercises executive power. It is composed of a prime minister, who is the head of government, and both junior and senior ministers. Senior ministers are titled as Ministers (French: Ministres), whereas junior ministers are titled as Secretaries of State (French: Secrétaires d'État). A smaller and more powerful executive body, called the Council of Ministers (French: Conseil des ministres), is composed only of the senior ministers, though some Secretaries of State may attend Council meetings. The Council of Ministers is chaired by the President of the Republic, unlike the government, but is still led by the Prime Minister, who was officially titled as the President of the Council of Ministers (French: Président du Conseil des ministres) during the Third and Fourth Republics. By comparison, the Government of France is equivalent to Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, whereas the Council of Ministers is equivalent to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
All members of the French government are nominated by the President of the Republic on the advice of the Prime Minister. Members of the government are ranked in a precise order, which is established at the time of government formation. In this hierarchy, the Prime Minister is the head of government. He is nominated by the President of the Republic. Whilst the President is constitutionally free to nominate whomever he likes, in practice he must nominate a candidate that reflects the will of the majority of the National Assembly, as the government is responsible to parliament. After being nominated to lead a government, the Prime Minister nominee must propose a list of ministers to the President. The President can either accept or reject these proposed ministers. Ministers are ranked by importance:
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