The Ministry of the Presidency is a ministry of the

Republic of Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

created on 24 December 1961 through Law 2980. Its work prescribed by law consists in providing support to the President of the Republic, serving as a liaison between the Presidency and the other

branches of government Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

, civil society and the various ministries. Being one of the most political ministries, since it has to coordinate with the social and political organizations, with the Legislative Assembly and with the opposition groups, it is usually put in charge of one of the closest collaborators of the President. The Costa Rican

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objective ...

, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security, reports to the Ministry of the Presidency, which has generated controversy. Said portfolio is one of the most important in the Costa Rican presidential cabinet. The Minister of the Presidency has among its functions to coordinate inter-ministerial and inter-institutional work, to be an interlocutor between the President and the Parliament together with other tasks similar to those that in other countries fall on a Chief of Cabinet or

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, so usually a person of extreme confidence of the President is appointed. It is not unusual, too, that a few former presidential ministers have been later elected presidents of the Republic. The Minister of the Presidency, however, is not

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

, as Costa Rica's Constitution establishes that the President is both

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and head of government. The headquarters of the Ministry of the Presidency are located in Casa Presidencial in

Zapote District, San José Zapote the fifth district of the San José canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica. It is one of the administrative units surrounding San José downtown (officially composed of the districts of El Carmen, Merced, Hospital and Catedral ...

List of Ministers

References

{{Costa Rica topics Political office-holders in Costa Rica Government of Costa Rica