The Council of Government of Luxembourg consists of the

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 ...

and a number of ministers. It was created by Grand Ducal decree on 29 August 1846, as the administrator of the country: "The Council of Government administers the country , while complying with laws and regulations (...) The administration of the country being entrusted to the Council of Government, every measure and administrative decision emanates from it, excepting the authorisation or approval of the

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...

, in cases determined by the laws and regulations."Original text: "Le Conseil de gouvernement administre le pays en se conformant aux lois et règlements. (...) L'administration du pays étant confiée au Conseil de gouvernement, toute mesure ou décision administrative émane de lui, sauf l'autorisation ou l'approbation du Grand-Duc, dans les cas déterminés par les lois ou règlements." It meets on a weekly basis to discuss bills to propose to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. It is obliged to deliberate as a group on matters to be submitted to the Grand Duke. Its decisions are taken by a majority of votes. In case of an even split, the Prime Minister has the casting vote. All members of the government are responsible for every decision taken by the Council of Government which they agreed with. However, if a minister who makes their disagreement known in the minutes of a Council of Government meeting, they may be freed from their responsibility.

Size and titles

The Constitution of 1868 did not put a limit on the number of members of the government, nor did it provide a title for them. It gave the Grand Duke the freedom to create ministries and to divide up departments according to his needs. In the 19th century and up until the 1930s, the government generally consisted of the Prime Minister and three "administrators-general", or from 1857, "directors-general". The decree of 24 March 1936 changed their titles to "ministers". The growth in the number of ministers came about after the Second World War, when the National Union Government was formed. After this, the government's number of ministers increased in parallel with the growth of the State's scope of activities, and Luxembourg's integration in international politics. At the beginning of the 2009-2013 legislature, the government was composed of 15 ministers.

Footnotes

Government of Luxembourg

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

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