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Czechoslovakia The Executive Branch
The executive branch of government consists of the president,
the premier, a number of deputy premiers, and the federal
ministers. According to the Constitution, the president is
elected by the Federal Assembly to a five-year term of office. In
practice, the president is first selected by the KSC leadership
and then "officially" voted into office by the Federal Assembly.
As head of state, the president represents the nation in
diplomatic affairs, receives and appoints envoys, convenes the
Federal Assembly, and signs laws into force. He is commander in
chief of the armed forces and is empowered to appoint or remove
the premier, other members of the executive, and other high
civilian and military officials. There is no vice president;
rather, the Constitution provides that if the presidential office
becomes vacant, the premier will be entrusted with the
president's duties until the Federal Assembly elects a new
president.
The premier, the deputy premiers (numbering ten in 1987), and
the federal cabinet ministers are collectively termed "the
government," which is constitutionally defined as "the supreme
executive organ of state power." All are chosen by the Central
Committee of the KSC and formally appointed by the president. If
both chambers of the Federal Assembly vote to censure any or all
members of the government, the president is obliged to remove
those members. The premier, deputy premiers, and ministers
collectively form the Presidium of the Government of the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. This Presidium supervises and
controls the activities of the federal ministries, commissions,
and other departments. These Presidium functions appear to
correspond to the purpose of the government as stated in the
Constitution, which is to ensure the implementation of laws
enacted in the Federal Assembly and to coordinate, direct, and
control activities in the federal ministries and other federal
offices.
Federal ministers are important administrators, but they lack
the political weight of their counterparts in most noncommunist
countries. The number of ministries and the division of
responsibilities among them have varied over time. In August 1986
there were thirteen federal ministries: agriculture and food;
communication; electrotechnical industry; finance; foreign
affairs; foreign trade; fuels and power; general engineering;
interior; labor and social affairs; metallurgy and heavy
engineering; national defense; and transportation. In addition,
five individuals held positions that granted them ministerial
status. These include the minister-chairmen of the Federal Price
Office and the People's Control Commission, the chairman of the
State Planning Commission, and the minister-deputy chairmen of
the State Planning Commission and the State Commission for
Research and Development and Investment Planning. These
ministerial and ministerial-level positions within the government
parallel similar organs within the KSC, where policy is actually
formed before it is enacted by federal government officials.
Data as of August 1987
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