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Romania Council of Ministers
Defined in the Constitution as the supreme body of
state
administration, the Council of Ministers exercised control
over the
activities of all state agencies on both the national and
local
levels. Although the size and composition of the Council
of
Ministers fluctuated, its basic elements were the prime
minister,
the deputy prime minister, the ministers, and the heads of
certain
other important government agencies. Unlike the 1952
constitution,
which listed twenty-six specific ministries, the 1965
version fixed
neither the number of ministries nor their particular
areas of
competence.
In 1989 the Council of Ministers had sixty-one members
including the prime minister, three first deputy prime
ministers,
six deputy prime ministers, twenty-eight ministers, and
twenty-four
committee chiefs or state secretaries with ministerial
rank. Elena
Ceausescu held two positions in the council--first deputy
prime
minister and chairman of the National Council for Science
and
Technology. All but one of the members of the council were
also
members or candidate members of the PCR Central Committee,
and the
nine first deputies or deputies were members or candidate
members
of the PCR Political Executive Committee, usually known as
Polexco (see Glossary).
The Constitution gave the Council of Ministers
responsibility
for the general implementation of the nation's domestic
and foreign
polices, the enforcement of laws, and the maintenance of
public
order. As the supreme governmental body, the council
coordinated
and controlled the activities of the ministries and other
state
organs at all levels. The council directed economic
matters by
drafting the Unitary National Socioeconomic Plan and state
budget
and providing for their implementation. In addition it
directed the
establishment of economic enterprises and other industrial
and
commercial organizations.
The council's responsibilities also included the
general
administration of relations with other states and the
conclusion of
international agreements. Its prerogatives in the area of
defense,
however, were diminished by the 1974 constitutional
amendments. The
council's right to act for the general organization of the
armed
forces was replaced by the provision that it could take
measures in
that area only "according to the decision of the Defense
Council."
Formally elected by the GNA at the beginning of each
new
assembly session, the council's term of office continued
until the
election of a new council by the succeeding assembly. Both
collectively and individually, the council members were
responsible
to the GNA or--between sessions--to the State Council. The
Constitution asserted that the Council of Ministers was to
operate
on the principle of collective leadership to ensure the
unity of
its political and administrative actions.
After the promulgation of the 1965 Constitution and
especially
after Ceausescu was elected president of the republic in
1974, the
Council of Ministers underwent numerous reorganizations.
The number
of ministries almost doubled. Several of them, for
example, the
Ministry of Mines, Petroleum, and Geology, were repeatedly
split
and merged. Some of the departments in separate ministries
were
combined to form new ministries or central organizations.
In 1989
Romania had the largest number of ministries and central
organizations of any East European state.
Agency reshuffling and the reassignment or dismissal of
large
numbers of officials plagued the ministries. Between March
1985 and
the beginning of 1988, there were over twenty government
reorganizations affecting such key functions as defense,
finance,
foreign trade, and foreign affairs. In 1984, at least
twelve
ministers were removed. The following year, the ministers
of
foreign affairs and national defense were replaced, and in
1986 the
ministers of foreign affairs, foreign trade, and finance
lost their
positions following criticism from high-level PCR
officials for
trade shortfalls. In 1987, in the largest government
reshuffle to
date, eighteen ministers were dismissed over a four-week
period,
and some were expelled from the party.
Data as of July 1989
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