Archchancellor of Ebenthal

Archchancellor of Ebenthal
Ministerial standard
Incumbent Bernardo Barcelos since 30 July 2023
Style	The Most Worthy
Member of	Konkrëse Executive Council
Reports to	House of Councillors Monarch
Seat	Setzenbrand
Appointer	Monarch
Term length	At His Majesty's Pleasure
Constituting instrument	Constitution
Inaugural holder	Bernardo Barcelos
Formation	18 February 2024
Deputy	President of the House of Councillors
Salary	𝕮55.992 (annually)

The Archchancellor of Ebenthal (Portuguese: Arquichanceler de Ebenthal) is the constitutional co-head of government of the Kingdom of Ebenthal. The Archchancellor advises the Sovereign on the exercise of his royal prerogative, chairs the Executive Council and select its members. The Archchancellor hold office by virtue of the ability to command the confidence of both the House of Councillors and the King, who actively scrutinize the workings of the Government.

The office of Archchancellor was introduced in the Constitution of Ebenthal replacing that of Prime Minister, strengthening the position of the co-head of government and establishing a new dynamic of checks and balances between the two co-heads of government. The Monarch appoints as Archchancellor the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Councillors, even though this is a convention and not a legal bind; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber. However, on rare occasions, if the party or coalition that forms a majority in the lower chamber does not reach an acceptable nomination for the position, the Archchancellor can be appointed from among the members of the upper house, the House of Aristocrats, provided that he commands the confidence of the members of the lower chamber.

The office of Archchancellor does not have a term length; he remains in power as long as he is able to maintain the trust of both House of Councilors and Monarch. He can be removed from power by a motion of no confidence voted and approved in the lower house of parliament, or by royal decree promulgated by the Monarch, which can not only dismiss the Archchancellor and his cabinet altogether, as he can dismiss ministers individually.

Competences

The constitution designates the Archchancellor as the co-head of the Government of Ebenthal and defines his competences as the highest exercise of authority in matters concerning the government aside of the Monarch. The Archchancellor appoints and dismiss the Ministers of State, and co-ordinates the policies and activities of all government departments, and the staff of the civil service. The Archchancellor holds several other powers, including the casting vote in the case of a tie in the House of Councillors, he can create and regulate government agencies, propose bills and he is the head advisor to the Monarch. On the event of the Monarch's inability to exercise power, if he has not appointed a Regent, the Archchancellor automatically becomes Regent (it is the only constitutional case where the premier enjoys full executive power as both sole head of government and acting head of state). In the possibility of the inexistence of a Monarch, it is the prerogative of the Archchancellor or Regent to offer the crown to suitors.

The Archchancellor holds weekly audiences with the Sovereign. The extent of the Sovereign's ability to influence the nature of the chancellery advice is unknown, but presumably varies depending upon the personal relationship between the Sovereign and the Archchancellor of the day. The Archchancellor, being a member of one of the houses of parliament, also takes part weekly in ordinary session and may be called to answer the questions made by the Monarch, the parliament and the justice. As co-head of government the Archchancellor is also de facto co-holder of the executive power, invested upon the Monarch by the constitution but exercised through the Archchancellor alongside with the cabinet on the Monarch's name.

Unlike the former prime ministerial office, Ebenthal's Archchancellor enjoys the power to set guidelines for all fields of policy, effectively arrogating nearly all major decisions to himself. Consequently, ministers are treated as mere extensions of the Archchancellor's authority and enjoys of less autonomy. Further empowering the Archchancellor, whereas, as the former Prime Minister, he set the number of cabinet ministers, the Archchancellor dictates their specific duties, although he cannot abrogate them to his own office.

Restrictions

The Archchancellor holds no authority over the country's awards and decorations – other than those specifically defined – and the country's nobility. They are binded to acknowledge all titles and styles adopted by members of the royal family and bestowed by the Monarch upon Ebenthaler citizens. Additionally, the Archchancellor cannot be formally a member of the royal family, e.g., if any Prince or Princess of the Royal House wishes to become Archchancellor, they must forfeit their positions.

Appointment

The Archchancellor is appointed by the Sovereign from among the members of the party or coalition that holds the majority of seats in the House of Councillors, the lower house of the Konkrëse. Since the enactment of the Ebenthaler Constitution of 2024, the Archchancellor is nominated by the party or coalition he represents for the office and is formally appointed by the Monarch; previously, regarding the former prime minister office, there was no such constitutional requirement, and the head of government cound be freely appointed by the Monarch, typically from the major party in government.

However, the Archchancellor cannot be appointed among the members of a party that does not have a majority of seats in the chamber and is not in a coalition. If an opposing coalition has more seats in parliament than the ruling party, the Archchancellor can be appointed from the members of that coalition in order to avoid a minority government. Nevertheless, if the parties fail to form a coalition, the Archchancellor will be appointed from among the members of the party that individually holds the most seats in parliament, even if the other parties total more seats, thus forming a minority government.

At the appointment act, upon being requested to "form a government on His Majesty's name", the Archchancellor shall take an oath of loyalty to the constitution and the King of Ebenthal. From then on the appointed person shall enjoy the right of address of The Most Worthy and the title of His Majesty's Archchancellor.

List of officeholders

No.	Name	Portrait	Tenure			Political party		Appointer
			From	To	Tenure
I	Bernardo Barcelos		30 July 2023	present	7002302000000000000♠302 days		New Democrats	Arthur II

See also

• Prime Minister of Ebenthal (predecessor office)