Cabinet of Suntrain

The Cabinet of the Republic of Suntrain is the decisional and advisory body of the Government of Suntrain.

Consisting of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and other Ministers, the Cabinet meets to set the Government's policy towards issues and to make decisions. Once the Cabinet has made a decision, all Cabinet members are expected to publicly support it. Each Minister is the head of a Government Department and holds the title as Minister of the respective Government Department. Cabinet members are selected by the Prime Minister, following the appointment of the Government and Ministers by the President.

The Cabinet is responsible to the Parliament, primarily to the House of Representatives. The Cabinet, along with the Government, is based on the Westminster Model. The Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister, and in his absence, the Deputy Prime Minister. The Cabinet usually meets once a week to discuss important matters, which the Government then executes.

The current Cabinet was formed by on 1 November 2013, with a few minor changes made in February 2014 and October 2014.

History

The first Cabinet was created on 1 November 2013, the day the first Constitution took force and the day [ was elected President. initially only appointed Ministers for the positions of Minister for Defence and Finance. Later, as it was seen necessary, the Ministers for Environment, Foreign Affairs and Art and Culture were appointed; however, the Republic did not have a fully functioning government yet.

In February 2014, initiated his first Cabinet reshuffle, dismissing Dat Nguyen as Minister for Defence and Nickola Gorgiovski as Minister for Infrastructure and Development. Several other Cabinet positions were also created at this time, such as the Minister for Internal Affairs and the Minister for Justice. Sam Mathew was appointed for both of these roles. With the signing of a Constitution in September 2013, political strictness and a proper sense of government was established. The previously-known Ministries were re-named to Departments and once again, another Cabinet reshuffle occurred. Dominik Kustura was dismissed as Minister for Health and Sport, with Damon Harbis appointed instead; the role of Minister for Defence was handed to Nikolas Dimitrokoplous, and several other new Cabinet positions, such as Deputy Minister were established. The second Cabinet reshuffle resulted in Eddie Osmanovic being the only surviving Cabinet member since the Republic's foundation.

Functioning

The Cabinet is defined by Article 133 of the Constitution as a "decisional and advisory body of the Government of Suntrain". The Cabinet allows members to discuss important issues and implement Government policy. The Cabinet meets at least once every week and discusses the Government's spending, legislation to be introduced, and other important matters. The Cabinet also makes decisions in respect to the executive branch. Cabinet meetings are presided by the Prime Minister, who is the head of government. Cabinet decisions are very important, as they allow the Government to regulate the administration of laws according to the policy set by the Prime Minister and the ruling party. The Cabinet also advises the Prime Minister on how the policy is effecting the public and its popularity.

Each Minister heads a Government Department and runs each with a degree of independence. The respective Minister has responsibility of the respective Department's portfolio and is required to brief the Cabinet on workings of the Department. The Cabinet may also make decisions relating to a single Department. Once the Cabinet reaches a decision, all Cabinet members are required to publicly support the decision. This is known as collective cabinet responsibility and ensures that the Government is fully co-operational and that it retains the confidence of the people of the Republic. The Cabinet is also responsive to the Parliament, as the PM is both a Representative and a member of Government. Cabinet members are expected to answer questions in Parliament regarding the Government's policy and its actions in the Republic. The President may ask a Minister to resign if he believes he breached this condition or if the Minister showed disapproval towards the Government's policy. If the Minister does not comply, with the advice of the Prime Minister, the President might dismiss the respective Minister.

Each Prime Minister generally decides how the Cabinet will function and how it will be elected. Some have indicated that they will elect the Cabinet following a vote in the respective party caucus, while others have simply chosen the Cabinet themselves. PMs also decide on how decisions are made with the present, stating that a system of first past the post will be used to make decisions.

Current Cabinet

The current Cabinet (as of November 2014) is as follows:

Office	Incumbent	Party	Took office
Ministers
Prime Minister Minister for Foreign Affairs Minster for Finance and the Treasury		SPS	1 November 2013
Deputy Prime Minister Minister for Internal Affairs Minister for Justice	Sam Mathew	MUP	25 February 2013
Minister for Defence	Nikolas Dimtrakopolous	SPS	15 October 2014
Minister for Infrastructure and Development	Dehao Kong	SRP	15 October 2014
Minister for Human Services	Abdul Karim	SPS	15 October 2014
Minister for the Environment	Eddie Osmanovic	SPS	1 November 2013
Minister for Health and Sport	Damon Harbis	SPS	15 October 2014
Minister for Art and Culture	Jorge Konstantinidis	SPS	1 November 2013
Minister for Science, Energy and Transportation	Eric Truong	MUP	8 November 2014
Minister without Portfolio	Sean Lu	MUP	25 February 2014
Deputy Ministers
Deputy Minister for Defence	Daniel Louis	SPS	15 October 2014
Deputy Minister for Health and Sport	Sanketh Nellori	SPS	15 October 2014
Deputy Minister for Science, Energy and Transportation	Sriram Prasad	Independent	8 November 2014