Council of State (Velkanian Isles)

The **Council of State** (Velkanian: *Ríkisráð*; Framish: *Statsrådet*) is a formal body consisting of members nominated by the prime minister, that functions as a decision-making body within the executive branch of the Kingdom of the Velkanian Isles. The council is akin to a privy council and additionally has widespread overlap with the government cabinet.

According to the constitution, only the prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs officially retain their ministerial titles, while all other ministers hold the positions of *ríkisráðsmaður* and chief of their respective departments; they *de jure* are not styled as ministers, despite most sources unofficially doing so. The Council of State convenes weekly, with meetings presided over by the Monarch, and other senior royals being in attendance.

## Functions and mandate

The Council of State convenes weekly to make decisions on matters of the State, passing Royal Resolutions (Velkanian: *Konunglegar ályktanir*). Theoretically, Royal Resolutions are the decisions of the Monarchy, but in actuality are those decided by the government, and require the signature of the prime minister in order to be considered valid.

All decisions from the Monarch must be executed by the Council of State, with these decisions being referred to as coming from the Queen-in-Council, to refer to the Queen as well as her council. Decisions executed by the Council include appointments and dismissals to higher office, pardons, commutations, and clemencies, provisional measures, and the ratification of treaties. The most common feature of the work conducted during the Council of State is the signing of bills into law.

## Requirements of membership

Most members of the Council are simultaneously ministers in the government cabinet. The constitution states that all ministers must come from the membership of the Orthing, and members elevated to the cabinet retain their seats in parliament but are represented by their deputies until leaving the cabinet. With this, most members of the Council are simultaneously legislators and executive branch officials. As members of parliament, they also must be Velkanian citizens and eligible to vote.

There are three royal members of the Council: the Monarch, the Monarch's spouse, and the first-in-line to the throne. The three royal members are considered to be members *ex officio*, as they are members through their royal status, and do not need to be specifically nominated or appointed to the Council, unlike members of the cabinet. They also must be Velkanian citizens who are eligible to vote in order to take their seats on the council, which may disqualify the Monarch's spouse if they have not received citizenship and the first-in-line if they are under 18 years old. In the case of either of these things, the next in the line of succession who holds citizenship and is voting eligible may serve on the Council until the spouse and/or first-in-line are able to take their seats. With this, there will always be three royal members on the Council.

## Order of precedence

There is no official order of precedence to the premiership of the Velkanian Isles, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs is traditionally regarded akin to a Deputy Prime Minister, although no such title officially exists. Traditionally, each prime minister develops their own unofficial order of succession upon forming their cabinet at the start of the new legislative session. Due to this, the order of precedence may change drastically with each cabinet, with a ministerial position being considered the most senior one year and the least senior the next.

## Current composition

### Cabinet members

All members of the cabinet are represented in the Council, although they are appointed by the Monarch separately from their appointment to the cabinet.

### Members *ex officio*

The three royal members of the Council are the Monarch, the Monarch's spouse, and the first-in-line to the throne. The Monarch traditionally presides over Council meetings, although in practice this rarely happens and the Monarch is simply a mere observer. The first-in-line is expected to preside over meetings in the case of the Monarch's absence, although this rarely occurs as well, as the prime minister traditionally leads the meetings.