Finance Secretary (Morra)

Nation
 Type
 Reports To
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 First Holder

The **Secretary of State for Finance** (Dutch: **Staatssecretaris van Financiën**), often known colloquially as the **Finance Secretary**, is the leader of the Ministry of Finance and serves as the chief treasurer for the Republic of Morra. Within government, the secretary of state for finance is one of the most influential positions in the cabinet and is usually awarded to a senior member of the governing coalition. The office is also fifth in the presidential order of succession.

As with all other members of the cabinet, the secretary of state for finance is appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the speaker of the National Assembly, though the president retains the power to reject a recommendation. The incumbent must be a sitting member of the National Assembly in order to hold office, but is not subject to any term limits for their position. Instead, they serve at the pleasure of the president, who has the power to unilaterally dismiss the secretary of state for finance at any given point. Similarly, in the case of a presidential dismissal, the president is able to nominate a replacement member, who is then confirmed by a vote of the National Assembly; alternatively, the speaker may nominate a new candidate for office, who must be approved by the president. In the case of both channels for appointment occurring simultaneously, the speaker's candidate assumes office on a temporary basis until the president and speaker can agree on a new finance secretary. Prior to 2029 and the formation of the Republic of Morra, the president appointed all members of government by themselves.

One of the primary responsibilities of the secretary of state for finance is the publication and implementation of government budgets; the finance secretary has a legal responsibility to present a government budget no more than two years after a previous budget. Unlike other major economies where budgets are given on an annual basis, Morranian budgets are designed to project long term fiscal stability. However, it is also possible for finance secretaries to hold a snap budget at any given point in order to respond to economic issues - these snap budgets normally take the form of fiscal or financial statements, but some have also been characterised by the press as "mini budgets".

The office of secretary of state for finance was first created in October 2022, alongside all of the major cabinet level positions, during the first presidency of Werner Reinheart. Since the office's creation, there have been 10 people to hold office as secretary of state for finance, 5 of whom held office following the formation of the National Assembly of Morra. The longest serving finance secretary was Attje Kuiken, who served for 7 years and 70 days across two non-consecutive periods in office between 2030 and 2037; Kuiken is also the only individual to hold office non-consecutively. The shortest serving finance secretary was Lammert van Raan, who served for 99 days during the short-lived First Reinheart Ministry between October 2022 and January 2023.

## See Also

* President of Morra
* Vice President of Morra
* Speaker of the National Assembly of Morra