Secretariat

*For other uses, see Secretariat (disambiguation).*

Seal of the Office of the Secretary-General

The **Secretariat** is a group of five government officials within the Executive Branch of the New West Indies. This group includes the Secretary-General and their Cabinet: the Secretary of Internal Affairs (SIA), Foreign Affairs (SFA), Defense and Information (SDI), and Administration (SA). The Secretariat is the legal origin of the Executive Branch of government.

In the nascent era, the Secretariat encompassed the entirety of the Executive Branch. During the Volirum administration, following the passage of GAR011, the branch was reformed into four distinct departments led by their Secretaries. These departments appointed various subordinates to assist in their affairs.

As the head of the Executive Branch, the Secretariat has the same powers thereof. Additionally, the members of the Secretariat convene to discuss issues in the #secretariat channel on Discord, which serves as the de facto headquarters of the branch.

Each member of the Secretary-General's Cabinet serves as their pleasure and may be dismissed at any time, either by the Secretary-General or via a Motion of No Confidence from the General Assembly.

## History

The first member of the Secretariat was the Founder, Achipel, who was the first Secretary-General of the New West Indies. During the nascent era under Achipel, the Secretariat was not fully formed; not until the inauguration of Canilu were Secretaries appointed.

The first fully formed Secretariat included:

* Canilu (Secretary-General)
* Luraqau (SIA)
* Thesovietsocialiststates (SFA)
* Matt Bender (SDI)
* Roussillon (SA)

The Secretariat generally changes membership with every new government, though long-time Secretaries such as Cymiopolis and New United Carolinas have bucked the trend.

## New West Indies law

### Powers

§14 of the Constitution prescribes that "[t]he Secretariat forms the Executive Branch of government" and is "in charge of enforcing New West Indies law and carrying out administrative matters." This clause forms the basis for the Executive's authority via the Secretariat.

Powers for each member of the Secretariat are detailed in §18 of the Constitution, clauses (a) through (d). Mechanical on-site authorities are conferred as well as the authority of each department, which then flows to their Secretaries.

### Eligibility and term

*For information on the Secretary-General's eligibility and term limit, see here.*

Most citizens are able to ascent to the Cabinet. However, §18 of the Constitution prohibits the following nations from maintaining a seat in the Cabinet:

* the Founder;
* the Secretary-General;
* the President of the General Assembly; or
* a member of the High Court (including the Chief Justice).

Every member of the Cabinet serves at the pleasure of the Secretary-General. They may be dismissed by them or impeached via a Motion of No Confidence from the General Assembly; otherwise, each Secretary may serve as long as they please. No Secretary has been impeached thus far, though multiple have resigned or been dismissed following the end of the SecGen's term.

Under §19 of the Constitution, the Secretariat may be dissolved by the Founder in the event that they are deemed "irresponsible of their tasks and duties", or that their decisions are to the detriment of "regional security or stability." However, this action has never occurred since the Secretariat was first fully formed.

## Confirmation process

The heads of each executive department are nomination by each candidate for Secretary-General during the nomination period before the election. This "cabinet list" must be presented to either the Founder or President of the General Assembly at least 36 hours in advance of the voting period. This list cannot be "congruent" with other cabinet lists as presented by the other declared candidates. While each election is coined as selecting the Secretary-General, in reality, the General Assembly is electing the Secretary-General along with their cabinet at the same time.

Should a ticket win the election, the entire Secretariat is inaugurated into office on the first day of the following month, either in January or July.

## Current Cabinet

The following officials were nominated by Secretary-General Central Birdland and confirmed by the General Assembly or serve as acting Secretaries at the discretion of the Secretary-General.

The Cabinet includes the heads of 4 executive departments, listed below in order of their constitutional clauses.

Cabinet

Funky Goats

Jakkonia

North Italian Union

Gallaton

## Proposed Cabinet departments

* Department of Security and Justice.
* Department of Treasury and Mint.

## See also

* Central Birdland government
* Cabinet of Central Birdland

## References

1. ↑ Resolutions of the General Assembly.
2. ↑ Discussion on the #secretariat channel.
3. ↑ §14 of the Constitution.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 §18 of the Constitution.
5. ↑ E.g. See Luraqau and Kronshtadt.
6. ↑ E.g. See PotaTown.
7. ↑ §20 of the Constitution.
8. ↑ §16 of the Constitution.
9. ↑ GA drafting discussion.
10. ↑ Gallaton. "New West Indies Economy: The White Paper." p. 4, August 10, 2020.