The Cabinet of Germany (German: Bundeskabinett, Bundesregierung) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Chancellor and the cabinet ministers.
The details of the cabinet's organisation are set down in sections 62 to 69 of the Basic Law. Section 64 paragraph 2 of this law says that the Chancellor and the ministers have to be sworn in when taking office.
The Chancellor is responsible for guiding the cabinet; he decides what direction their policies will take and bears the responsibility. The cabinet ministers have the freedom to carry out their duties independently, but following the Chancellor's directive. This is known as the Ressortprinzip or principle of departmentalisation. The Chancellor decides the scope of each minister's duties.
If two ministers disagree on a particular point, the government decides what will happen by means of a majority decision. This is the Kollegialprinzip or principle of deference.
The Chancellor leads the government's administrative afairs. Details are laid down in the government's rules for internal procedure. This states, for example, that decisions can be made by the government if more than half of the cabinet members are present.
Present German Cabinet
The current federal cabinet (July 2004) consists of the following ministers.
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