Council of Ministers (Albania)

Council of Ministers
Këshilli i Ministrave
Overview
Established	4 December 1912
State	Republic of Albania
Appointed by	President
Main organ	Council of Ministers
Responsible to	Parliament of Albania
Headquarters	Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard 7, 1010 Tirana, Albania
Website	Official Website

Politics of Albania
show Constitution Human rights
show Executive President (List) Ilir Meta Prime Minister (List) Edi Rama Deputy Prime Minister (List) Erion Braçe Cabinet
show Legislature Parliament Speaker (List) Gramoz Ruçi Committees Members Leader of the Opposition
show Judiciary Constitutional Court Administrative Court Court of Justice (ordinary) Supreme Court
show Administrative divisions Counties Municipalities Cities Villages
show Elections Recent elections Presidential 2012 2017 2022 Parliamentary 2009 2013 2017 Local 2011 2015 2019 Referendums 1994 1997 1998 Political parties Parliamentary PD PS LSI PDIU FRD PR PBDNJ LIBRA
show Foreign relations Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (Albania): Olta Xhaçka Diplomatic missions of / in Albania Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
v t

The Council of Ministers (Albanian: Këshilli i Ministrave) is the executive branch that constitutes the Government of Albania. The Council is led by the Prime Minister of Albania. The prime minister is nominated by the President from among those candidates, who enjoy majority support in the Parliament; the candidate is then chosen by the Parliament.^[1] In the absence of the prime minister, the Deputy Prime Minister takes over his functions. There are 19 other government members, serving as deputy prime ministers, government ministers or both; they are chosen by the prime minister and confirmed by the Parliament.

As of April 2017, after a reshuffle, 50% of the cabinet ministers are women. The Parliament of Albania must give final approval of the composition of the cabinet. The Cabinet is responsible for carrying out both foreign and domestic policies. It directs and controls the activities of the ministries and other state bodies.^[2]

Overview[]

Rank[]

Council members are subdivided into three substantial ranks, along with one honorary rank:

• Prime Minister,
• Deputy Prime Minister,
• Ministers, which are the highest-ranking members of the Government
• Deputy Ministers, that assist ministers in specialized areas of their portfolio and
• General Secretaries (Sekretari i Përgjithshëm) that assist ministers in less important areas and occasionally attend sessions of the Council of Ministers.

Role[]

The Council is responsible to the Parliament of Albania. The Parliament may choose to pass a motion of censure forcing the Council of Ministers to resign. This has the effect of forcing the Government to be composed of members from the majority political party in the Assembly or to be allied to the majority in a coalition. Ministers are required to answer written or oral questions put to them by members of Parliament, known as Government questions. In addition, ministers attend sessions of the Parliament when laws concerning their assigned sectors and departmental portfolios are under consideration.

Cabinet ministers cannot propose legislation without parliamentary approval. Ministers can however propose bills to Parliament and any such legislation is generally very likely to pass. On occasion, the majority opinion in Parliament may differ significantly from those of the executive, resulting in a large number of riders.

The Cabinet plays a major role in determining the agenda of the Parliament. It can propose laws and amendments during parliamentary sessions. It also has a number of procedures at its disposal to expedite parliamentary deliberations.

Changes[]

During the mandate many minister were changed. Following a 2017 Albanian opposition protest which lasted three months, from February to May 2017, an agreement was reached with the opposition to create a caretaker government with technocrats. On May 22, the majority in the Parliament voted the new caretaker government, which consisted of 6 technocrat ministers and a vice-prime minister, proposed by the opposition.^[3]

Incumbent Government[]

Emblem	Office	Incumbent		Term started	Days
	Prime Minister Kryeministër	Edi Rama	PS	13.09.2013	2912
	Deputy Prime Minister Zëvëndëskryeministër	Erion Braçe	PS	17.01.2019	960
	Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ministër për Europën dhe Punët e Jashtme	Olta Xhaçka	PS	04.01.2021	242
	Minister of Defence Ministre e Mbrojtjes	Niko Peleshi	PS	04.01.2021	242
	Minister of Internal Affairs Ministër i Punëve të Brendshme	Bledar Çuçi	PS	18.12.2020	259
	Minister of Finance and Economy Ministre e Financave dhe Ekonomisë	Anila Denaj	PS	17.01.2019	960
	Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Ministre e Infrastrukturës dhe Energjisë	Belinda Balluku	PS	17.01.2019	960
	Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Ministre e Arsimit, Sportit dhe Rinisë		PS	15.09.2020	353
	Minister of Justice Ministre e Drejtësisë	Etilda Gjonaj	PS	13.09.2017	1451
	Minister of Culture Ministre e Kulturës	Elva Margariti	PS	17.01.2019	960
	Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministër i Bujqësisë dhe Zhvillimit Rural		PS	18.12.2020	259
	Minister of Health and Social Protection Ministre e Shëndetësisë dhe Mbrojtjes Sociale	Ogerta Manastirliu	PS	13.09.2017	1451
	Minister of Tourism and Environment Ministër i Turizmit dhe Mjedisit	Blendi Klosi	PS	13.09.2017	1451
	Minister of State for Diaspora Ministër i Shtetit për Diasporën	Pandeli Majko	PS	13.09.2017	1451
	Minister of State for Entrepreneurs Ministër i Shtetit për Sipërmarrjen	Eduard Shalsi	PS	17.01.2019	960
	Minister of State for Relations with Parliament Ministre e Shtetit për Marrëdhëniet me Parlamentin	Elisa Spiropali	PS	17.01.2019	960

Governments of Albania (1912–present)[]

See also[]

• Politics of Albania
• Prime Minister of Albania

References[]