Presidency of the Council of Ministers (Portugal)

The Presidency of the Council of Ministers (Portuguese: Presidência do Conselho de Ministros) is the cabinet department of the Government of Portugal. Its mission is to provide support to the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister and the other members of the cabinet organically integrated in the department. It is also responsible for the promotion of inter-ministerial coordination of the various government departments, and it integrates miscellaneous services that are in the direct dependence of the Prime Minister or that do not sit well in other departments.

Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Presidência do Conselho de Ministros
Ministry overview
Formed2 August 1950 (2 August 1950)
JurisdictionGovernment of Portugal
HeadquartersRua Prof. Gomes Teixeira,
Campo de Ourique, Lisbon
Minister responsible
Websiteportugal.gov.pt/presidencia

The department is headed by the Minister of the Premiership (Portuguese: Ministro da Presidência), who is generically responsible for the coordination of inter-ministerial policies and objectives. The current Minister of the Premiership, who is also Minister of State, is Mariana Vieira da Silva.

The Minister of the Premiership often takes on responsibility for areas of policy which are the priority of the Government of the time. At present, the Organic Law of the XXII Constitutional Government charges the Minister of the Premiership with global policy in the areas of civic engagement and social equality, with a specific focus on violence against women, domestic abuse and migration governance.[1]

History

The Presidency of the Council of Ministers grew as an executive superstructure with the beginning of the Estado Novo regime, especially after the Constitution of 1933 came into force, as a mechanism to centralise political power and reinforce government authority. The 1950s and 1960s saw a growing government bureaucracy to overcome the new challenges in economic policy, public safety and national defence, in the context of the post-war international situation, of Portugal's NATO membership, and of the Colonal War.[2]

In 1950, in the context of a government reshuffle, the new position of Minister of the Premiership was created; the Minister was responsible for the oversight and management of the services directly dependent of the Prime Minister (at the time known by the official title of "President of the Council of Ministers").[2]

Since then, the position of Minister of the Premiership ceased to be in use in four distinct periods: 1961–1987, 1995, 1997–1999, and 2011–2013. In other periods, the position changed its name due to the incumbent accumulating further responsibilities: between 2013 and 2015, it was called Minister of the Premiership and Parliamentary Affairs (Ministro da Presidência e dos Assuntos Parlamentares), briefly, in 2015, it was called Minister of the Premiership and Regional Development (Ministro da Presidência e do Desenvolvimento Regional), and between 2015 and 2019, Minister of the Premiership and Administrative Modernisation (Ministro da Presidência e da Modernização Administrativa).

Current organisation

In accordance with the Organic Law of the XXII Constitutional Government, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers comprises the following members of Government:[1]

  • Prime Minister
    • Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs
    • Secretary of State Adjunct to the Prime Minister
  • Minister of State and of the Premiership
    • Secretary of State of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers
    • Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality
    • Secretary of State for Integration and Migrations

Services currently integrated under the Presidency of the Council of Ministers are as follows:

  • National Bureau of Security (Gabinete Nacional de Segurança)
  • Secretariat-General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (Secretaria-Geral da Presidência do Conselho de Ministros)
  • Centre for Legal Competences of the State (Centro de Competências Jurídicas do Estado
  • Management Centre for the Electronic Government Network (Centro de Gestão da Rede Informática do Governo)
  • National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estatística)
  • Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade de Género)
  • High Commissariat for Migrations (Alto Comissariado para as Migrações)
  • Agency for the Integrated Management of Rural Fires (Agência para a Gestão Integrada de Fogos Rurais)

The Presidency of the Council of Ministers also provides support to the dependent services of the Prime Minister, as well as those of the Minister for the Modernisation of State and Public Administration, Minister of Planning, Minister of Culture, Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, and the Minister for Territorial Cohesion.[1]

References
  1. "Lei Orgânica do Governo: Decreto-Lei n.º 169-B/2019 de 3 de Dezembro". portugal.gov.pt (in Portuguese). Government of Portugal. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  2. "Presidência do Conselho de Ministros". Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
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