Following a Resolution of the Provisional Council, that assembly has been divested of its executive authority, and a Cabinet has been appointed for the first time.
Prior to the legislation, enacted last week, the Provisional Council collectively exercised the executive authority of the Commonwealth (excluding over matters of national defence, where the Ministry of Defence held jurisdiction) in addition to their legislative and judicial powers.
The first resolution, the Ministries Resolution 2020, established various ministries and their leading ministers: the Home Office under a Home Secretary, the Foreign Office under a First Ambassador, and the Treasury under a Chancellor of the Treasury. The resolution additionally established various departments under the jurisdiction of the ministries (including the Department for the Census, the Department for the Environment and various ambassadorial posts) and the National Security Council (an independent government organ responsible for advising the Chairman and Provisional Council on issues of national security).
The second resolution, the Cabinet Resolution 2020, formally divested the Provisional Council of its executive authority, and established the Cabinet as the executive organ of governance under the direction of the Chairman of the Provisional Council. The resolution also gave the Chairman the authority to assume direct control over a government department or agency by virtue of their office.
Earlier today, Chairman Kennedy announced his appointments to the Cabinet and government agencies. The first New Virginian Cabinet, therefore, consists of:
- Chairman of the Provisional Council – Sir Joseph Kennedy KNVI
- Home Secretary – Sir William Wilson KNVI
- Director of the Census Department – Sir Joseph Kennedy KNVI (as Chairman)
- Director of the Environment Department – Sir William Wilson KNVI
- Police Commissioner – Charles Kitchen
- First Ambassador – Sir Edward Jacobs KNVI
- Ambassador to the GUM – Sir Joseph Kennedy KNVI (as Chairman)
- Ambassador to Austenasia – Dame Eryn Lewis DNVI
- Ambassador-at-Large – Sir Edward Jacobs KNVI (as First Ambassador)
- Minister of Defence – Dame Eryn Lewis DNVI
- Commandant of the Defence Force – Major General Alex Francis MAO
- Chancellor of the Treasury – Simon White
Furthermore, the first National Security Council consists of:
- Sir Joseph Kennedy KNVI, as Chairman
- Sir Edward Jacobs KNVI, as First Ambassador
- Dame Eryn Lewis DNVI, as Minister of Defence
- Major General Alex Francis MAO, as Commandant of the Defence Force
Sir Joseph has stated his reasoning for presenting the legislation as “to accommodate various current initiatives of the provisional government, such as expanding our presence in the community, protecting our sovereignty, securing our nation, laying the foundations for our economy, and developing our homeland”. The Chairman has furthermore stated that the appointments were made meritocratically, without respect to ideology.
The New Virginian Herald 