- published: 01 May 2015
- views: 260701
The Cabinet is a group of high-ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It should not be confused with the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive committee. Cabinet is a group of senior ministers who hold very important portfolios. But Council of Ministers is a group of Cabinet Ministers as well as some other ministers. Cabinet is present inside the Council.
In some countries, particularly those that use the Westminster system, the Cabinet collectively decides the government's policy and tactical direction, especially in regard to legislation passed by the parliament. In countries with a presidential system, such as the United States, the Cabinet does not function as a collective legislative influence; rather, their primary role is as an official advisory council to the head of government. In this way, the President gets opinions and advice in upcoming decisions. The second role of cabinet officials is to administer executive branch government agencies or departments (in the United States, these are the federal executive departments)