Council of Ministers (Arab Union)

مجلس الوزراء Council of Ministers
Established	10 November 1958
State	Arab Union
Type	Executive government
Council President	Jibril Jeha
Headquarters	The Rotunda, Merbad Palace
Appointed by	President of the Arab Union
Responsible to	Arab Congress

The Council of Ministers of the Union of Arab Republics (Arabic: مجلس الوزراء لاتِّحاد الجمهوريات العربية majlis al-wuzarāʾ l-ittiḥād al-jumhūriyāt al-ʿarabīyah) is the chief executive body of the federal government of the Arab Union. According to the 1999 constitution, the Council of Ministers is the highest institution of government, acting as the cabinet of the Prime Minister (who chairs the Council of Ministers as head of government). The Prime Minister nominates all subordinate staff, namely the ministers of various executive ministries and chairpersons of various executive state committees, as well as his own immediate entourage of support personnel. The Prime Minister is officially chosen on advice of both chambers of the Arab Congress (the legislative branch of the federal government, and confirmed as such by the President.

Duties and responsibilities

The Prime Minister, once appointed and confirmed, may then nominate members to the Council of Ministers (ie. cabinet members), who are formally confirmed by the President and thenceforth responsible for overseeing administration of their particular ministry or executive committee as chosen by the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers consists of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, ministers who chair the ministries responsible for executive administration in a particular domain, and the chairpersons of state committees attached to the Council of Ministers. Only the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister must be sitting members of Congress; all other members are forbidden from holding a congress seat simultaneously.

In addition to its executive powers, the Council of Ministers has a role in policymaking, as it may propose legislation to the Council of Deputies, the lower chamber of the Arab Congress, which submits passed resolutions to the upper chamber, the Council of Republics. Nevertheless, Congress retains the power to dissolve the Council of Ministers and force the resignation of the Prime Minister by a vote of no confidence. The President may also dissolve the Council of Ministers and/or remove the Prime Minister via executive order. The dismissal of a prime minister (with or without his/her cabinet) mandates a new bicameral congressional election, whether the dismissal is via a presidential executive order or a no-confidence vote; the newly organised Arab Congress then nominates a new prime minister to form a government, who is then confirmed by the President and appointed the new Prime Minister of the Arab Union.

Members

The following is a list of all currently sitting members of the Council of Ministers, including the Prime Minister and his deputy:

Cabinet presidium

#	Office	Incumbent
1	Prime Minister	Jibril Jeha
2	Deputy Prime Minister	Zubeir Nidal

Cabinet ministers

3	Attorney General (Minister of Justice)	Dr. Bassel Barghouti
4	Minister of Interior	Nureddin Jiryis
5	Minister of Defence	Roman Kindi
6	Minister of Foreign Affairs	Anwar el-Aita
7	Minister of Customs and Immigration	Sami Sarafian
8	Minister of Finance	Mahmoud Shurrab
9	Minister of Trade	Dr. Salam Fayyad
10	Minister of Health	Dr. Mosa el-Sarraj
11	Minister of Labour	Sufian Abu Zaida
12	Minister of Energy	Mustafa Salim Zanoun
13	Minister of Education	Sari Nusseibeh
14	Minister of Culture	Dr. Jamila Nashashibi
15	Minister of Oceans and Fisheries	Dr. Ibrahim Harrak
16	Minister of Transportation	Ridwan Khallouf
17	Minister of Communications	Abdel Raouf el-Sabti
18	Minister of Social Security	Dr. Mohammed Shtayyeh

Other cabinet members (chairpersons of executive state committees)

19	Chair of the Joint Security Committee	Ilyas Mosa
20	Chair of the State Elections Committee	Rania Sabet
21	Chair of the State Committee for Republics	Mansour Thalaj
22	Chair of the State Committee for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction	Aniseh Tamer
23	Chair of the State Committee for Environmental Protection and Climate Change	Dr. Seifullah Taha
24	Chair of the State Committee for Economic Regulation	Dr. Saeb Erekat
25	Chair of the State Revenue Committee	Faris el-Sahli
36	Chair of the State Committee for Aerospace Industry	Aouad el-Fadel
27	Chair of the State Committee for Defence Industry	Dr. Mumtaz Asfour
28	Chair of the State Committee for Trade Unions	Bushra Atwan
29	Chair of the State Committee for Agricultural Reform	Mehdi Hakimian
30	Chair of the State Committee for Nationalisation and Expropriation	Kassem Saad
31	Chair of the State Committee for Manufacturing and Heavy Industry	Dr. Michel Nasif
32	Chair of the State Committee for National Reconciliation	Rushdi el-Jabour
33	Chair of the State Enterprise Committee	Mohammed el-Khoury
34	Chair of the State Media Committee	Altaf Shahid
35	Chair of the State Accreditation Committee	Rasmi Haddad
36	Chair of the State Committee for Civil Reform	Dr. Kheiry Nahas