This is just a basic outline of the various departments which make up the Cedonian Government. Many of them are hold-overs from the old Empire which have merely had a change in leadership, but there are a few which have been created by the Regency Council. All ministers are current as of 1449. Also, the heads of the Ministries, along with the First Councilor, the Lord President of the Council, and the commanders of the Legions and the Navy form what is known as the Inner Council. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Ministry of the Exchequer ----------------------------- The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Cedonian equivalent of the American Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve chairman. The current Chancellor is Tomar Grade, a Councilor from Inibar and an Archdeacon of the Order of Cedon. The bureaus within the Ministry include the Treasury (holds the government's operating funds), the Imperial Bank (sets interest rates and provides financial reserves), the Imperial Revenue Service, the Imperial Customs Service, the Office of the Inspector-General (audits the government's ministries), and the Imperial Mint. The Interior Ministry --------------------- The Interior Minister is largely responsible for maintaining and building Cedonia's infrastructure. The current Interior Minister is Councilor Roald Kellner of Thalcedon, who is also famous as the fattest member, by far, of the Regency Council. The bureaus within the Ministry include the Bureau of Mines, the Bureau of Roads & Highways, the Bureau of Rivers (responsible for building & maintaining locks, dams, and navigable channels), the Bureau of Water & Sanitation (responsible for building & maintaining aqueducts and sewers), the Bureau of Construction (responsible for building & maintaining government buildings), and the Bureau of Vital Statistics (register of births, deaths, marriages, and wills). The Imperial Postal Service is nominally a part of the Interior Ministry, but for all practical purposes, it is an independent entity. The Foreign Ministry -------------------- The Foreign Minister is, naturally, responsible for Cedonia's relations with other nations. Councilor Theran Rinn of Gomel is the current Foreign Minister; his family has a tradition of diplomatic service that stretches back to Emperor Bucerad the First. The Bureaus within the Foreign Ministry are the Ambassadorial & Consular Service (diplomatic personnel posted to nations), the Tribal Service (responsible for maintaining relations with the tribes to the north and west of Cedonia), the Diplomatic Service (diplomatic personnel posted in Cedonia to interact with ambassadors of other nations), and the Bureau of Analysis & Policy (tries to figure out what other governments are up to, and how Cedonia should react). The Ministry of Agriculture --------------------------- The Agriculture Ministry is a new ministry, created in part to woo support from members of the Grangist faction. It is responsible for maintaining government granaries, providing food aid to regions where crops have failed, combating plant and animal diseases, and the development of new breeds of plant and animal. The current Agriculture Minister is Councilor Tomas Yorke of Losela. The Ministry of War ------------------- The War Minister is responsible for the defense of Cedonia, exercising civilian control over the Legions and the Navy. Up through the end of 1449, the Duke of Caladyn was serving as the Minister of War, but at the end of the year, he resigned the position and was replaced by his son, the Count of Rochlyn. The bureaus within the Ministry of War include the Imperial Legions, the Admiralty, the Bureau of Fortifications, the Imperial Cartographic Service, and the Bureau of Military Procurement. The Ministry of Justice ----------------------- The Ministry of Justice regulates the various City Watches of Cedonia through the Police Bureau, prosecutes criminal offenders through the Bureau of Public Prosecutions, and provides the court system with all personnel other than judges through the Judiciary Bureau. The current Minister of Justice is Archprelate Thandra Ellas of the Order of Lucia, a member of the Nobles' Circle of the Regency Council. Archprelate Ellas is the only woman on the Inner Council, and is one of only seven female members of the Regency Council. The Ministry of Special Projects -------------------------------- The duties of the Ministry of Special Projects are purposefully ambiguous. Originally created by Dr. Vellin to run the Metallurgy Project during the Civil War, the MoSP has evolved under Councilor Raden Ghere of Thalcedon into a provider of intelligence and internal security services. Special Projects also handles situations for the other Ministries that are outside the norm, serving as elite troubleshooters and parallel thinkers. Due to Raden Ghere's former service as Empress Yzara's Lord Chamberlain, the Ministry of Special Projects also contains odds and ends such as the Privy Purse (the monarch's personal funds), the Imperial Art Gallery, and the Imperial Household (maintenance of palaces, particularly Palace Mount in Thalcedon, where the Regency Council meets). Officially, the MoSP has its headquarters on Palace Mount with the other Ministries. Unofficially, all the real work is done in a complex of warehouses on the south side of Cedon Bay. Andrew ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
