Federal Republic of Germany: A System of Chancellor Government

Abstract

It was not before the early nineteenth century that the first Council of Ministers was established in Germany. Due to personal problems in coordinating governmental policy, the King of Prussia appointed a group of equally-ranked Ministers to discuss policy and solve interdepartmental disputes. Although the various Ministers (who formed the first cabinet) were largely independent of one another, they remained exclusively the Ministers of the Crown. They had direct access to the King and jointly advised the monarch in his policy decision-making.