The Executive Branch

Comprises both elected & appointed officials.

Overlapping of activities run by elected
officials & civil servants.
Sometimes bureaucracy is regarded as the
sole authority of executive branch.

 Components of executive branch

include:
The executive head: President/PM or
both;
The executive council: Advisory
board; councilors & agency heads;
The cabinet: Cabinet members &
ministers in the presidential and
parliamentary systems; &
The civil service: Bureaucracy.

Type of Executive-- Political

Primary figures: Presidents, PM, Premiers, Chancellors
& other chief executives.
Secondary figures: Cabinet members & ministers,
councilors, & agency heads.
U.S. government: The President, Vice-President,
Department Heads, dozens of political appointees in
the Cabinet departments, independent agencies,
commissions, & White House staff, & hundreds of
senior civil servants.

Political Executive (cont.)

Presidential systems: In the US, President is
both the political head of government &
ceremonial head of state.
Parliamentary systems: In UK & Bangladesh, the
PM is the national political leader, but a
monarch/elected president serves as the head
of state respectively.
Mixed systems: In France, under the constitution
of 1958, the president serves as head of state
but also wields important political powers.

 British Chief executive is elected by popular vote,

then selected in a private conclave of the party in
Parliament & then appointed by the monarch.
PM designates the members of the Cabinet, direct
parliamentary strategy & retain loyalty of a majority
of his legislative party.
US President is elected by a nationwide electorate,
through his party ticket.
When opposition party controls the Congress, his
fixed term & independent power base allow him
freedom of political maneuvering.

 In the Westminster system, the executive branch is

collectively responsible before parliament.
British Parliament can control the executive by
means of question & answer sessions, adjournment
motions, Committee System & so on.
In Bangladesh, instead of strengthening the
parliament & establishing its control over the
executive, every successive government
consolidated executive position either by making
the parliament dysfunctional or making it a rubber
stamp.

The Cabinet
Advisory council of the King of England
during the 15thcentury.
Privy Council met in the royal chamber
or cabinet having no legal standing.
With the shifting of governmental power
from Monarch to Parliament, the Cabinet
became powerful by incorporating most
important ministers & the PM.

The Cabinet (cont.)

Since 1780, British Cabinet has been
restricted to a limited number of important
ministers, who are also department heads.
Modern British Cabinet, with the PM at the
head, collectively responsible to Parliament.
Collective body of advisers to the executive
head of a government.

 Usually composed of senior ministers, most of

whom are department chiefs, but all ministers
are not necessarily Cabinet members.
Specific ministries are sometimes designated
of Cabinet rank.
Important individuals may be added to the
Cabinet without specific portfolio & ministerial
responsibility.

 In emergencies special inner Cabinets

may be formed from the regular
Cabinet.
The composition, status & functions
vary in different countries.
In many presidential systems the
Cabinet consists of the president's
advisers.

 In the US they are empowered only to advise

the President, & cannot sit in the Congress.
European Cabinets are responsible to the
legislature.
If a Cabinet lacks either legislative or popular
support, the government is said to fall, & the
executive must form a new Cabinet capable
of winning the required support.

Civil Servants
Literal meaning servants of the
people.
Non-military & non-elective office.
Does not apply to service in the
legislative & judicial branches.

 In UK, the term is used to denote only

positions in the national government.
In France & the US, the term is applied to
governmental positions on all levels, from
federal to municipal.
The British Civil Service came to India in the
1760s as covenanted servants.
In 1911, the Indian Civil Service was set up
to strengthen commonwealth administration.

 Other countries deliberately adopted

many of the characteristics of civil
service.
Apolitical branch of government
providing the technical
administrative expertise, which
selected officials lacked.
Became closely identified with
democracies.

 In medieval Europe, bureaucracy emerged as

a profession symbolizing governmental
status & responsibilities.
In India, bureaucracy can be traced back with
the establishment of Mughal rule in 1526.
The British Civil Service came to India in the
1760s as covenanted servants.
In 1911, the Indian Civil Service was set up to
strengthen commonwealth administration.

 Peter M. Blau: Four basic

characteristics of a bureaucratic
organization: (1) specialization; (2) a
hierarchy of authority; (3) a system
of values; & (4) impersonality.

 Most civil servants/bureaucrats perform important

activities.
Rule application is the major function.
Often overlapped with government functions.
Administrator & executor of the popular will.
Powers may vary from democracy to democracy.
Executive decisions influence millions of lives.
Totalitarian executives exercise supreme
governmental power.

 Duty of enforcing the laws.

Serves as an aid to the chief executive.
Devises & executes broad policies in accordance
with which the laws are to be applied.
Represents the nation in its diplomatic relations.
Bureaucratic hierarchy is maintained in the
armed forces.
Conducts research & makes recommendations
with regard to legislation.