es, the chairman of the
Council of State Security, the minister of internal affairs, the
minister of foreign affairs, the chairman of the State Planning
Committee, and eight other members who also held leading government and
party positions. The secretary of the council in 1971 was the chief of
the general staff and a member of the PCR Central Committee.

Also connected to the Council of State and subordinate to it is the
Economic Council. This body functions to advise on economic matters,
coordinate planning, and make recommendations to the Council of State
for the development of the national economy and the improvement of state
enterprises. In late 1971 the chairman of the Economic Council was also
a member of the PCR Secretariat.

The Council of Ministers

Defined in the Constitution as the supreme body of state administration,
the Council of Ministers exercises control over the activities of all
state agencies on both the national and local levels. The council is
composed of a chairman (who is the prime minister), a first deputy
chairman, an unspecified number of deputy chairmen, the ministers, and
the heads of certain other important government agencies (see fig. 8).
Unlike the 1952 Constitution, in which twenty-six specific ministries
were listed, that of 1965 fixes neither the number of ministries nor
their particular areas of competence, this being left to other laws.

In 1971 the Council of Ministers was composed of forty-four members,
including the prime minister, first deputy, seven deputies, twenty-three
ministers, and ten committee chiefs with ministerial rank. All but two
of the members of the council were also members, or alternate members,
of the PCR Central Committee, and the prime minister and his first
deputy were members of the Standing Presidium of the party. These two,
along with two other deputies, were also full members of the PCR
Executive Committee.

[Illustration: _Figure 8. Romania, Organization of the Council of
Ministers, 1971._]

The Constitution charges the Council of Ministers with responsibility
for the general implementation of the nation's domestic and foreign
policies, the application of laws, and the maintenance of public order.
As the supreme administrative body of the government, the council
coordinates and controls the activity of the ministries and other state
organs at all levels. In economic matters the council administers the
drafting of the overall state plan an