In March 1970 the Grand National Assembly voted to establish the Defense Council, to be headed by Ceausescu and responsible to the Council of State. The formation of the Defense Council, which was given decisionmaking powers for high-level military affairs, served to strengthen Council of State control over the armed forces and further enhance Ceausescu's personal authority. The same legislation that established the Defense Council also decreed that foreign troops could not enter Romania under any circumstances without the prior approval of the assembly. Coming in the aftermath of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, observers of Eastern European affairs interpreted this ruling as a means of preventing any dissident group from inviting foreign intervention on the pretext of preserving orthodox communist rule.
The membership of the Defense Council reflected the importance given it. Besides the head of state, other members of the council include the prime minister, the minister of the armed forces, 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.
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 and the national budget and provides for their implementation. In addition, it directs the establishment of the economic enterprises and other industrial and commercial organizations (see ch. 14). The council's responsibilities also include the general administration of relations with other states, the conclusion of international agreements, and the general organization of the armed forces.