Concilium Purpaidá
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| Concilium Purpaidá | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Concilium Purpaidá | |
| Overview | |
| State | Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea |
| Leader | Procurator |
| Appointed by | Chancellor and Temporary President |
| Responsible to | Monarch |
| Headquarters | Julian Palace Urceopolis |
| Website | https://www.purpaida.urc/ |
The Concilium Purpaidá (lit. Purple Council, commonly simply called "the Purpaidá") is the collective organizing body of His Majesty's Government of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea, composed of the Procurator and some 9 Lord Ministers, the senior most officials within the Urcean national bureaucracy aside from the King himself. The Cabinet is the secondary decision-making body of the executive within the Procuratorial system of government in traditional constitutional theory, and in practice manages the day-to-day affairs of the Kingdom while the King himself, through the Procurator oversees all Ministries and manages their direction in pursuit of a certain policy agenda set by the Throne. Critically, the King, who may approve budgets in his own right, has delegated the authority to the Purpaidá to vote to approve the Royal Budget proposed by the Procurator. The budget, which is proposed by the Procurator with guidance from the King, is due on the 1st of April each year in line with the beginning of the Fiscal Year.
The Purpaidá serves as the Royal Privy Council of the Apostolic King and his household, informing the King of the affairs of state and offering opinions as to how to best implement his will. It is within this capacity that the Purpaidá originated and received its name; members of the Privy Council often wore purple (as a color of royalty) cockades to distinguish themselves at court and around Urceopolis as well as while executing authority on behalf of the King or making public appearances; the distinguishing cockade became well known and eventually the body became known by its present name, literally meaning the "Purple Council".
The Concilium Purpaidá is unique insofar as it is a non-partisan body, with its members selected by the King as an endorsement of the individual's views on a certain issue being in line with the King's, rather than a party's platform. Keeping with the Monarchy's status as above partisan politics, the King will often select a Purpaidá consisting of a broad range of political beliefs and affiliations, which is celebrated as symbolizing both the unity of a politically diverse country as well as the pragmatic sophistication of the Monarch.
This article will cover the members of the Purpaidá and the subordinate organizations which they manage.
His Most Christian Majesty's Procurator
More Information: Procurator
The Procurator (Steward) is the head of the Purpaidá and the "right hand" of the Apostolic King. He oversees all ministries and reports directly to the King. The Procurator holds all meetings of the Purpaidá. Upon the election of a minor, or during an interregnum, the incumbent Procurator is to serve as Lord Regent of the Realm. The Procurator is also the First Lord of the Treasury and is directly responsible for the realm's finances, and in this capacity is ex officio presiding officer of the Common Council, though in the interests of popular representation the Procurator has often allowed the election of a Temporary President of that body. The Procurator is considered to be the second most powerful individual in the Kingdom, and is considered to be the Head of Government in terms of comparative political science.
The current Procurator is James, the Marquis Fallshade.
His Most Christian Majesty's Armed Forces
More Information: Urcean Military
The Purpaidá-position of the Armed Forces is practical and symbolic; it represents civilian control of the military and is the body in which the Armed Forces are organized and funded by the Royal Budget. The Armed Forces in this capacity are lead by the Lord Marshal, who answers to the Procurator and King, though he is additionally accountable to the Purpaidá as a whole. The Lord Marshal handles oversight and organizational responsibilities of the Armed Forces. He also oversees programs to aid the nation's veterans. Additionally, the Lord Marshal handles coordination with Urcea's allies on military matters.
The current Lord Marshal is Michael Redder.
His Most Christian Majesty's Ministry of State
More Information: Ministry of State
The Ministry of State, known more commonly as the Foreign Ministry, handles Urcea's foreign relations and employs all of its ambassadors and diplomats. Additionally, the Ministry of State maintains all of Urcea's diplomatic buildings and properties, both domestically and abroad.
The current Minister of State, also called the "Foreign Minister", is Gareth Fendara.
His Most Christian Majesty's Ministry of Administration of the Realm
More Information: Ministry of Administration of the Realm
The Ministry of Administration of the Realm, known more commonly as the Royal Administration, handles a broad array of Royal domestic programs, primarily execution of all Royal entitlement and Royal Aid programs, but also including the direct governance of the three royal holdings as well as legal and judicial cooperation, including the provincial Solicitor Generals, who are also organized under the ministry. The Royal Administration is also responsible for the upkeep of the Royal Treasury as well as general services to the rest of His Majesty's Government, including personnel and facilities concerns. It is, by far, most well-funded Ministry, receiving over 42% of the budget for FY2028-2029.
The current Minister for the Administration of the Realm, also called the "Royal Administrator", is Bridget Johnson.
His Most Christian Majesty's Collegium Scientificum
More Information: Collegium Scientificum
The Collegium Scientificum, aside from being a network of universities in and around the city of Urceopolis (most famously the Imperial War Academy, which it was granted by the Levantine Emperor), is the body that handles both the Kingdom's overall education efforts (as the governing body of all educational facilities in the country) as well as efforts for technological developments, often using its funds to help bolster development projects at the nation's other universities. It also oversees the Royal Commission on Aeronautics and Space Exploration, known commonly as RCASE, which is the nation's space program (RCASE operates under the Office for Research, Development, and Advancement).
The current Abbot is Fr. Seán Fox, OFM.
His Most Christian Majesty's Ministry of the Environment and Energy
More Information: Ministry of the Environment and Energy
The Ministry of the Environment oversees the nation's agricultural policy and environmental status, collaborating with industries and other businesses to comprehensively work towards a cleaner and more efficient Urcea, in so doing forming national energy policy. It also administrates the nation's national parks, a responsibility delegated to it by the King himself as they are legally his properties.
The current Minister of the Environment and Energy is James Cossus Reed.
His Most Christian Majesty's Ministry of Commerce
More Information: Ministry of Commerce
The Ministry of Commerce handles the nation's foreign trade policy and labor policy, often working with private firms in Urcea and abroad to help bring about greater economic connectivity between Urcea and its regional neighbors, as well as ensuring equitable conditions for workers within the Kingdom. It also serves in an advisory role to the King and to the Purpaidá on trade policy.
The current Minister of Commerce is Patrick, the Marquis Faiatta.
His Most Christian Majesty's Ministry for the Church in Urcea
More Information: Ministry for the Church in Urcea
The Royal Legate has a dual role, on one hand handling the nation's faith policy, ensuring the official policies of the state fall within the guidelines of the Code of Canon Law and other Church teaching, while on the other hand being responsible for propagating the faith in the Kingdom and its territories. The Royal Legate also works closely with the Procurator to ensure various diocese and parishes have the required funding for operation, and additionally is the direct liaison between the King and the Pope, and as such ensures that the temporal concerns of Status Pontificius in Urceopolis are accounted for. The Legate is nominated by the King and officially appointed by the Papacy.
The current Royal Legate is Msgr. James Lúcás, SDB.
His Most Christian Majesty's Ministry of Overseas Territories
More Information: Ministry of Overseas Territories
The Ministry of Overseas Territories handles local governance issues with the nation's various associated states (which includes, despite its name, the semi-autonomous states in Levantia) and territories, and also works closely with the His Majesty's Armed Forces regarding the governance of the nation's military districts. With Minister of Overseas Territories serves as direct liaison between these polities, the Armed Forces, the Purpaidá, and the King. More recently, the Ministry has begun to additionally oversee and administer the penal colonies constructed in Tromarine as a result of the Urcean Bush War.
The current Minister of Overseas Territories is Nicholas Lowell.
His Most Christian Majesty's Royal Courts and Ministry of Justice
More Information: Ministry of Justice
The "Royal Courts and Ministry of Justice", known more commonly as the "Ministry of Justice", is the ministry under which the organized court system throughout the Kingdom exists under the Chief Justice of the Archducal Court of Urceopolis, also known as the Royal Archjustice. Urcea has no statutory "supreme court" though the Archducal Court, which is technically equal to the highest courts of the other provinces and Royal holds, has universal jurisdiction and universal right of appeal by special writ of the King, who usually grants such writs upon request of the Archjustice. This is because, in theory, the King may rule on cases in his own right, but retains the right to delegate his judicial decisions to whomever he pleases. The King, by legal precedent, no longer directly rules on cases, and has not done so since the 17th century.
The Ministry of Justice also oversees the Urcean Chapter of the Imperial Inquisition, which is not only responsible for the coordination of the Inquisition in the Kingdom, but has also assumed, primarily, the role of informal ambassador between the King and the Emperor as well as the Kingdom and the other states of the Empire; these relationships do not fall under the purview of the Ministry of State. In practice, the Inquisition has few inquisitorial responsibilities in the 21st century, but works closely with law enforcement to help root out religious-based sedition within the Kingdom. The Inquisition also serves as the de facto organizing body under which other normal law enforcement agencies are coordinated, and has grown to provide services to the government that are known elsewhere as "homeland security", working closely with the Office for Disaster Relief and Preparedness, also under the Ministry of Justice. The Inquisition and Ministry as a whole has recently come into prominence in Sundlanda after the conclusion of the Urcean Bush War in an effort to discover and deport insurgents to the Tromarine penal colonies.
The current Royal Archjustice is the Honorable Ciara McCourt.