The Council of Ministers () is the executive branch that constitutes the Government of Albania. The Council is led by the Prime Minister of Albania. The prime minister is nominated by the President from among those candidates, who enjoy majority support in the Parliament; the candidate is then chosen by the Parliament. In the absence of the prime minister, the Deputy Prime Minister takes over his functions. There are 19 other government members, serving as deputy prime ministers, government ministers or both; they are chosen by the prime minister and confirmed by the Parliament. As of April 2017, after a reshuffle, 50% of the cabinet ministers are women. The Parliament of Albania must give final approval of the composition of the cabinet. The Cabinet is responsible for carrying out both foreign and domestic policies. It directs and controls the activities of the ministries and other state bodies. Overview Rank Council members are subdivided into three substantial ranks, along with one honorary rank: Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, which are the highest-ranking members of the Government Deputy Ministers, that assist ministers in specialized areas of their portfolio and General Secretaries (Sekretari i Përgjithshëm) that assist ministers in less important areas and occasionally attend sessions of the Council of Ministers. Role The Council is responsible to the Parliament of Albania. The Parliament may choose to pass a motion of censure forcing the Council of Ministers to resign. This has the effect of forcing the Government to be composed of members from the majority political party in the Assembly or to be allied to the majority in a coalition. Ministers are required to answer written or oral questions put to them by members of Parliament, known as Government questions. In addition, ministers attend sessions of the Parliament when laws concerning their assigned sectors and departmental portfolios are under consideration. Cabinet ministers cannot propose legislation without parliamentary approval. Ministers can however propose bills to Parliament and any such legislation is generally very likely to pass. On occasion, the majority opinion in Parliament may differ significantly from those of the executive, resulting in a large number of riders. The Cabinet plays a major role in determining the agenda of the Parliament. It can propose laws and amendments during parliamentary sessions. It also has a number of procedures at its disposal to expedite parliamentary deliberations. History With the unilateral declaration of Albania's Independence on 28