The Council of Ministers () is the main collective decision-making body of the Government of Spain, and it is exclusively composed of the Prime Minister, the deputy prime ministers and the ministers (22 as of 2020). Junior or deputy ministers such as the Secretaries of State are not members of the Council (although according to the Constitution they could be, if the Government Act included them, a constitutional provision that until today has not been used). The Monarch may also chair the Council when needed on the invitation of the Prime Minister. The ministers are proposed by the Prime Minister and formally appointed by the King. There is no requirement for the Prime Minister nor the ministers to be MPs. The ministers are the heads of a ministerial department and receive the title of "Minister". In addition to the ministers that are the head of a department, there may be ministers without portfolio, who are entrusted responsibility for certain government functions. The Council is the main collective decision-making body of the government and the only one constitutionally recognized but ministers can also meet through other government bodies such as the Government Delegated Committees. The Delegated Committees are created by the Council and composed by ministers and secretaries of state which deal with minor issues that may affect more than one ministry. The Secretary of the Council of Ministers is the Minister of the Presidency. It is regulated by Article 98 of the Spanish Constitution and by article 5 of the Government Act of 1997. History Origins, 15th-18th century From the beginnings of the modern state and the centralization of power in the monarchs, the government was exercised by them through people of trust. The monarchs trusted them certain subjects and with which they made daily dispatches to deal with these matters. Over time, these trusted people who, on numerous occasions, received the title of ministers, were in conflict with the powers of other ministers and, to resolve these, they made collective meetings between various ministers and the monarchs. The Spanish monarchy has ruled most of its history —depending on the greater or lesser desire of the monarch to delegate its power— through Councils —Council of Castile, Council of the Indies, Council of Aragon, etc.— whose main tasks were those of to administer justice in the name of the monarchs and to advise the Sovereign in his work of government and