the 100-member Central Executive Committee of Soviets of Worker, Smallholder and Landless Peasant and Red Army Deputies of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia was named the highest authority of government of the republic. 91 out of the 100 members of the Central Executive Committee were communists. The Central Executive Committee elected a Presidium with Kazimierz Cichowski as its chairman and Józef Unszlicht as its deputy chairman. Other members of the Presidium were Yakov Doletsky, , Pranas Svotelis-Proletaras and . People's Commissariats At the time of the founding of the republic, People's Commissariats for Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Agriculture, Communications, Education, Finance, Food, Labour, Justice, Post & Telegraphs, Military Affairs and the Supreme Council for People's Economy were created. The following day the Council of People's Commissars decided to create two new People's Commissariats; Health Care and Social Protection by removing these areas from the responsibility of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs. The People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs was inactive. Several other People's Commissariats (such as the commissariats for Military Affairs, Information, Post & Telegraphs, etc., were managed directly by the RSFSR People's Commissariats). Members of the Council of the People's Commissars (equivalent to a cabinet of ministers) as of 27 or 28 February 1919 were; Chairman and Commissar for Foreign Affairs: Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas Commissar for Internal Affairs: Zigmas Aleksa-Angarietis Commissar of Food: Commissar for Labor: Semyon Dimanstein Commissar for Post & Telegraphs: Karl Rozental Commissar for Information: I. P. Savitskty Commissar for Justice: Mieczysław Kozłowski Commissar for Military Affairs: Józef Unszlicht Commissar for Education: Julian Leszczyński (Vaclovas Biržiška, who had been the People's Commissar for Education in the Lithuanian soviet government, was named Deputy Commissar for Education) Commissar for Finance: Yitzhak Weinstein-Baranovsky Commissar for Council of People's Economy: Commissar for Health (acting): Petras Avižonis Commissar for Social Protection (acting): Josif Oldak Commissar for Agriculture (acting): Commissar for State Control (acting): Defense Council The SSR LiB Defense Council formed on 19 April 1919, included Mickevičius-Kapsukas (chairman) Unszlicht and Kalmanovich. It was later expanded to include Cichowski, Vilhelm Knorin and Yevgenia Bosch. The SSR LiB Defense Council worked under the guidance of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania and Belorussia, which had Mickevičius-Kapsukas as its chairman and Knorin as its secretary. Prominent participants in the activities of the SSR LiB Defense Council included Waclaw Bogucki, , , Aleksa-Angarietis, Doletsky and Ivanov. Administrative