Ministry of the Republic of Italy  A Ministry of the Republic of Italy is an administrative organ of the Republic of Italy, which participates in Italian public administration and is characterised by one or more specific competencies, with an organised structure, often varying over time. The ("ministro", from Latin "minister", 'assistant') is the head of the ministry and is a member of the political class. The minister proposes the appointment of directors with general functions to the Council of Ministers, directs administrative action, and takes decisions on important matters. There are also ministers without portfolio for competencies that do not come with budgetary autonomy (e.g. the Minister for relations with Parliament). The Under-secretary ("sottosegretario") is also appointed from the political class. The title derives from the fact that the minister is a Secretary of State. However, the Under-secretary is only an assistant to the minister - they aid the minister but cannot act in their stead. A ministry may have multiple Under-secretaries. Under-secretaries do not have any powers of their own, but only those delegated to them by the minister. If the powers conferred on an Under-secretary comprise a whole department of the ministry, they may be given the title of Deputy Minister. The Cabinet of the Minister ("gabinetto del ministro") consists of the Head of the cabinet, the legislative office, and the specific secretariat, each with its own head. When the government changes, the members of the cabinet also change. The cabinet is empowered to assist the minister and co-ordinate activities of the ministry. The board of administration ("consiglio di amministrazione") is chaired by the minister and composed of general directors and elected representatives of the personnel. It has an established structure and powers related to the organisation of labour in the ministry. The General Secretary ("segretario generale") is only present in some ministries (e.g. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and has powers relating to co-ordination. Subdivisions of the ministry include departments, general directorates, divisions, etc. They are different in every ministry. Usually, the ("dipartimento" or "reparto") is the highest level sub-division of the ministry, and the general directorate ("direzione generale") is a second-order sub-division. In some ministries, however, there are no departments and the general directorates are the highest level sub-division. The basic units of the ministry are the divisions ("divisioni"), which may be divided into sections ("sezioni").