Security Council of Belarus

The Security Council of Belarus (Belarusian: Савет бяспекі Рэспублікі Беларусь, Russian: Совет безопасности Республики Беларусь) is an interdepartmental body with a mandate to ensure the security of the Republic of Belarus. It considers internal and external affairs of the state with regard to the interest of maintaining security and defense. The Council was established upon the adoption of Resolution +1249 on 15 November 1991. The current Secretary of the Council is Alexander Volfovich.[1]

History

It was established on November 15, 1991, when the Supreme Soviet of Belarus approved decision No. 1249, which established a 14 member Security Council, which included the then Commander of the Belarusian Military District. In accordance with the 1994 Belarusian Constitution, the chairman of the council was the President of Belarus, in their position as head of state and Commander-in-chief. In 1997, the Security Council apparatus, headed by the State Secretary, was renamed to the secretariat.[2][3]

Powers

Security Council's powers include:[4]

  • Submitting proposals to the President regarding domestic and foreign policies
  • Coordinate activities of government authorities
  • Put forward early solutions to prevent emergency situations

Increased powers

A council meeting.

In April 2021, President Lukashenko announced intentions to amend existing statutes for the emergency transfer of presidential power, making the Security Council the collective head of state should the President be killed. The Prime Minister would head the security council in place of the president.[5][6][7] He signed the decree on 9 May, after the Victory Day celebrations.[8] Justifying the decision, he noted that two-thirds of the council are civilians.[9]

Composition of members

It is currently composed of 20 people:

Viktor Lukashenko, the senior son of President Alexander Lukashenko, is also a member of the council (since January 2007), being the National Security Advisor.[10]

State Secretaries

References

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