(1) They are nominated in a different manner. The Chancellor is nominated by the President of the Reich who naturally must be guided therein by the political situation. According to circumstances, the President is obliged to nominate some party leader of the group forming the majority of the Reichstag; or his choice may be exercised among several political figures according to the combination possible among the parties of the majority. It is true that the Ministers are also appointed by the President of the Reich, but _on the nomination by the Chancellor_, and it seems that in practice the President is always bound by this consideration. The Chancellor may not be recalled; his functions cease only through resignation or because he is unseated by the majority of the Reichstag. The Ministers, on the other hand, may be recalled and the decision may be taken here, too, by the President of the Reich on the proposal by the Chancellor. (2) In regard to powers there exists a still more profound difference between the Chancellor and the Ministers. The principle is this: the Chancellor determines and alone determines the general course of the Cabinet’s policy. The other Ministers direct the affairs of their respective departments along the lines fixed by the Chancellor in his general policy. (Article 56.) In other words, it seems that the German Constitution, without expressly saying so, wants to establish the classic distinction between “governing” and “administering.” The Chancellor governs, the other members of the Cabinet administer. This essential distinction recurs more or less clearly enunciated in all the provisions relative to the powers of the Ministers. The latter have as their most important function the exercise of those powers of which the President of the Reich is the chief holder. They prepare and countersign the ordinances of the President. But do they all indiscriminately countersign all decrees and may each Minister countersign any of the decisions of the President? Not in the least. The Chancellor countersigns all decisions touching the general policy of the Cabinet, but he is also authorized to sign other decrees. The Ministers countersign only the decrees that effect their respective departments. From this results the following: When a decree of the President is countersigned by a Minister it may be considered that the Cabinet holds it to be a purely administrative matter. Every decision presenting a certain political importance is either countersigned by the Chancellor only or by both the Chancellor and the Minister whose department is affected. The Ministers have in the second place their own powers. They make general or individual decisions which they sign themselves. These decisions are of two kinds: some of them must be deliberated on and decreed in the Council of Ministers; other decisions are taken by the Ministers individually.