The Vulcan Council was the legislature of the Confederacy of Vulcan. When the Confederacy was a Federation member the Council was noted as the smallest planetary government in the Federation. The Council met in the Vulcan Council Chmabers in Shirkahr, where the seven ministers could discuss issues of governance in the Halls of Debate, and had offices for each of their ministries. Elections were held once every decade, with candidates selected logically on their merit for the job. The Vulcan High Command's Administrator required approval from the Council to carry out their governance. (TNG module: The Way of Kolinahr: The Vulcans; ENT episode: "Kir'Shara")
Ministries
The Council's seven ministers each controled one of Vulcan's ministries, which in turn operated various government agencies. The ministries worked semi-autonomously, with each minister largely trusting the others to carry out their duties with expertise. The Seven ministries were (TNG module: The Way of Kolinahr: The Vulcans):
- Vulcan Ministry of State
- Vulcan Ministry of Defense
- Vulcan Ministry of Security
- Vulcan Ministry of Trade
- Vulcan Ministry of Thought
- Vulcan Ministry of Science
- Vulcan Ministry of Health
History
In 2154 Minister Kuvak expressed concerns to Administrator V'Las that members of the Council were not convinced of a necessity to launch V'las' planned invasion of Andoria. At around the same time T'Pau hoped the discovery of the Kir'Shara would convince members of the Council to reconsider their stance on the invasion plans and stop backing V'Las. (ENT episode: "Kir'Shara")
Later in 2154 T'Pol of the starship Enterpirse contacted the Council seeking information on the Thelasian Confederacy. (ENT novel: Rosetta)
In 2155 Captain Jonathan Archer commented that the Council was comparatively enlightened, compared to T'Pol; for it was ready to forge an alliance with Andoria, while T'Pol expressed distrust towards Shran. (ENT novel: The Good That Men Do)
- This scene also appears in the ENT episode: "These Are the Voyages...", in that context referring to the Vulcans and Andorians allying to form the Federation rather than the Coalition of Planets. The Good That Men Do however reveals that the 2161 setting of "These Are the Voyages..." is falsified in historical records and that the events actually occurred in 2155.
At some point before 2279, the Vulcan Council was informed of the fate of the stolen Vulcan ships whose crews were captured by the Romulan Star Empire and placed on Hellguard. (TOS novel: The Pandora Principle)
Appendices
Background
The Vulcan Council as described in The Way of Kolinahr: The Vulcans is clearly the primary governing body on Vulcan. It's role as depicted in Star Trek: Enterprise is less clear; throughout Enterprise, both before and after the Syrrannite Reformation, the Vulcan High Command is commonly referred to in a context of a governing body. However the ENT episode: "Kir'Shara" establishes that High Command's leader, the Vulcan Administrator, requires approval from the Council to govern. Additionally both before and after the reformation there is reference to the role of Vulcan First Minister as a leading political figure. The ENT novel: The Good That Men Do affirms that T'Pau is the new Vulcan head of government following the reformation. ENT novel: Kobayashi Maru then established T'Pau as First Minister, while ENT novel: The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing later referred to her as Administrator. The Good That Men Do also establishes that T'Pau is head of both the civilian government and Vulcan military, while Beneath the Raptor's Wing later confirmed the High Command as the military branch of the government. Thus T'Pau as head of state of Vulcan appears to hold to two titles; Administrator of the High Command, and First Minister, presumably the leading figure of the Vulcan Council.
Additionally ENT novel: Kobayashi Maru refers to a High Assembly; in the context of the reference it appears to be a significant governmental body, but the reference provides no information on it’s exact role or relationship with the Council or High Command.
Connections
Legislatures | |
---|---|
Interstellar states | Detapa Council, Assembly (Cardassian Union) • Economic Congress of Advisors (Ferengi Alliance) • Federation Council • Klingon High Council • Imperial Senate, Praetorate, Tricameron (Romulan Star Empire) • Organian Council of Elders |
Federation members | Parliament Andoria • Chamber of Ministers (Bajor) • Quorum of Bole (Bolarus) • United Earth Parliament • Martian Parliament • Zamestaad (Mestiko) • Triexian Curia (Triex) • Trill Senate • Grand Moot (Vissia Prime) • Vulcan Council |
External link
- Vulcan Council article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.