There are nine Government Departments, each of which is a separate legal entity with its own functions, powers and responsibilities. Each is represented on the Council of Ministers by its Minister.

Each Department is headed by its Minister and the functions of the Department are exercised by the Minister. Each Department has, in addition, one or more members, who are Members of Tynwald. The members are appointed by the Governor in Council and they may be authorised by the Minister to exercise any of his functions in his place, either alone or jointly with him or with any other person or persons.

Political and Legislative Independence

The Manx exercise their extensive political and legislative independence through their ancient parliament, Tynwald, which is the oldest legislature in the world in continuous existence. Tynwald has two branches, consisting of the House of Keys (which is elected by universal suffrage) and the Legislative Council (whose members are elected by members of the House of Keys). The 24 members of the House of Keys are popularly elected every 5 years and the overwhelming majority are independents. The next general election is in September 2011. The Island is noteworthy for its relative absence of party politics; this has contributed to the remarkable stability of the Manx system.

For more information regarding the Isle of Man Government and any of it's departments visit their website here