The Council of Ministers (Conseil des ministres) is the principal collegiate executive body of the French government, chaired by the President of the Republic and bringing together the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers. It is tasked with deliberating on national policy, approving government bills and executive ordinances prior to parliamentary submission, and appointing high-ranking civil and military officials. While institutional ministerial meetings date back to the royal councils of the Ancien Régime and the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, the modern Council of Ministers was established in 1958 under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.