The Government of Montenegro is the executive branch of state authority in Montenegro, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsible for directing domestic and foreign policy, implementing national laws, and overseeing public administration, the cabinet is formally accountable to the Parliament of Montenegro. The institution traces its origins to 1879, when Prince Nikola I established the first modern Ministerial Council following the Congress of Berlin, while its contemporary framework as a sovereign republic's executive was instituted in 2006 upon the restoration of Montenegrin independence.