secretariat

…Political Bureau itself, and the Secretariat—has varied a great deal, and from 1966 until the late 1970s the Secretariat did not function at all. There is in any case a partial overlap of membership among these organs and between these top CCP bodies and the Standing Committee of the State…

…late 13th century, a royal secretariat came into existence, which was in charge of relaying to the chancellor, by warrant sealed with the privy seal, the royal order for issuing a writ under the great seal. In many ways the secretariat thus became a competitor of the chancery. In addition,…

The Secretariat was responsible for the day-to-day administrative work of the party machine. The membership of these bodies, though nominally determined by the Central Committee, was in fact self-perpetuating and was largely determined by those bodies’ members themselves.

…by the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Central Committee—making decisions on its own authority without consulting the party cadres. Dissent from lower organs was ignored and punished if pressed. The local branches of the party lost the right to elect their officers; these were routinely appointed by the Secretariat.…