Government
The Emperor's seat, and the heart of Imperial Administration, is the Imperial Palace, a massive construct that covers most of what used to be the continent of Asia; the "Inner Palace" is built on top, within, and under the Himalayan mountain range.
Though the Emperor is the nominal head of state, in practice the highest tier of command is the Council of the High Lords of Terra, based in the Inner Palace, that has ruled for over ten millennia in the Emperor's name. Under this top echelon is a multi-tiered hierarchy consisting of countless departments, agencies, and organisations, both military and civilian, charged with implementing the decisions of the High Lords, and with the day-to-day administration of the Imperium as a whole. However because of its vast territory and the great distances separating Imperial star systems, the Imperium is by necessity decentralised; the final, localised tier of Imperial Authority is usually the Office of Planetary Governor, whose responsibility is limited to a single world.
Outside and above the Imperial hierarchy is the Imperial Inquisition, the all-powerful and much feared secret police and main intelligence agency. The Inquisition may answer only to the Council of the High Lords; historically it has even had the power (and opportunity) to investigate and sanction individual members of the Council.
Read more about this topic: Imperium (Warhammer 40,000)
Famous quotes containing the word government:
“I do love this people [the French] with all my heart, and think that with a better religion and a better form of government and their present governors their condition and country would be most enviable.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“I am really sorry to see my countrymen trouble themselves about politics. If men were wise, the most arbitrary princes could not hurt them. If they are not wise, the freest government is compelled to be a tyranny. Princes appear to me to be fools. Houses of Commons & Houses of Lords appear to me to be fools; they seem to me to be something else besides human life.”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“God reigns, and the Government at Washington still lives!”
—James A. Garfield (1831–1881)