Executive Office of the President in the context of United States National Security Advisor

Legislative definitions of an agency of the federal government of the United States are varied, and even contradictory. The official United States Government Manual offers no definition. While the Administrative Procedure Act definition of "agency" applies to most executive branch agencies, Congress may define an agency however it chooses in enabling legislation, and through subsequent litigation often involving the Freedom of Information Act and the Government in the Sunshine Act. These further cloud attempts to enumerate a list of agencies.

The executive branch of the federal government includes the Executive Office of the President and the United States federal executive departments (whose secretaries belong to the Cabinet). Employees of the majority of these agencies are considered civil servants.

The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor (NSA), is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President, based at the West Wing of the White House.

The national security advisor serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all national security issues. The national security advisor participates in meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) and usually chairs meetings of the principals committee of the NSC with the secretary of state and secretary of defense (those meetings not attended by the president). The NSA also sits on the Homeland Security Council (HSC). The national security advisor is supported by NSC staff who produce classified research and briefings for the national security advisor to review and present, either to the NSC or the president.

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the president of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical research for the White House and prepares the publicly-available annual Economic Report of the President. The council is made up of its chairperson and generally two to three additional member economists. Its chairperson requires appointment and Senate confirmation, and its other members are appointed by the president.

The Ministry of General Affairs (Dutch: Ministerie van Algemene Zaken; AZ) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for government policy, planning, information, and the Dutch royal house. The Ministry was created in 1937 and dissolved in 1945, but in 1947 it was reinstated by Prime Minister Louis Beel. The Ministry remained small until 1967, when it was greatly expanded by Prime Minister Piet de Jong. Since his premiership the Ministry has continued to expand to the present day. The Minister of General Affairs (Dutch: Minister van Algemene Zaken) is the head of the Ministry who is also Prime Minister and a member of the Cabinet of the Netherlands. The current Minister and Prime Minister is Dick Schoof.

The Ministry is comparable to the German Chancellery, the British Cabinet Office, or the U.S. Executive Office of the President, but its designation as a Ministry emphasises the role of Prime Minister of the Netherlands as primus inter pares among the ministers of the government.