The Small Council

The small council is a small group of advisers which advises the king of the Seven Kingdoms on matters of policy and their areas of expertise. Aegon I Targaryen relied on councillors after being crowned, but it was not until the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen that the small council was formalized. The council is headed by the king, the only one who can make the council's decisions into law. In his absence the role falls to the Hand of the King or the regent if the king is too young.

Some council members are called 'lords' even if not members of nobility. They are appointed and dismissed by the Monarch as they will once they reach the age of majority. The council may be divided by faction but all serve the monarch.

Traditionally the council consists of seven permanent members, after the Andal traditions and the Faith of the Seven, with reserved positions. Additional advisors may be added and removed at the Monarch's discretion.

The Hand of the King
Duties of the Hand include commanding the king's armies, drafting laws, dispensing justice, and generally managing the day-to-day running of the kingdom. The Hand may act on the king's behalf when he is indisposed, and sit the Iron Throne while doing so. The Hand also sits on the small council and will run the council if the king is not present.

The office typically makes the Hand the second-most powerful man in the kingdom next to the king, though some Hands have had the reputation of ruling their kings.

It is considered by some to be a difficult and unglamorous job of great responsibility. A popular saying goes, "What the king dreams, the Hand builds," but the lowborn say, "The king eats, and the Hand takes the shit." Many able men have failed in the office throughout history.

The Hand resides in the Tower of the Hand within the Red Keep. His badge of office always includes a hand, though each Hand can design his own. Rogar Baratheon and Brynden Rivers used brooches of gold and iron, respectively, and a silver clasp has also been used. Several Hands have used chains, such as a necklace of linked golden hands. Servants of the Hand might wear the emblem of a hand.

Master of Laws
The master of laws is the king's advisor relating to the administration of justice. He holds commander over the City Watch of King's Landing and oversees trials and other matters regarding the legal code.

Master of Coin
Duties of the master of coin include keeping account of the receipts and expenditures from the royal treasury, receiving reports from royal officials, supervising the collection of taxes and custom duties, borrowing money, managing the royal treasury and supervising the three royal mints. The master of coin oversees a large number of offices and positions in the royal bureaucracy including the four Keepers of the Keys, the King's Counter, the King's Scales, the officers in charge of mints, harbormasters, tax farmers, customs sergeants, wool factors, toll collectors, pursers and wine factors.

Master of Ships
The master of ships is the king on the Iron Throne's advisor charged with commanding the royal fleet and is a member of the small council in King's Landing. Duties of the master of ships include arranging for the building and maintenance of warships, obtaining crews for the warships, and commanding naval operations.

The master of ships is sometimes dual-hatted as the lord admiral of the royal fleet.

Master of Whisperers
The master of whisperers or mistress of whisperers is the king's spymaster. He or she is charged with gathering intelligence from the Red Keep, King's Landing, around the Seven Kingdoms, across the narrow sea, and other places. Unlike the other positions of the small council, this title wasn't created by Aegon I Targaryen.

Grand Maester
Sworn to serve the whole realm, the Grand Maester acts as one of the royal advisers. As the Citadel's representative at the royal court of the king on the Iron Throne the Grand Maester is elected by the Conclave, and only the Conclave can unmake him again, although several Grand Maesters have died violently. Although the Conclave puts effort into demonstrating their consideration of ability before birth, this is only a pretense as is not usually the case in its final choice for Grand Maester.

Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
Lord Commander is the title held by the most senior sworn brother of the Kingsguard. The Lord Commander is appointed by the king, generally from the existing pool of the Kingsguard.

Rhaenyra Targaryen (129-138)

 * Hand of the Queen
 * Cregan Stark (130-138)
 * Master of Laws
 * Corwyn Corbray (130-135)
 * Symond Staunton (135-138)
 * Master of Coin
 * Torrhen Manderly (130-136)
 * Clement Celtigar (136-138)
 * Master of Ships
 * Daeron Velaryon (130-136)
 * Torrhen Manderly (136-138)
 * Master of Whisperers
 * Larys Strong (130-138)
 * Grand Maester
 * Munkun (129-138)

Aegon II Targaryen (138-145)

 * Hand of the King
 * Cregan Stark (138)
 * Unwin Peake (138-145)
 * Master of Laws
 * Symond Staunton (138-145)
 * Master of Coin
 * Clement Celtigar (138-142)
 * Arstan Bracken (142-145)
 * Master of Ships
 * Torrhen Manderly (138-145)
 * Master of Whisperers
 * Larys Strong (138)
 * Triston Bulwer (138-145)
 * Grand Maester
 * Munkun (138-139)
 * Mancaster (139-145)

Baela Targaryen (145-175)

 * Hand of the Queen
 * Corwyn Corbray (145-161)
 * Jaehaerys Targaryen (161-175)
 * Master of Laws
 * Rodrik Flint (145-161)
 * Andrew Mertns (161-175)
 * Master of Coin
 * Norbert Mooton (145-165)
 * Rolland Darklyn (165-170)
 * Aethan Celtigar (170-175)
 * Master of Ships
 * Daemon Velaryon (145-161)
 * Davos Bar Emmon (161-174)
 * Uthor Grafton (174-175)
 * Master of Whisperers
 * Larys Strong (145-161)
 * Ysabel Massey (161-166)
 * Andros Doggett (166-175)
 * Grand Maester
 * Mancaster (145-168)
 * Cadwyl (168-175)
 * Regents of Queen Baela aka The Black Council (145-161)
 * Larys Strong
 * Corwyn Corbray
 * Martyn Swyft (served an advisory role instead of the traditional Small Council position)
 * Daemon Velaryon
 * Ysabel Massey (served an advisory role instead of the traditional Small Council position)
 * Rodrik Flint
 * Norbert Mooton

Aegon III Targaryen (175-176)

 * Hand of the King
 * Jaehaerys Targaryen (175-176)
 * Master of Laws
 * Martyn Westerling (175-176)
 * Master of Coin
 * Aethan Celtigar (175-176)
 * Master of Ships
 * Steffon Tarth (175-176)
 * Master of Whisperers
 * Andros Doggett (175-176)
 * Grand Maester
 * Cadwyl (175-176)

Jaehaerys II Targaryen (176-190)

 * Hand of the King
 * Lyonel Tyrell, the Hand of the King, known as 'the Queenmaker' (176-190)
 * Master of Laws
 * Martyn Westerling (176-190)
 * Master of Coin
 * Aethan Celtigar (176-188)
 * Jason Lefford (188-190)
 * Master of Ships
 * Steffon Tarth (176-190)
 * Master of Whisperers
 * Andros Doggett (176-190)
 * Grand Maester
 * Cadwyl (176-180)
 * Archibald (180-189)
 * Brude (189-190)

Speakers
The Speakers were the name given to advisors brought on to the Small Council in 194 AC by Queen Daenaerys Targaryen, and the roles have remained in some capacity ever since. They act as regional advisors, each one selected or elevated from the Bannermen and Principal Bannermen of a region, and are almost never members from a Great House. Dorne is the only Kingdom to not have a Speaker. Speakers are overseen by the Master of Parley.

Minor Offices
There are other roles of note in the Capital that are parallel to the Small Council but not necessarily a part of it. Nonetheless they may be invited to sit on the council on a meeting-by-meeting basis to offer insight or opinion.