 Instead of secretaries, their duties were handled by a Council of State, composed of various subcouncils of war, foreign affairs, the navy, etc.The slowness of this system proved ineffective, and the secretaries of state were brought back.Each secretary of state was the head of a specialized department of state with a functional area of expertise (War, Foreign Affairs, the Navy, the Maison du Roi, Protestant Affairs) and a geographical area of expertise (several provinces).