Minister (government)

See also minister (diplomacy) and minister (Christianity)

A minister or a secretary is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet, usually led by a prime minister or president.

Origin

The term "minister" comes from a Latin word meaning a "servant" (or first servant). In some countries (such as the U.S., Hong Kong, the Philippines and the UK), such a person can instead be known as a secretary or secretary of state. Until the early 20th century, heads of legations were also called ministers, ie: "Minister for Cuba" or "Minister for France." For example, Sir Ernest Satow was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Japan, 1895-1900, then the top British diplomat in Japan. His successor, Sir Claude MacDonald, was Minister and then Ambassador from 1905 when relations between Britain and Japan were upgraded.

Selection

In many parliamentary systems of government, especially those using the Westminster system, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, ministers must be selected from the legislature. In presidential systems of government such as the United States and Mexico, ministers are appointed by the President, not drawn from the legislature.

Types of ministers

*Cabinets have ministries in various countries, cf. List of cabinets. Other cabinets are usually included in Politics of ..-articles
*Lists of incumbents groups lists of ministers by country
*Specific ministers:
**Prime minister
**Foreign minister
**Defence minister
**Education minister
**Environment minister
**Finance minister
**Interior minister (or Home minister)
**Health minister
**Justice minister
**Minister of Culture
**sometimes Chancellor

Examples

Some examples of ministers, see the lists below for more.
*17th century
**Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French Minister of Finance
**François-Michel le Tellier, French Minister of War
*20th century
**Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda
**Moshe Dayan, Israeli Minister of Defense
**Lal Krishna Advani Indian Minister for Home Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of India
**Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage
*21st century
**Ali Shamkhani, Iranian Minister of Defense
**Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Iraqi Minister of Information
**Alexander Downer, Australian Foreign Minister