Minister ( government ) - wikipedia Minister ( government ) `` Councillor of state '' redirects here. For the differently spelled role it should not be confused for, see Counsellor of State. `` Junior Minister '' redirects here. For the position in the government of Northern Ireland, see Junior Minister ( Northern Ireland ). Part of the Politics series on Executive government Head of state Monarch Supreme leader President President of the Council of State Government Head of government Chancellor Chief executive Chief minister First minister Premier Prime minister President of the Council of Ministers Cabinet Cabinet collective responsibility Ministry Minister Secretary Other Governor Mayor Systems Monarchy ( Constitutional ) Republic ( Parliamentary ) Directorial Parliamentary ( Westminster ) Semi-parliamentary ( simul simul ) Semi-presidential ( cohabitational ) Presidential Lists National leaders National governments Heads of state and government Politics portal A minister is a politician who holds public office in a national or regional government, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the `` prime minister '', `` premier '', `` chief minister '', `` Chancellor '' or other title. In Commonwealth realm jurisdictions which use the Westminster system of government, ministers are usually required to be members of one of the houses of Parliament or legislature, and are usually from the political party that controls a majority in the lower house of the legislature. In other jurisdictions -- such as Belgium, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, United States -- the holder of a cabinet - level post or other government official is not permitted to be a member of the legislature. Depending on the administrative arrangements in each jurisdiction, ministers are usually heads of a government department and members of the government 's ministry, cabinet and perhaps of a committee of cabinet. Some ministers may be more senior than others, and some may hold the title `` assistant minister '' or `` deputy minister ''. Some jurisdictions, with a large number of ministers, may designate ministers to be either in the inner or outer ministry or cabinet. In some jurisdictions -- such as Hong Kong, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- holders of an equivalent cabinet - level post are called cecretaries ( e.g., the Home Secretary in the United Kingdom, Secretary of State in the United States ). Some holders of a cabinet - level post may have another title, such as `` Attorney - General '' or `` Postmaster - General ''. Contents 1 Etymology 2 Selection 3 Types of ministers and name 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Etymology The term `` minister '' also is used in diplomacy, for a diplomat of the second class, such as in the title Minister Plenipotentiary, ranking between an Ambassador and a Minister Resident. The term minister comes from Middle English, deriving from the Old French word ministre, originally minister in Latin, meaning `` servant, attendant '', which itself was derived from the word ' minus ' meaning `` less ''. Selection This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2011 ) In jurisdictions that use the Westminster system of government -- such as United Kingdom, Australia -- ministers or their equivalents are selected from the legislature, and usually from the political party that controls a majority in the lower house of the legislature. In jurisdictions with strict separation of powers, ministers can not be members of the legislature -- such as Belgium, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, United States -- and a legislator chosen to become a minister must resign from the legislature. Normally the leader of the majority party becomes the prime minister, or an office of equivalent function, and selects the other ministers. In the Westminster system, these ministers continue to represent their constituency in parliament while being part of the government. Often, a person from the outside may be appointed minister, usually in order to bring special skills to the government. Such a person would not have to be part of the parliament while serving as minister, nor would he / she necessarily be a member of the party / parties in government. Types of ministers and name Various countries form ministries as Cabinets ( see List of cabinets ). Other cabinets are usually included in Politics of... - articles Lists of incumbents groups lists of ministers by country Specific ministers include : Agriculture minister Climate change minister Commerce minister Communication minister Culture minister Defence minister Deputy prime minister Education minister Energy minister Environment minister Finance minister Fisheries minister Food minister Foreign minister Forestry minister Health minister Home minister Housing minister Immigration minister Industry minister Information minister Inland revenue minister International development minister Interior minister Justice minister Labour minister Marine affairs minister Mining minister Minister Mentor Natural resources minister Planning minister Prime minister Public works minister Religious affairs minister Science minister Senior Minister Sports minister Tourism minister Transport minister Water resources minister Some ministers may hold multiple portfolios and lead several ministries simultaneously, while multiple ministers with separate portfolios may oversee a single ministry, or may also share both ministerial and deputy - ministerial portfolios in different ministries. A cabinet minister may not be in charge of any ministry, and is then known as a `` minister without portfolio ''. See also Minister of the Crown Ministry ( government department ) Ministry ( collective executive ) References Jump up ^ The word Minister Definition, dictionary.com dictionaries External links Common types of government ministers and ministries Leadership President Vice-President Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister Office of the President Cabinet department / Office of the Prime Minister Defence / Foreign Affairs / Public Safety Defence ( list ) Foreign / External Affairs ( list ) International development Public Security / Internal Security / Homeland Security Immigration Economics / Infrastructure Commerce / Trade Communications Finance / Treasury ( list ) Industry Public Works / Infrastructure Transport Environment / Natural resources Agriculture Climate change Energy Environment ( list ) Fisheries Forestry Irrigation Land management Mining Natural resources Petroleum / Oil Water resources Social Education ( List ) Culture Health Information Interior / Home Affairs ( list ) Justice / Law Labour Religion Science ( and Technology ) Sports Tourism Minister without portfolio Ministries by portfolio Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Minister_(government)&oldid=802624953 '' Categories : Government ministers Government occupations Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from May 2011 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Alemannisch አማርኛ Azərbaycanca Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Bosanski Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Frysk Gaeilge Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ಕನ್ನಡ Къарачай - малкъар ქართული Latviešu Lietuvių Lingála Magyar Македонски Māori مصرى Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan پښتو Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Žemaitėška 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 27 September 2017, at 11 : 28. 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Question: who helps the minister to form a decision
Answer: other ministers