Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. Some ministers are more senior than others, and are usually members of the government's cabinet. In some countries the head of government is designated the "prime minister".

In some countries and territories, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, holders of some posts equivalent to ministries are called secretaries of state, sometimes referred to simply as secretaries (e.g., the Home Secretary).

The term "minister" is also used in diplomacy with the quite different meaning of second-level diplomats (heads of legations). 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".

In some parliamentary and semi-presidential systems of government, ministers are selected from the legislature (United Kingdom, Australia), while in others with strict separation of powers, ministers cannot be members of the legislature (Belgium, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, United States); a legislator chosen to become a cabinet minister resigns from the legislature. Normally the leader of the majority party becomes the prime minister 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.

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