Ministries of foreign affairs

A foreign minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations.

In some nations, such as India, the Foreign Minister is referred to as the "Minister for External Affairs"; or, as in the case of Brazil, "Minister of Foreign Affairs"; or, still others, such as states created from the former Soviet Union, call the position the "Minister of External Relations". In the United States, the equivalent to the foreign ministry is called the "Department of State", and the equivalent position is known as the "Secretary of State". Other common titles may include "Minister of Foreign Relations". In many Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, the foreign minister is colloquially called "Canciller".

Diplomats themselves and historians often refer to the foreign ministry by its local address, a type of metonymy: for example, the Ballhausplatz in Vienna housed the Foreign Ministry of Austria-Hungary; the Quai d'Orsay in Paris for France's Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs; the Itamaraty Palace in Brasília is the headquarters of the Ministry of External Relations in Brazil; the Wilhelmstraße, in Berlin, was the location of the German Foreign Office; and Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood of Washington, D.C., houses the Department of State. During the Russian Empire, which lasted until 1917, the metonym used was the Choristers’ Bridge in Saint Petersburg. In contrast, the Italian ministry was called "the Consulta."

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