InCommonwealth realm jurisdictions which use theWestminster system of government, ministers are usually required to be members of one of the houses ofParliament orlegislature, and are usually from the political party that controls a majority in the lower house of the legislature. In other jurisdictions—such asBelgium,Mexico,Netherlands,[3][note 1]Philippines,Slovenia, andNigeria—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 agovernment 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.
Finland's first female ministers were brought toFinnish Parliament shortly after the turn of the 20th century.[4] From left to right:Hedvig Gebhard (1867–1961), member of parliament, andMiina Sillanpää (1866–1952), Minister of Social Affairs,[4][5] in 1910.
The term minister comes fromMiddle English, deriving from theOld French wordministre, originallyminister inLatin, meaning "servant, attendant", which itself was derived from the word 'minus' meaning "less".[6]
In jurisdictions that use theWestminster system of government—such as theUnited Kingdom andAustralia—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 strictseparation of powers—such asBelgium,Mexico,Netherlands,Philippines, and theUnited States—ministers cannot be members of the legislature, and a legislator chosen to become a minister must resign from the legislature.
Normally the leader of themajority party becomes theprime minister, or an office of equivalent function, and selects the other ministers. In the Westminster system, these ministers continue to represent theirconstituency in parliament while being part of the government. Individuals who are not in parliament may be appointed as a minister, usually in order to bring special skills to the government.
In the United Kingdom, a government minister does not have to be a member of either House of Parliament. In practice, however, convention is that ministers must be members of either theHouse of Commons orHouse of Lords in order to be accountable to Parliament. From time to time, prime ministers appoint non-parliamentarians as ministers. This can be done by first appointing the person to the House of Lords.[7]
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. 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. A cabinet minister can sometimes be in charge of no ministry at all, and is then known as a "minister without portfolio".
