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Acabinet reshuffle orshuffle occurs when ahead of government rotates or changes the composition ofministers in theircabinet, or when thehead of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common inparliamentary systems than in systems where cabinet heads must be confirmed by a separate legislative body, and occur frequently inautocratic systems.
Ashadow cabinet reshuffle may take place to change positions in ashadow cabinet.[1]
Cabinet reshuffles happen in parliamentary systems for a variety of reasons. Periodically, smaller reshuffles are needed to replace ministers who have resigned, retired or died. Reshuffles are also a way for a head of government to "refresh" the government,[2] often in the face of poor polling numbers; remove poor performers; and reward supporters and punish others. It is common after elections, even if the party in power is retained, as the prime minister's reading of public opinion as evidenced by the election may require some change in policy, in addition to any changes resulting from the retirement or defeat of individual ministers at the election. Similarly, prime ministers entering office from the same party as the previous one might appoint a very different ministry than their predecessor to reflect a change in policies and priorities; an example isGordon Brown'sgovernment, formed on 28 June 2007 after the departure ofTony Blair the previous day.
A reshuffle also provides an opportunity to create, abolish and rename departments (and ministerial posts), and to reassign responsibilities among departments. This may be done to reflect new priorities or for reasons of efficiency.
Cabinet reshuffles are far less common in systems where members of the cabinet are not drawn from thelegislative branch. In such systems there is a far larger pool of viable candidates to choose a cabinet from. Members of such cabinets are usually chosen on account of their qualifications to run a specific portfolio, so moving these cabinet members to different portfolios at a later time usually makes little sense.
In theUnited States (apresidential system), it would be very unusual for a president to reassign multiplecabinet secretaries to new positions, especially since aU.S. cabinet member moved to a new position within the cabinet needs to be confirmed in the new role by theUnited States Senate—this alone is seen as a powerful deterrent against U.S. presidents initiating major cabinet reshuffles. On an individual basis, however, U.S. cabinet members will occasionally change departments—for example,Federico Peña served asSecretary of Transportation from 1993 until 1997 in theClinton administration and was appointed asSecretary of Energy directly afterwards, serving until 1998. LikewiseNorman Mineta served asSecretary of Commerce underBill Clinton before becomingSecretary of Transportation for Clinton's successor,George W. Bush.
In France (asemi-presidential system within the framework of the contemporaryFrench Fifth Republic), theprime minister may tender their resignation to thepresident of the Republic, who then selects a successor. The new prime minister then proposes a list of ministers to the president, who may approve the list or request changes. After the list is approved, the newgovernment is put in office. The same practice may be used to change several ministers in one sweep while retaining the same prime minister, in which case the president simply selects the incumbent as their own successor. Such successive governments with one same prime minister are named after the head of government and numbered (for instance "Rocard I and "Rocard II" or "Ayrault I and Ayrault II").
In the Philippines, while under the presidential system, the cabinet is confirmed by theCommission on Appointments composed of members ofCongress; due topatronage, the president's appointments are able to be confirmed easier than on other systems. While cabinet reshuffles are still rare, it occurs when the administration loses a midterm election, as what happened most recently in2025, and after a political scandal, in 2005.
Cabinet reshuffles occur at the pleasure ofmonarchs ordictators in autocratic systems, which lack the checks-and-balances of systems with greater citizen or legislative control.
The dictionary definition ofreshuffle at Wiktionary