InCommonwealth realm jurisdictions which use theWestminster system of government—such as theUnited Kingdom andAustralia—ministers are usually required to be members of one of the houses ofParliament orlegislature—or to be appointed to one if not[3]—and are usually from the political party that controls a majority in the lower house of the legislature. These ministers continue to represent theirconstituency in parliament while being part of the government.
In other jurisdictions with strictseparation of powers—such asBelgium,Mexico,Netherlands,[4][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 and must resign if chosen.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.[5] From left to right:Hedvig Gebhard (1867–1961), member of parliament, andMiina Sillanpää (1866–1952), Minister of Social Affairs,[5][6] 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".[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".
