Foreign minister
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a governmental cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign nation. The ministry for foreign affairs is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government (prime minister or president); it is often granted to the deputy prime minister in coalition governments. In some nations, the foreign minister is referred to as the minister for external affairs. The current foreign minister of New Zealand, however, is not a member of the Cabinet, but rather sits in the Opposition, as part of a complex system of coalition agreements entered into by the Labour Party and its multiple allies.
A foreign minister's powers can vary from government to government. In a classic parliamentary system, a foreign minister can potentially exert significant influence in forming foreign policy but when the government is dominated by a strong prime minister the foreign minister may be limited to playing a more marginal or subsidiary role in determining policy. Similarly, the political powers invested in the foreign minister are often more limited in presidential governments with a strong executive. Since the end of World War II, it has been common for both the foreign minister and defense minister to be part of an inner cabinet (commonly known as a National Security Council) in order to coordinate defence and diplomatic policy. Although the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw many heads of government assume the foreign ministry, this practice has since become uncommon in most developed nations.
Along with their political roles, foreign ministers are also traditionally responsible for many diplomatic duties, such as hosting foreign world leaders and going on state visits to other countries. The foreign minister is generally the most well-traveled member of any cabinet.
In the United States, the foreign minister is called the 'Secretary of State', and occupies the oldest cabinet post in the nation. In the United Kingdom, the foreign minister is called the 'Foreign Secretary'; after the merger of the previously separate Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office in 1968, the foreign minister is officially referred to as the 'Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs'.
Other common titles may include minister of "external affairs" or minister of "foreign relations." In many Latin American countries, the foreign minister is called canciller (= chancellor).
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- Abkhazia: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Angola: Minister of External Relations
- Australia: Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Austria-Hungary: List of Foreign Ministers of Austria-Hungary
- Belgium: Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Canada:
- (from 1993) Minister of Foreign Affairs (list)
- (until 1993) Secretary of State for External Affairs (list)
- China:
- Chile: Foreign Minister of Chile
- Denmark: Foreign Minister of Denmark
- Egypt: Foreign Minister of Egypt
- Estonia: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Fiji: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Finland: Minister for Foreign Affairs
- France: Minister of Foreign Affairs (w/ list)
- Germany: Minister of Foreign Affairs (list)
- Greece: Minister of Foreign Affairs (with list)
- India: Minister of External Affairs
- Iran: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Ireland: Minister for Foreign Affairs (with list)
- Israel: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Italy: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Japan: Minister for Foreign Affairs (with list)
- Kenya: List of Foreign Ministers of Kenya
- Luxembourg: List of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg
- Mexico: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Republic of Macedonia: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Netherlands: Ministry (list)
- New Zealand: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (with list), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Nigeria: Foreign Minister of Nigeria
- Norway: Foreign minister of Norway
- Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Poland: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland
- Portugal: Minister of Foreign Affairs (with list)
- Prussia: Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Romania: List of Romanian Foreign Ministers
- Russia: List of Russian Foreign Ministers
- São Tomé and Príncipe: List of Foreign Ministers of São Tomé and Príncipe
- Singapore: Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Sweden: Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Switzerland: Federal Councillor heading the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (list)
- Turkey: Minister for Foreign Affairs
- United Kingdom:
- United States: Secretary of State (with list)
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