Ministry (government department)

A ministry is a governmental organisation, headed by a minister, that is meant to manage a specific sector of public administration.^[1] Ministries have a bureaucratic structure.^[1]

Different states have different numbers and names of ministries,^[1] but the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary notes that all states have (often under different names) a Ministry of Interior, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Ministry of Defense (which may be divided into ministries for land forces and the navy), a Ministry of Justice and a Ministry of Finance.^[1] Ministries called the Ministry of Education or similar are also common.^[1]

Ministries are usually immediate subdivisions of the Cabinet (the executive branch of the government), and subordinate to its chief executive who is called Prime Minister, chief minister, President, minister-president or (federal) Chancellor.

During the 20th century, many countries increasingly tended to replace the term "ministry" with words such as "department", "office" or "state secretariat". In some countries, these terms may be used with specific meanings: for example, an office may be a subdivision of a department.

Examples

Canada

In Canada, five of the ten provincial governments use the term "ministry" to describe their departments (Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Alberta) but the other five, as well as the federal government, use the term "department". Despite the difference in nomenclature, both the provincial and federal governments use the term "minister" to describe the head of a ministry or department. The specific task assigned to a minister is referred to as his or her "portfolio".

New Zealand

New Zealand's state agencies include a large number of ministries and a smaller number of departments. Increasingly, state agencies are styled neither as ministries nor as departments. All New Zealand agencies are under the direction of one or more ministers or associate ministers, whether they are styled "ministries" or not. Each body also has an apolitical chief executive, and in ministries and departments these chief executives often have the title of Secretary.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, all government organisations that consist of civil servants, and which may or may not be headed by a government minister or secretary of state, are considered to be departments. The term "ministry" has been retained only for the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice.

Other countries

Some countries, such as Australia, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, the Philippines and the United States, do not use the term "ministry" and instead call their main government bodies "departments".

However, in other countries such as Luxembourg a department is a subdivision of a ministry, usually led by a government member called a secretary of state who is subordinate to the minister.

In Hong Kong, the term "bureau" is used, and departments are subordinate to the bureaus, while in Mexico, ministries are referred to as secretariats.

In Nigeria each ministry is led by a minister who is not a member of the Nigerian legislature (due to the separation of powers) and is responsible to the popularly elected President.

In Lebanon, there are 21 ministries. Each ministry is led by a minister, and the Prime Minister is the 22nd minister of the Lebanese government.

In the European Union, departments are termed Directorate(s)-General with the civil servant in charge called a Director-General (in the European Commission, the political head of the department is one of the European Commissioners).

The government departments of the Soviet Union were named "People's Commissariats" between 1917 and 1946.

In popular culture

The Ministry of Sound is a nightclub.

The term "ministry" has also been widely used in fiction, notably in satires and parodies.

Books and Films

• In the Harry Potter books the Ministry of Magic is the governing body of the magical community within the United Kingdom (not a department of the British Government responsible for magical affairs).
• In Nineteen Eighty-Four there are four ministries in charge of Airstrip One (the former United Kingdom): the Ministry of Truth (education, culture and propaganda), the Ministry of Love (the interior), the Ministry of Plenty (economic affairs) and the Ministry of Peace (war and foreign affairs) .
• The Ministry of Information Retrieval features in the film Brazil.
• The Ministry of Social Coherence appears in an Estonian comedy Riigimehed (Statesmen).

Television

• In Yes Minister the Ministry of Administrative Affairs is responsible for the administration of other government departments and the British Civil Service. This ministry had a number of other responsibilities, including National Health Service administration, local government, organising state visits by foreign leaders, enforcing European regulations, the arts and telecommunications.
• In The Thick of It the Department of Social Affairs, later called the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship, is responsible for overseeing the activities of other government departments.
• Ministry of Silly Walks is the subject of a sketch in Monty Python's Flying Circus.

See also

• Cabinet (government)
• Ministry (collective executive)
• Individual ministerial responsibility
• Housing authority
• Ministry of Social Security

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ministries.