Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat , office , or directorate ) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration .
31-529: A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country . It usually is administered by the minister for transport . The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agencies administering transport in nations who do not employ ministers. Specific responsibilities may include overseeing road safety , civil aviation , maritime transport , rail transport , developing government transportation policy, organizing public transport , and
62-681: A government minister or secretary of state , are considered to be departments . Until 2018, the term "ministry" had been retained only for the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice . On 8 January 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the Department of Communities and Local Government would be renamed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to emphasise her government's prioritising of housing policy. In September 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson reverted
93-489: A long time as ministries ( Finance , National Defense , Foreign Affairs , Health , etc.). The term "ministry" also continues to be used as the vernacular to refer to a government area. 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
124-481: A member of Cabinet , the executive, which is then responsible for one or more departments , the top division of the public service. The collection of departments responsible to a ministerial office and hence the minister, is referred to as the minister's "portfolio". New Zealand 's state agencies include many ministries and a smaller number of departments. Increasingly, state agencies are styled neither as ministries nor as departments. All New Zealand agencies are under
155-534: A permanent basis. As of May 2024, the information and communications sector is led ad interim by Ursula Eggenberger , following the sudden death of Vice-Chancellor André Simonazzi . For administrative purposes, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) is affiliated to the Chancellery. The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner is responsible for
186-541: A politician who is a member of a cabinet —a body of high-ranking government officials—who may use a title such as minister , secretary , or commissioner, and are typically staffed with members of a non-political civil service , who manage its operations; they may also oversee other government agencies and organizations as part of a political portfolio . Governments may have differing numbers and types of ministries and departments. In some countries, these terms may be used with specific meanings: for example, an office may be
217-408: A subdivision of a department or ministry. The federal Government of Canada uses the term department to refer to its first-level executive bodies. In Canada , first-level subdivisions are known as provinces and territories . Five of the ten provincial governments use the term ministry to describe their departments ( Ontario , Quebec , Saskatchewan , British Columbia , and Alberta ) but
248-579: Is Switzerland's ministry of the Interior . As of 2023, it is headed by Élisabeth Baume-Schneider ( SP/PS ). It is composed of the General Secretariat and the following federal offices: Additionally, the following independent authorities are affiliated to the FDHA for administrative purposes: The Federal Department of Justice and Police is Switzerland's ministry of justice . As of 2024, it
279-546: Is customary that Councillors choose their preferred department in order of seniority. The absence of hierarchic leadership within the Council has caused the departments to acquire a very considerable autonomy, to the extent that the federal executive has been characterised as "seven co-existing departmental governments." From 1954 to 1990, roughly two per cent of Switzerland's resident population were federal employees. This percentage has since declined due to army cutbacks and
310-632: Is generally broader. Each department consists of several federal offices, which are headed by a director , and of other agencies. The much smaller Federal Chancellery, headed by the Federal Chancellor , operates as an eighth department in most respects. The administration in its entirety is directed by the Swiss Federal Council , and the Federal Council and the administration are subject to parliamentary oversight by
341-401: Is headed by Beat Jans ( SP/PS ). It is composed of the following offices and institutes: The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS) is Switzerland's ministry of defence. As of 2019, is headed by Viola Amherd ( CVP/PDC ). It is composed of the following administrative units: The Federal Department of Finance is Switzerland's ministry of finance . As of 2023, it
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#1732772078045372-587: Is headed by Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi . It is composed of several sectors, the Federal Chancellery sector headed directly by the incumbent Chancellor, while the other two sectors are led by the Vice-Chancellors. The Federal Council sector was led by Rossi until his election as Chancellor, and has been led on an interim basis by Rossi's predecessor, Jörg De Bernardi . In July 2024, De Bernardi will be succeeded by Rachel Salzmann on
403-584: Is headed by Karin Keller-Sutter ( FDP/PRD ). It is composed of the following offices: The following independent authorities are affiliated to the FDF for administrative purposes: The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) is Switzerland's ministry of the economy . As of 2019, it is headed by Guy Parmelin ( SVP/UDC ). It is composed of the following offices: The following independent agencies are administratively attached to
434-685: Is led by a minister, and the prime minister is the 23rd minister of the Lebanese government. In the European Union , the equivalent organisation to a national government department is termed directorate-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
465-571: The Erlacherhof in Bern . The entire administrative staff consisted of 80 persons in 1849, while the postal service had 2,591 officials and the customs service 409. The first dedicated administrative building, now the western wing of the Bundeshaus , was completed in 1857. The number of departments and Federal Councillors has been constitutionally fixed at seven since 1848. The number of
496-602: The Swiss Federal Council , the executive branch of the Swiss federal authorities. The administration is charged with executing federal law and preparing draft laws and policy for the Federal Council and the Federal Assembly . The administration consists of seven federal departments and the Federal Chancellery . The departments are roughly equivalent to the ministries of other states, but their scope
527-648: The XXI (2015–2019) and the XXII (2019-2024) governments ceased to expressly foresee the existence of ministries, with the portfolios of the ministers being instead referred as "government areas" and having, in theory, a more flexible organization. Although the term "ministry" has been eliminated from the Government communication and from most of the new published laws, it continues to be used in some legislation, especially those referring to some government areas that existed for
558-518: The Federal Assembly. Each member of the Federal Council is also, in his or her individual capacity, the head of one of the seven departments. The Federal Council has the sole authority to decide on the size and composition of the departments, and to make all executive decisions that are not delegated by law to an individual department, or to the Chancellery. The Council also decides which department its members are appointed to lead, although it
589-485: The Soviet Union were termed people's commissariats between 1917 and 1946. Ministry was used, thereafter. The term ministry has also been widely used in fiction, notably in satires and parodies. Portrayals of various fictional government ministries include: Federal administration of Switzerland The federal administration of Switzerland is the ensemble of agencies that constitute, together with
620-524: The bureaus. In Mexico , ministries are referred to as secretariats . In 1999, the ministries of the federal government of Belgium became known as federal public service , the exception being the Ministry of Defense which kept the original designation. In the Republic of China , ministry is used. In the People's Republic of China , ministry is used. In Portugal , the organization adopted by
651-457: The departments' subordinate entities, which are constituted by statute – generally as "federal offices" after the 1910s – has grown substantially in step with the expanding role of the state in the 20th century, even though some have been merged or abolished. A 1964 government reform made the Federal Chancellery into the general staff unit of the Federal Council, and created General Secretariats as departmental staff units. A 1978 statute granted
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#1732772078045682-500: 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. In Indonesia , the term ministry ( Indonesian : Kementerian ) is used. From the New Order to 2009, the office was known as department ( Indonesian : Departemen ). In Malaysia ,
713-480: The east and west wings of the Bundeshaus and in numerous buildings in or close to the city center . In the 1990s, some offices were moved to other parts of the country, in part to aid economic development of these regions. Also, some federal authorities have field offices in other cities. The Swiss Federal Chancellery is the staff organisation of the Federal Council and the federal administration. As of 2024, it
744-480: The maintenance and construction of infrastructural projects . Some ministries have additional responsibilities in related policy areas such as infrastructure , public works , waterworks , construction , communication , housing and economic activities , such as industry and trade . In many jurisdictions, transportation policy is often assumed by an infrastructure ministry . Ministry (government department) These types of organizations are usually led by
775-667: The ministry to a department, renaming it the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and giving it the responsibility of overseeing his government's levelling up policy . It was then subsequently reverted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government under the Starmer government in 2024. Some countries, such as Switzerland , the Philippines and the United States , do not use or no longer use
806-521: The other five, as well as the three territorial governments, 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". In the United Kingdom , all government organisations that consist of civil servants, and which may or may not be headed by
837-640: The partial privatisation of federal enterprises such as PTT (now Swisscom and Swiss Post ). As of 2008, the Confederation employed some 102,000 people, all but 32,000 of which were working for federal enterprises such as the Post and the Swiss Federal Railways . After the founding of the Swiss federal state in 1848, the Federal Council and its handful of officials took up residence in
868-549: The supervision of federal authorities and private bodies with respect to data protection and freedom of information legislation . The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) is Switzerland's ministry of foreign affairs . As of 2019, it is headed by Ignazio Cassis ( FDP/PRD ). It is composed of the General Secretariat and of the State Secretariat, which in turn is composed of the following directorates and agencies: The Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA)
899-504: The term ministry is used for all but one government cabinet portfolio. The Prime Minister Department is the only portfolio that uses department instead. All government portfolios in the Peninsular Malaysia states use committee , while Sabah and Sarawak state governments following the federal government's style in naming certain portfolios. In Hong Kong , the term bureau is used, and departments are subordinate to
930-403: 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 Australia at the federal level, and also at the state level, the term ministry refers to the ministerial office held by
961-436: The title of secretary of state to the holders of two (later three) directoral posts whose functions require independent interaction with foreign authorities. Since the 1990s, New Public Management models have been experimentally introduced; twelve offices are now run with autonomous budgets. The seat of the federal authorities, including almost all of the administration, is Bern . The departments and offices are located in