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Politics & Government vocabulary · Government and the Executive

Minister

Meaning in politics & government, with examples

/ˈmɪnɪstə/nounCore term

In politics & government, minister means: A senior member of the government who is responsible for a particular area of policy, such as health, education or finance, and usually leads a ministry.

In Turkish: bakan

How it is used

Ministers are appointed, sworn in, resign or are dismissed. Titles follow the pattern Minister of Health or Health Minister, Foreign Minister, Interior Minister. A junior minister supports a senior minister in a department.

Example sentences

  1. The education minister visited three schools to discuss the new curriculum.

  2. She was appointed minister of transport in the new government.

Common collocations

  • appoint a minister
  • foreign minister
  • health minister
  • junior minister
  • minister responsible for
  • ministryA government department that is responsible for one area of public policy, such as health, education or finance, and is led by a minister.
  • cabinetThe group of senior ministers, led by the prime minister or president, who meet regularly to decide government policy.
  • prime ministerThe leader of the government in many countries, usually the head of the largest party or coalition in parliament, who chairs the cabinet.
  • reshuffleA change in which a prime minister or president moves ministers to different jobs, removes some of them and brings new people into the cabinet.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Government and the Executive

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