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Public Administration vocabulary · Ministries and Agencies

Ministry

Meaning in public administration, with examples

/ˈmɪnɪstri/nounCore term

In public administration, ministry means: A central government body led by a minister and responsible for one area of policy, such as health, education, finance or transport.

In Turkish: bakanlık

How it is used

Used in most countries, including Turkey, for the main government bodies: the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Interior. The UK and the US usually say department instead. A ministry issues guidelines, drafts regulations and oversees the agencies in its field.

Example sentences

  1. The ministry has asked all provincial offices to send their figures by Friday.

  2. I worked at the Ministry of Education for six years before joining the agency.

Common collocations

  • Ministry of Health
  • line ministry
  • ministry officials
  • relevant ministry
  • ministry spokesperson
  • ministerThe member of the government who leads a ministry and is responsible for its policies and decisions; ministers usually sit in the cabinet.
  • departmentA unit of an organization responsible for one area of work, such as human resources or legal affairs; in the UK and the US, also the name for a whole ministry.
  • directorateAn administrative unit led by a director, usually part of a ministry or agency, such as a directorate-general at national level or a provincial directorate.
  • government agencyA public organization set up to carry out a specific task, such as collecting taxes, issuing licences or managing roads, often with some independence from the ministry above it.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Ministries and Agencies

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