Minister of State - High Government Ranks

High Government Ranks

In several national traditions, the title "Minister of State" is reserved for government members of Cabinet rank, often a formal distinction within it, or even its chief.

• In Australia s. 64 of the Commonwealth Constitution empowers the Governor-General, as the Queen's representative, to appoint Ministers of State 'to administer such departments of State of the Commonwealth as the Governor-General in Council may establish'. Junior Ministers may not be responsible for an entire department, but may serve under a senior Minister who is so responsible, with the junior Minister administering a particular area of policy. For example the Minister for Sport is responsible for sport within the Department of Health and Ageing, which is in turn administered by the Minister for Health and Ageing.
• In Brazil, Minister of State (Portuguese: Ministro de Estado) is the title borne by all members of the Federal Cabinet.
• In Kenya, a Minister of State generically refers to a more senior Minister by virtue of the revenue power, or security implications of their Ministry. For instance, powerful Ministries housed under the Office of the President, Office of the Vice-President and Office of the Prime Minister are titled as "Ministries of State for". Actual examples include Ministry of State for Internal Security and Provincial Administration; Ministry of State for Immigration; and Ministry of State for Public Service.
• France: Under the Fifth Republic, Minister of State (Ministre d'État in French) is an honorific title bestowed during his nomination on a Minister. Ministres d'État, in the protocol, rank after the Prime Minister and before the other Ministers but enjoy no other specific prerogatives. Initially, the title of Ministres d'État didn't explicitly include a portfolio (a practice common under previous regimes), although in time both the title and a specific portfolio have since normally been conferred together. As under previous regimes, a series of Ministres d'État in the same cabinet may also reflect a balance between the different political trends in the ruling party (or within the ruling coalition). A Ministre d'État is not to be confused with a Secretary of State (Secrétaire d'État), a Junior minister assisting a Minister and who may only attend cabinet meeting if the topic discussed touches his responsibilities. Former Ministres d'État include current French President Nicolas Sarkozy. As of February 2011, there is only one Ministre d'État, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Alain Juppe.
• In Japan, Minister of State is the title borne by all members of the Japanese Cabinet.
• In Luxembourg, Minister of State (French: Ministre d'État; German: Staatsminister) is an additional title borne by the Prime Minister. Unlike the title 'Prime Minister' (French: Premier ministre; German: Premierminister), which was instituted only in 1989, that of 'Minister of State' has been held by the head of government since 1848.
• Monaco: The Minister of State of Monaco is the principality's Head of government, subordinate to the Prince of Monaco and responsible for enforcing its laws.
• In Portugal, Minister of State (Ministro de Estado) is a member of the Council of Ministers who holds a more distinct position within the cabinet, roughly equivalent to Deputy Prime Minister.
• In Scandinavian states, the equivalent title Statsminister is used for the head of government (i.e. the prime minister), and compound titles of which -minister is a part may be used for major Portfolio Ministers.
• Spain: When Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was Prime Minister of Spain (1981–1982), Ministers of State were created who held a more distinct position within the Government. However, this initiative did not last since his successors did not follow this path.