Minister

A minister is a person who leads a Protestant church; such a person may also be called a pastor, preacher, or elder. In many churches, ministers are required to be seminary trained although some churches allow "laymen" to preach. Compare with priest.

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A minister is a politician who heads a government ministry or department (e.g. education, finance, health, state, war etc...). Senior ministers are members of the cabinet, usually led by a prime minister or president.

The term "minister" comes from a Latin word meaning a "servant" (or first servant). In some countries (such as the US), such a person is instead known as a secretary or secretary of state.

A few ministers:

• 17th Century
  • France
    • Colbert (Minister of Finance)
    • Mazarin (Chief Minister)
    • Richelieu (Chief Minister)
    • Tellier (Minister of War)
• 20th Century
  • Germany
    • Goebbels (Minister of Propaganda)
• 21st Century
  • Iran
    • Shamkhani (Minister of Defense)

See the lists below for more.

Lists of ministers

• Cabinet details ministries in various countries, e.g.
  • Cabinet of Canada
  • United States Cabinet
  • Cabinet of the United Kingdom
  • Cabinet of Sweden
  • not to be confused with Swiss Federal Council
• The current are usually included in Politics of ..-articles
• Lists of incumbents groups lists of ministers by country
• Specific ministers:
  • Prime Minister
  • Foreign minister
  • Defence minister
  • Finance minister
  • Interior minister
  • Health minister
  • Justice Minister
  • sometimes Chancellor