Minister (government)

's first female ministers were brought to Finnish Parliament shortly after the turn of the 20th century. From left to right: Hedvig Gebhard (1867–1961), member of parliament, and Miina Sillanpää (1866–1952), Minister of Social Affairs, in 1910. The term 'minister' also is used in diplomacy, for a diplomat of the second class, such as in the title Minister Plenipotentiary, ranking between an Ambassador and a Minister Resident. The term minister comes from Middle English, deriving from the Old French word , originally in Latin, meaning "servant, attendant", which itself was derived from the word '' meaning "less". ==Types of ministers and their name==

Various countries form ministries as Cabinets (see List of cabinets). Other cabinets are usually included in Politics of ..-articles • Lists of incumbents groups lists of ministers by country Specific ministers include: • Agriculture minister • Commerce minister • Communications minister • Culture minister • Defence minister • Deputy prime minister • Education minister • Energy minister • Environment minister • Finance minister • Foreign minister • Housing minister • Health minister • Industry minister • Interior minister • Justice minister • Labour minister • Prime minister • Public works minister • Science minister • Sports minister • Tourism minister • Transport minister Some ministers may hold multiple portfolios and lead several ministries simultaneously, while multiple ministers with separate portfolios may oversee a single ministry, or may also share both ministerial and deputy-ministerial portfolios in different ministries. Some ministers may be more senior than others, and some may hold the title "assistant minister" or "deputy minister". Some jurisdictions, with a large number of ministers, may designate ministers to be either in the inner or outer ministry or cabinet. A cabinet minister can sometimes be in charge of no ministry at all, and is then known as a "minister without portfolio". ==See also==