Foreign minister

A Foreign Minister or Minister of Foreign Affairs is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations.

World contexts

Difference in titles

In some nations, such as India, the Foreign Minister is referred to as the Minister for External Affairs or, as in the case of Brazil and of the former Soviet Union, as the Minister of External Relations. In the United States the equivalent to the foreign ministry is called the Department of State, and the equivalent position is known as the Secretary of State. Other common titles may include minister of foreign relations. In many Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, the foreign minister is colloquially called canciller (chancellor).

Powers of position

A foreign minister's powers can vary from government to government. In a classic parliamentary system, a foreign minister can potentially exert significant influence in forming foreign policy but when the government is dominated by a strong prime minister the foreign minister may be limited to playing a more marginal or subsidiary role in determining policy. Similarly, the political powers invested in the foreign minister are often more limited in presidential governments with a strong executive. Since the end of World War II, it has been common for both the foreign minister and defense minister to be part of an inner cabinet (commonly known as a national security council) in order to coordinate defense and diplomatic policy. Although the 19th and early 20th centuries saw many heads of government assume the foreign ministry, this practice has since become uncommon in most developed nations.

Responsibilities

Along with their political roles, foreign ministers are also traditionally responsible for many diplomatic duties, such as hosting foreign world leaders and going on state visits to other countries. The foreign minister is generally the most well-traveled member of any cabinet.

• In the United Kingdom, the minister responsible for foreign policy (as well as the British overseas territories) is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Foreign Secretary). Before 1968, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs only handled relations with foreign (non-Commonwealth) countries, while relations with Commonwealth countries and colonies were handled by the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs. For the same reason, in Commonwealth countries other than the United Kingdom, the ministers responsible for handling relations with both Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth countries were formerly usually designated ministers for 'External Affairs'.

• In the United States, the United States Secretary of State handles foreign policy and is the senior Cabinet officer. The name of the post comes from several domestic duties.

Although it is very rare for there to be any sub-national foreign minister post, although sometimes there is a minor external relations position, it can exist supranationally. The European Union has dealt with external relations in certain areas since its inception (see EU Trade Commissioner) and has a High Representative as its chief diplomat. However her duties are primarily to implement EU Foreign Policy, rather than formulate it.

Related articles and lists

By year

• 1950
• 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
• 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
• 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Country and territory-related articles and lists

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Country, territory, partially recognised country or other entity	Name of office	Head of the office
Afghanistan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Albania	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Algeria	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Andorra	Ministry of External Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Institutional Relations
Angola	Ministry of External Relations	Minister of External Relations
Antigua and Barbuda	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Argentina	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship	Ministers of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship
Armenia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Australia	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Austria	Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs	Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs
Azerbaijan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Bahamas	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration
Bahrain	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Bangladesh	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Barbados	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Belarus	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Belgium	Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs, External Trade and European Affairs
Belize	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Benin	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and African Integration	Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, La Francophonie, and Beninese Abroad
Bhutan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Bolivia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Chancellor
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Botswana	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Brazil	Ministry of External Relations	Minister of External Relations
Brunei	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Bulgaria	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Burkina Faso	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation
Burundi	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Cambodia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Cameroon	Ministry of External Relations	Minister of External Relations
Canada	Department of Global Affairs	Minister of Global Affairs
Cape Verde	Ministry of External Affairs	Minister of External Affairs
Central African Republic	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, La Francophonie Affairs, and Central Africans Abroad	Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, La Francophonie Affairs, and Central Africans Abroad
Chad	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and African Integration
Chile	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
China	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hong Kong	Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Commerce and Economic Development Bureau Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau	Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Macau	Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region Secretariat for Economy and Finance Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture	Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region Secretary of Economy and Finance of Macau Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macau
Colombia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Comoros	Ministry of External Relations, of Cooperation, in Charge of the Diaspora, of la Francophonie and of the Arab World	Minister of External Relations, of Cooperation, in Charge of the Diaspora, of la Francophonie and of the Arab World
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and La Francophonie
Republic of the Congo	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Cook Islands	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration
Costa Rica	Ministry of External Relations	Minister of External Relations and Worship
Côte d'Ivoire	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Croatia	Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs	Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
Cuba	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Cyprus	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Czech Republic	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Denmark	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Djibouti	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Dominica	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dominican Republic	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ecuador	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Integration	Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Integration
Egypt	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
El Salvador	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Equatorial Guinea	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and La Francophonie
Eritrea	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Estonia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ethiopia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
European Union	European External Action Service	High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Fiji	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Civil Aviation
Finland	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
France	Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development
Gabon	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, La Francophonie, in charge of NEPAD and Regional Integration
The Gambia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad	Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad
Georgia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Germany	Foreign Office	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ghana	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration
Greece	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Grenada	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Business	Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Business
Guatemala	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Guernsey	Policy Council	External Relations Team
Guinea	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Guineans Abroad
Guinea-Bissau	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Guyana	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Haiti	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship
Honduras	Secretariat of Foreign Affairs	Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Hungary	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Iceland	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
India	Ministry of External Affairs	Minister of External Affairs
Indonesia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Iran	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Iraq	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ireland	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
Israel	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Italy	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jamaica	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Japan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jersey	Ministry of External Relations	Minister for External Relations
Jordan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kazakhstan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Ministers of Foreign Affairs
Kenya	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Kiribati	Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Immigration	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration
North Korea	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
South Korea	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kosovo	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kuwait	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kyrgyzstan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Laos	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Latvia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Lebanon	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants
Lesotho	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations	Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Relations
Liberia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Libya	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Liechtenstein	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Lithuania	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Luxembourg	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of.	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Madagascar	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Malawi	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Malaysia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Maldives	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mali	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Malta	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Marshall Islands	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mauritania	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Mauritius	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade	Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade
Mexico	Secretariat of Foreign Affairs	Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Federated States of Micronesia	Department of Foreign Affairs, Overseas Embassies, Consulates, and Missions	Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Moldova	Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and European Integration	Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
Monaco	Department of External Relations	Government Counsellor for External Relations
Mongolia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Montenegro	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
Morocco	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Mozambique	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Myanmar	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Namibia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nauru	Department of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Health and Sport
Nepal	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs
The Netherlands	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
New Zealand	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nicaragua	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Niger	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and African Integration	Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, African Integration and Nigeriens Abroad
Nigeria	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Niue	Premiers Department	Minister of External Affairs
Northern Cyprus	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Norway	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Oman	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Pakistan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Palau	Ministry of State	Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Palestine	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Panama	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Papua New Guinea	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration	Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration
Paraguay	Ministry of Foreign Relations	Minister of Foreign Relations
Peru	Ministry of Foreign Relations	Minister of Foreign Relations
Philippines	Department of Foreign Affairs	Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Poland	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Portugal	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of State and Foreign Affairs
Qatar	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Romania	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Russia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Rwanda	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs, National Security, Labour, Immigration and Social Security
Saint Lucia	Ministry of External Affairs	Minister for External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Consumer Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Consumer Affairs
Samoa	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
San Marino	Secretariat of State for Foreign and Political Affairs	Secretary for Foreign Affairs
São Tomé and Príncipe	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities	Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities
Saudi Arabia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Senegal	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad
Serbia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Seychelles	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Sierra Leone	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Singapore	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Slovakia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
Slovenia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Solomon Islands	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade	Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade
Somalia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
South Africa	Department of International Relations and Cooperation	Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
South Ossetia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
South Sudan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Spain	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Sri Lanka	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sudan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Suriname	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Swaziland	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Sweden	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
Switzerland	Federal Department of Foreign Affairs	Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Syria	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates
Taiwan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Tajikistan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Tanzania	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Thailand	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Timor-Leste	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation	Minister of State and of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Togo	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Tonga	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs, Defence, Information and Communication
Transnistria	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Trinidad and Tobago	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Tunisia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Turkey	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Turkmenistan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Tuvalu	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs, Environment, Trade, Labour and Tourism
Uganda	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ukraine	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister for Foreign Affairs
United Arab Emirates	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
United Kingdom	Foreign and Commonwealth Office	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
United States	Department of State	Secretary of State
Uruguay	Ministry of Foreign Relations	Minister of Foreign Relations
Uzbekistan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Vanuatu	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade	Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade
Vatican City	Secretariat of State	Secretary for Relations with States
Venezuela	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of the Popular Participation for Foreign Affairs
Vietnam	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Yemen	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Zambia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism
Zimbabwe	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs

Former countries

Former country	Name of office	Head of the office
Austria-Hungary	Foreign Ministry	Foreign Ministers
Czechoslovakia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
East Germany	Ministry for Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Irish Free State	Department of External Affairs	Minister of External Affairs
Prussia		Minister of Foreign Affairs
Soviet Union	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs
Yugoslavia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Minister of Foreign Affairs

See also

• Diplomacy
• Secretary of State

External links

• eDiplomat.com: Foreign Affairs Ministries