A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific
responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The
sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments
and a cabinet with decision-making authority wherein a minister without
portfolio, while he or she may not head any particular office or ministry, does
have the right to cast a vote in cabinet decisions. In some countries where the
executive branch is not composed of a coalition of parties and, more often, in
countries with purely presidential systems of government, such as the
United States, the position of minister without portfolio is uncommon.
Australia Stanley Bruce – former Prime Minister
Bangladesh Bangladesh appoints ministers without
portfolio during cabinet reshuffles or fresh appointments. Ministers are not
usually appointed without portfolio as a coalition negotiation – all long run
ministers end up with a portfolio. Bulgaria
Bozhidar Dimitrov Canada
While minister without portfolio is seen by some as a mere sinecure appointment,
it has been a role that numerous political notables have played over
time, including former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who filled the role in a
Pearson cabinet in the 1960s; John Turner also "kept a seat warm" in a
Pearson cabinet. Notable Conservatives who filled the role include R. B.
Bennett, and Arthur Meighen; however, Meighen served this role after he had
been prime minister. The title of minister without portfolio
has been used off and on; in recent times, though, the title has fallen out
of favour, and the last minister without portfolio, Gilles Lamontagne, was
promoted to postmaster general in 1978. The practice has continued under the
guise of ministers of state without responsibilities in the ministers'
titles. The position has also been filled on the
federal or provincial level by experienced politicians near the end of
their careers as a way of allowing them to counsel the government and take on
projects without the burdens associated with administering a government
department. Denmark
Three "control ministers" served as ministers without portfolio during World
War I. After the Liberation of Denmark in May
1945, the first Danish cabinet included four ministers without portfolio. Among
these were Danish ambassador to the U.S. Henrik Kauffmann, who had conducted his
own foreign policy throughout the war and refused to follow orders from
Copenhagen as long as Denmark remained occupied by a foreign power. Kauffmann
served in this capacity from 12 May to 7 November 1945. The three other holders
of this title had joined the cabinet a few days before - Aksel Larsen, Kr. Juul
Christensen and Frode Jakobsen. Lise Østergaard held a position as
minister without portfolio with special attention to foreign policy issues in
Anker Jørgensen's cabinet from 26 February 1977 to 28 February 1980.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen appointed Bertel Haarder to Minister without Portfolio,
but effectively Minister for European Affairs. Haarder served in this capacity
from 27 November 2001 to 18 February 2005. The reason for appointing a
minister without a ministry was the Danish European Union Presidency of
2002. Haarder was considered the most experienced Danish politician on
European affairs. Germany
Hermann Göring Rudolf Hess
Arthur Seyss-Inquart Hjalmar Schacht
Since 1949, a Federal Minister for Special Affairs is a member of the
Federal Government that does not have charge of a Federal Ministry, although
some have simultaneously been Chief of the Federal Chancellor's Office.
Hungary Tamás Fellegi
India K. Natwar Singh
Ireland The Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1939
allows a member of the Government of Ireland not to have charge of a
Department of State; such a person is referred to as a "Minister without
portfolio". Such a minister may nevertheless be given a specific title.
The only substantive minister without portfolio has been Frank Aiken, the
Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures during World War II.
By the Emergency Powers Act 1939 then in force, the Minister for Defence was able
to delegate some competences to him. Such delegation is now done instead with
Ministers of State: "junior ministers" who are not members of the government.
Junior ministers can be given a right to sit at cabinet; they are often known
colloquially as "super-juniors." This allows the Government to circumvent the
Constitutional limit on the number of Senior Ministers.
On several occasions a minister has been appointed to an incoming government with
the title of a new Department of State. Between the date of appointment and the
date of creation of the department, such a minister was technically a minister
without portfolio. Examples include: Israel
It is common practice in Israel to appoint ministers without portfolio as
part of the coalition negotiations. All cabinets in recent years have had at
least some such appointment. The Governance Law passed in 2013 forbade
Ministers Without Portfolio effectively ending the practice, however in spite of
some objections, after the 2015 elections this issue was revisited in
the Knesset and it was allowed for the practice to resume. The full
alphabetical list of Ministers without Portfolio since 1949 is:
Italy In the Italian government, Ministers
without Portfolio are nominated by the President of the Council of Ministers
and formally appointed by the President of the Republic to lead particular
departments directly under the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
Unlike the office of State Undersecretary to the Presidency, who
fulfils duties in the Prime Minister's remit, Ministers without Portfolio enjoy
the full status of ministers but do not lead an independent ministry.
Departments on equalities, European affairs and relations with regions, for
example, are usually led by ministers without portfolio.
The Monti Cabinet had 6 ministers without portfolio:
Dino Piero Giarda Fabrizio Barca
Piero Gnudi Enzo Moavero Milanesi
Andrea Riccardi Filippo Patroni Griffi
The Letta Cabinet had 8 ministers without portfolio:
Josefa Idem Cécile Kyenge
Giampiero D'Alia Dario Franceschini
Enzo Moavero Milanesi Graziano Delrio
Carlo Triglia Gaetano Quagliariello
The Renzi Cabinet has 3 ministers without portfolio:
Maria Elena Boschi Marianna Madia
Maria Carmela Lanzetta Republic of Macedonia
As of 2012, ministers without portfolio are:
Hadži Neziri Nedžet Mustafa
Vele Samak Bil Pavleski
Nepal Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat.
Netherlands A Minister without Portfolio in the
Netherlands is a minister that does not head a specific ministry, but assumes
the same power and responsibilities as a minister that does. The minister is
responsible for a specific part of another minister's policy field. In that
sense, a minister without portfolio is comparable to a staatssecretaris in
Dutch politics, who also falls under another ministry and is responsible for
a specific part of that minister's policy field. However, one distinct
difference is the fact that a minister without portfolio is a member of the
council of ministers and can vote in it, whereas a state secretary is not. The
minister for development cooperation has always been a minister without
portfolio. In the second Balkenende cabinet there
were three ministers without portfolio: Agnes van Ardenne, Rita Verdonk and
Alexander Pechtold. In the fourth Balkenende cabinet there
were three ministers without portfolio: Eberhard van der Laan, Bert Koenders and
André Rouvoet, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Youth and Family.
The second Rutte cabinet has two ministers without portfolio: Stef Blok
and Lilianne Ploumen. New Zealand
In the First Labour Government from 1935 the Hon. Mark Fagan was a "Minister
without Portfolio" from 1935 to 1939, as was the Hon. David Wilson from 1939 to
1949. They were appointed to the upper house and made a "minister without
portfolio" to add them to the cabinet although neither were elected to a seat
in Parliament. In the Third National Government, Keith
Holyoake was made a Minister of State 1975–77 after he had retired as party
leader, and in the Fourth National Government Robin Gray was made a
Minister of State 1993–96 after he had retired as Speaker. Both appointments
were considered sinecures to avoid their return as 'backbenchers'.
Norway From 2009 to 2013 Karl Eirik
Schjøtt-Pedersen was a Minister without Portfolio and Chief of Staff in the
Prime Ministers Office, where his job was to co-ordinate within government.
Philippines During the Japanese Occupation of the
Philippines, then-Senate President Manuel Roxas was appointed Minister
without Portfolio by the Japanese Government.
Portugal Following the Carnation revolution,
several politicians were made ministers without portfolio:
Álvaro Cunhal Ernesto Melo Antunes
Francisco Pereira de Moura Francisco Sá Carneiro
Joaquim Magalhães Mota Jorge Campinos
Mário Soares Vítor Alves
Serbia From 2007 to 2008, Dragan Đilas was a
"minister without portfolio" in charge of the National Investment Plan.
Republic of China In the Executive Yuan of the Republic of
China there are several such ministers, at one time. Currently, the ministers
without portfolio are: Lin Junq-tzer, also serving as the
Governor of Taiwan Province Joyce Feng
Jaclyn Tsai, also serving as the Minister of Mongolian and Tibetan
Affairs Commission Hsu Chun-yat
Woody Duh, also serving as the Governor of Fujian Province and Minister of
National Development Council Yeh Shin-cheng
Yan Hong-sen Hsiao Chia-chi
Sweden Dag Hammarskjöld.
Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete appointed
Professor Mark Mwandosya as a minister without portfolio in 2012.
United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, it is often a
cabinet position, and is sometimes used to get people such as the Chairman of
the Conservative Party or the Labour Party Chairman into cabinet meetings.
The sinecure positions of Lord Privy Seal and Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster which have few responsibilities and have a higher rank
in the Order of Precedence than Minister without Portfolio can also be used for
similar effect. = 19th century=
= Edwardian and wartime= = Post-War=
= 21st century= United States
In the United States, an individual who has great influence on government
affairs without holding formal office might be described as a "minister
without portfolio". Such an appellation is completely unofficial and merely
serves to underscore the extent of the individual's already-existing influence;
it does not grant any new influence or power. Examples include Bernard Baruch
and Arthur Burns. As the Vice President of the United
States influences policy insofar as the president allows, the role of vice
president is similar to that of a minister without portfolio.
References External links
List of Canadian Ministers Without Portfolio and Ministers of State
Taiwanese Ministers Without Portfolio