Minister

  • Law, policy, and regulation
  • Legal actor

Definition

A prominent government officer appointed to manage an executive or administrative department and head of a ministry.

A minister might have two roles: (1) a minister has an executive function to head the ministry that administers and oversees the implementation of laws or primary texts created through legislative action; (2) as an elected representative with the capacity to introduce bills and debate them in a parliament-type body (if this were the case it would be considered a legislative function).

Example: Minister of Health, Minister of Industry.

References

See also, executive, legislature, federal, primary texts, bill, policy, regulatory agency, secondary texts, guideline, decree, rules and regulations, standards in the primer on public law and regulation.

Adapted from Bryan A. Garner (eds), Black’s law Dictionary, 11th ed., 2019, West Group, ISBN: 978-1539229759