Dfyjkt

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, still receives a ministerial salary and has 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 (or an equivalent position) is uncommon.

Australia

Stanley Bruce was given the title of Minister without Portfolio when he took up his position in 1932 as the Commonwealth Minister in London. He was given the title by Lyon's Cabinet so that he could better represent the PM and his colleagues free from the limitations of a portfolio. In this case the title was a promotion and carried considerable responsibilities.^[1]

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. Suranjit Sengupta was a minister without portfolio in Sheikh Hasina's second government.^[2]

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.

Croatia

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 (Communist Party of Denmark), Kr. Juul Christensen (Danish Unity) and Frode Jakobsen (Social Democrats).

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.

Estonia

• 
  Jaan Tõnisson (1918) (provisional government)


• 
  Karl Ast (1924–1925)


• 
  Juhan Kaarlimäe (1944)


• 
  Johannes Sikkar (1952–1953) (in exile)


• 
  Artur Terras (1952–1953) (in exile)


• 
  Aksel Mark (1956–1962) (in exile)


• 
  Arvo Horm (1956–1964) (in exile)


• 
  Peeter Panksep (1956–1964) (in exile)


• 
  Eduard Leetmaa (1959–1962) (in exile; appointed, but did not enter office)


• 
  Ivar Grünthal (1962–1964) (in exile)


• 
  Renate Kaasik (1971–1990) (in exile)


• 
  Verner Hans Puurand (1973–1977) (in exile)


• 
  Jaan Timusk (1973–1990) (in exile)


• 
  Ants Pallop (1973–1992) (in exile)


• 
  Arvo Horm (1977–1992) (in exile)


• 
  Ivar Paljak (1985–1990) (in exile)


• 
  Olev Olesk (1986–1990) (in exile)


• 
  Endel Lippmaa (1990–1991) (interim government)


• Artur Kuznetsov (1990–1991) (interim government)


• 
  Klara Hallik (1992) (interim government)


• 
  Arvo Niitenberg (1992) (interim government)


• 
  Jüri Luik (1992–1993)


• 
  Peeter Olesk (1993–1994)


• 
  Eiki Nestor (1994–1995)


• 
  Arvo Niitenberg (1994–1995)


• 
  Ants Leemets (1995)


• 
  Jaak Allik (1995–1996)


• 
  Endel Lippmaa (1995–1996)


• 
  Tiit Kubri (1995–1997)


• 
  Riivo Sinijärv (1996)


• 
  Andra Veidemann (1996–1999)


• 
  Peep Aru (1997–1999)


• 
  Katrin Saks (1999–2003)


• 
  Toivo Asmer (1999–2003)


• 
  Eldar Efendijev (2002–2003)


• 
  Paul-Eerik Rummo (2003–2007)


• 
  Jaan Õunapuu (2003–2007)


• 
  Urve Palo (2007–2009)


• 
  Urmas Kruuse (2014)


• 
  Anne Sulling (2014)

Germany

• 
  Hermann Göring (1933)


• Rudolf Hess


• 
  Arthur Seyss-Inquart (1939–1945)


• 
  Hjalmar Schacht (1939–1943)

Since 1949, a Federal Minister for Special Affairs (Bundesminister für besondere Aufgaben) 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

• Zsolt Semjén


• Tamás Fellegi

India

• 
  V. K. Krishna Menon - Nehru government^[3]


• 
  Mamata Banerjee - Vajpayee government^[4]


• 
  Natwar Singh - Manmohan Singh government^[3]


• 
  Arun Jaitley - Narendra Modi Government ^[5]

Indonesia

Since the inception of the state, Indonesia had ministers without portfolio, usually given the title Menteri Negara ('State Minister'). The number was not fixed, entirely depended on the behest of the President. Below is the list of Ministers without Portfolio in each Cabinet.

Presidential Cabinet (19 August 1945–14 November 1945)

• Mohammad Amir


• Abdul Wahid Hasyim


• Sartono


• Alexander Andries Maramis


• Mohammad Amir


• Oto Iskandar di Nata

First Sjahrir Cabinet (11 November 1945–28 February 1946)

• Rasjidi

Second Sjahrir Cabinet (12 March 1946–2 October 1946)

• Wikana

Third Sjahrir Cabinet (5 October 1946–27 July 1947)

• Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwana IX


• Abdul Wahid Hasyim


• Wikana


• Dr. Soedarsono


• Tan Po Gwan


• Setiabudi

Ireland

The Ministers and Secretaries Act^[6] 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" (Irish: Aire gan Cúram Roinne).^[7] 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.^[8] By the Emergency Powers Act 1939 then in force, the Minister for Defence was able to delegate some competences to him.^[9][10] Such delegation is now done instead^{[citation needed]} 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.^[11] 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 (Prime Minister) and formally appointed by the President of the Republic to lead particular departments directly under the Presidency (or Presidium) 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 (Relations with Parliament)


• 
  Fabrizio Barca (Territorial cohesion)


• 
  Piero Gnudi (Regional affairs, Tourism and Sport)


• 
  Enzo Moavero Milanesi (European affairs)


• 
  Andrea Riccardi (Integration and International cooperation)


• 
  Filippo Patroni Griffi (Public Administration and Law simplification)

The Letta Cabinet had 8 ministers without portfolio:

• 
  Josefa Idem (Equal opportunities, Sport and Youth policy; resigned in June)


• 
  Cécile Kyenge (Integration and Youth Policy)


• 
  Giampiero D'Alia (Public Administration)


• 
  Dario Franceschini (Relations with Parliament)


• Enzo Moavero Milanesi (European affairs)


• 
  Graziano Delrio (Regional affairs and Sport)


• 
  Carlo Triglia (Territorial cohesion)


• 
  Gaetano Quagliariello (Constitutional reforms)

The Renzi Cabinet had 3 ministers without portfolio:

• 
  Maria Elena Boschi (Constitutional Reforms and Parliamentary Relations)


• 
  Marianna Madia (Simplification of Public Administration)


• 
  Maria Carmela Lanzetta (2014–2015)^[19] (Regional Affairs)

Macedonia

As of 2017, ministers without portfolio (министер без ресор) are:

• Ramiz Merko


• Edmond Ademi


• Robert Popovski


• Zoran Sapurik


• Zorica Apostolovska


• Adnan Kahil


• Samka Ibraimovski

Malta

• 
  Joe Mizzi (1996–1998)


• 
  Konrad Mizzi (2016-2017) On April 28, 2016, following the appearance of his name in the Panama Papers leaks, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced in a press conference at the Auberge de Castille that Konrad Mizzi was to be removed from the position of Health and Energy Minister. Mizzi would however retain the title of Minister without portfolio, working within the Office of the Prime Minister.^[20][21]

Nepal

Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat.^[22]

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 (state secretary or junior minister) 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 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 (Development Cooperation), Rita Verdonk (Integration and Immigration) and Alexander Pechtold (Government Reform and Kingdom Relations).

In the fourth Balkenende cabinet there were three ministers without portfolio: Eberhard van der Laan (Housing, Neighbourhoods and Integration), Bert Koenders (Development Cooperation) and André Rouvoet, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Youth and Family.

The second Rutte cabinet had two ministers without portfolio: Stef Blok (Housing and the Central Government Sector) and Lilianne Ploumen (Development Cooperation).

The third Rutte cabinet has four ministers without portfolio: Sigrid Kaag (Development Cooperation), Sander Dekker (Legal Protection), Bruno Bruins (Medical Care), and Arie Slob (Primary and Secondary Education and Media).

New Zealand

In the First Labour Government from 1935 Mark Fagan was a "Minister without Portfolio" from 1935 to 1939, as was 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 (though he was also Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs). Both appointments were considered sinecures to avoid their return as 'backbenchers'.

Norway

From 2009 to 2013 Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen (Labour) 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.^{[citation needed]}

Portugal

Following the Carnation revolution, several politicians were made ministers without portfolio:

• 
  Álvaro Cunhal (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th provisional government)


• 
  Ernesto Melo Antunes (2nd, 3rd provisional government)


• 
  Francisco Pereira de Moura (1st, 4th provisional government)


• 
  Francisco Sá Carneiro (1st provisional government)


• 
  Joaquim Magalhães Mota (2nd, 3rd, 4th provisional government)


• 
  Jorge Campinos (1st constitutional government)


• 
  Mário Soares (4th provisional government)


• 
  Vítor Alves (2nd, 3rd provisional government)

Serbia

From 2007 to 2008, Dragan Đilas was a "minister without portfolio" in charge of the National Investment Plan.

• 
  Milan Krkobabić (2016)


• 
  Slavica Đukić Dejanović (2017)


• 
  Nenad Popović (2017)

Taiwan

In the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China, there are several such ministers, at one time. Currently, the ministers without portfolio are:^[23]

• Audrey Tang


• 
  Chang Ching-sen, also serving as Governor of Fujian Province
  


• 
  Chen Mei-ling, also serving as Minister of National Development Council
  


• John Deng


• Lo Ping-cheng


• Lin Wan-i


• Wu Tsung-tsong


• 
  Wu Tze-cheng, also serving as Minister of Public Construction Commission
  

Sweden

• 
  Dag Hammarskjöld (1951–1953).


• 
  Olof Palme (1963–1965).^[24]

Tanzania

President Jakaya Kikwete appointed Professor Mark Mwandosya as a minister without portfolio in 2012.

United Kingdom

United Kingdom Minister without Portfolio
Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government
Flag of the United Kingdom
Incumbent Brandon Lewis MP since 8 January 2018
Cabinet Office
Style	The Right Honourable
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Nominator	The Prime Minister
Appointer	The British Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	William Cavendish
Formation	January 1805
Website	GOV.UK

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 (if so, they hold the title of "Party Chairman"). 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.

Currently the Minister without Portfolio is responsible for Cabinet Office Brexit preparedness and legislation and attends several committees in this capacity. The role also attends Cabinet.

19th century

Name		Portrait	Concurrent office(s)	Tenure	Political party	Prime Minister
	William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland			January 1805 – February 1806	Whig		William Pitt the Younger
	William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam			October 1806 – March 1807			William Grenville (Ministry of All the Talents)
	William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland			4 – 30 October 1809	Tory		Spencer Perceval
	Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby			November 1809 – June 1812	Tory (Pittite)
	John Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden (created 1st Marquess Camden, August 1812)			8 April – December 1812	Tory
							Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool
	Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave			January 1819 – May 1820
	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne			April – July 1827	Whig		George Canning
	William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland			July – September 1827	Tory (Canningite)
	George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle			22 November 1830 – 5 June 1834	Whig		Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington			3 September 1841 – July 1846	Conservative		Robert Peel
	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne			28 December 1852 – 21 February 1858	Whig		George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (until February 1855)
							Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
	Lord John Russell			February 1853 – June 1854			George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
	Spencer Horatio Walpole			May 1867 – February 1868	Conservative		Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
	Michael Hicks Beach			7 March 1887 – 20 February 1888			Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

Edwardian and wartime

Name		Portrait	Concurrent office(s)	Tenure	Political party	Prime Minister
	Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne			25 May 1915 – December 1916	Liberal Unionist		H. H. Asquith (Coalition)
	Arthur Henderson		Member of the War Cabinet	10 December 1916 – 12 August 1917	Labour		David Lloyd George (Coalition)
	Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner			10 December 1916 – 18 April 1918	Conservative
	Jan Smuts			22 June 1917 – 10 January 1919	South African Party
	Edward Carson			17 July 1917 – 21 January 1918	Ulster Unionist Party (Irish Unionist)
	George Barnes		Member of the War Cabinet (until October 1919)	13 August 1917 – 27 January 1920	Labour
	Austen Chamberlain		Member of the War Cabinet	18 April 1918 – 10 January 1919	Conservative
	Eric Campbell Geddes			10 January – 31 October 1919
	Laming Worthington-Evans		Member of the War Cabinet (until October 1919)	10 January 1919 – 13 February 1921
	Christopher Addison			1 April – 14 July 1921	Liberal
	Anthony Eden		Minister for League of Nations affairs	7 June – 22 December 1935	Conservative		Stanley Baldwin (Coalition)
	Eustace Percy			7 June 1935 – 31 March 1936
	Leslie Burgin		Minister of Supply-designate	21 April – 14 July 1939	National Liberal Party		Neville Chamberlain (Coalition)
Maurice Hankey			Member of the War Cabinet	September 1939 – 10 May 1940	no party		Neville Chamberlain (Coalition)
	Arthur Greenwood			11 May 1940 – 22 February 1942	Labour		Winston Churchill (Coalition)
	William Jowitt			30 December 1942 – 8 October 1944

Post-war

Name		Portrait	Concurrent office(s)		Tenure	Political party	Prime Minister
	A. V. Alexander				4 October – 20 December 1946	Labour Co-operative		Clement Attlee
	Arthur Greenwood				17 April – 29 September 1947	Labour
	Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster				18 October 1954 – 1957	Conservative		Winston Churchill
								Anthony Eden
	Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft				11 June 1957 – 1958			Harold Macmillan
	Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, 11th Earl of Dundee				23 October 1958 – 1961	Unionist
	Percy Mills, 1st Baron Mills			Deputy Leader of the House of Lords	9 October 1961 – 14 July 1962	Conservative
	Bill Deedes				13 July 1962 – 16 October 1964
								Alec Douglas-Home
	Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington			Leader of the House of Lords	20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964
	Eric Fletcher				19 October 1964 – 6 April 1966	Labour		Harold Wilson
	Arthur Champion, Baron Champion			Deputy Leader of the House of Lords	21 October 1964 – 7 January 1967
	Douglas Houghton				6 April 1966 – 7 January 1967
	Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton			Deputy Leader of the House of Lords	7 January 1967 – 16 January 1968
	Patrick Gordon Walker				7 January – 21 August 1967
	George Thomson				17 October 1968 – 6 October 1969
	Peter Shore				6 October 1969 – 19 June 1970
	Niall Macpherson, 1st Baron Drumalbyn				15 October 1970 – 1974	Unionist		Edward Heath
	Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare				8 January – March 1974	Conservative
	David Young, Baron Young of Graffham		advising on unemployment		11 September 1984 – 3 September 1985			Margaret Thatcher
	Jeremy Hanley		Chairman of the Conservative Party		20 July 1994 – 5 July 1995			John Major
	Brian Mawhinney				5 July 1995 – 2 May 1997
	Peter Mandelson		called the "Dome Secretary"		2 May 1997 – 27 July 1998	Labour		Tony Blair

21st century

Name		Portrait	Concurrent office(s)	Tenure	Political party	Prime Minister
	Charles Clarke		Labour Party Chair	9 June 2001 – October 2002	Labour		Tony Blair
	John Reid			24 October 2002 – April 2003
	Ian McCartney			4 April 2003 – May 2006
	Hazel Blears			5 May 2006 – June 2007
no appointment				28 June 2007 – May 2010			Gordon Brown
	Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi		Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party	12 May 2010 – September 2012	Conservative		David Cameron (Coalition)
	Grant Shapps			4 September 2012 – May 2015
	Kenneth Clarke		Trade envoy	4 September 2012 – July 2014
	John Hayes		Senior Parliamentary Adviser to the Prime Minister (Cabinet Office)	28 March 2013 – July 2014
	Robert Halfon		Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party	11 May 2015 – 17 July 2016			David Cameron
	no appointment			17 July 2016 - 8 January 2018			Theresa May
	Brandon Lewis		Chairman of the Conservative Party	8 January 2018 – present

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 (possibly intended jokingly or disparagingly) 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^[25] and Arthur Burns.^[26]

Uganda

Since 2015, the cabinet list has included a minister without portfolio:

• 
  Abraham Byandala – 2015 until 2016


• 
  Abdul Nadduli – 2016 to present

References

External links

• 
  List of Canadian Ministers Without Portfolio and Ministers of State (Parliament of Canada Website)


• Taiwanese Ministers Without Portfolio