Minister of the Crown

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Minister of the Crown

Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realm

Commonwealth Realm

A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 Sovereignty states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as their monarch....
s to describe a minister

Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the Cabinet , usually led by a monarch, Governor-General, or president....
to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves in theory at His/Her Majesty's Pleasure
At Her Majesty's Pleasure

At Her Majesty's pleasure is a legal term of art that is derived from the fact that the law's authority stems from the Crown. Originating from the United Kingdom, it is now used throughout the Commonwealth realms of the Commonwealth of Nations, though usually only in a traditional manner....
, and advises the monarch, or viceroy

Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king....
, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives relative to the minister's department or ministry

Ministry (government department)

A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a Political minister, but usually a Civil service, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or administrative organisations....
.

root of the presence of Crown ministers in the Commonwealth realms lies in medieval

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
England

England

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Encyclopedia

Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realm

Commonwealth Realm

A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 Sovereignty states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as their monarch....
s to describe a minister

Minister (government)

Viceroy

Ministry (government department)

History

The root of the presence of Crown ministers in the Commonwealth realms lies in medieval

Middle Ages

England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, where monarchs often headed cabinets, which consisted of ministers who advised the monarch and implemented his decisions. The term minister came into being as the sovereign's advisors ministered, or served, the will of the king. Over time, former ministers and other distinguished persons were retained as peripheral advisors with designated ministers having the direct ear of the king; this led to the creation of the larger Privy Council

Privy council

A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation on how to exercise their Executive , typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchy....
, with the Cabinet becoming a committee within the that body, made up of appointed ministers.

For a period between the accession of King James VI

James I of England

James VI and I was List of monarchs of Scotland as James VI, and List of English monarchs and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Kingdom of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary I of Scotland....
of Scotland

Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
to the throne of England

England

Acts of Union 1707

The Acts of Union were a pair of Act of Parliament passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England to put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries....
of Scotland

Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
and England in 1707, when the two states were in personal union

Personal union

A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states are governed by the same monarch, while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct....
, one monarch was advised by two separate sets of ministers of the Crown for each country. As the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, and other Dependent territory ruled or administered by the United Kingdom , that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries....
expanded, the colonial governments remained subordinate to the imperial government at Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of Central London, within the City of Westminster. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross....
, and thus the Crown remained ministered only by the Imperial Privy Council, made up of British Ministers of the Crown. When Canada became a Dominion

Dominion

A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomy polity that were nominally under United Kingdom sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations, from the late 19th century....
in 1867, however, a separate Canadian Privy Council

Queen's Privy Council for Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada , sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or the Privy Council, is the council of advisers to the Monarchy of Canada, whose members are appointed by the Governor General of Canada of Canada for life on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada....
was established to advise the Governor General

Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the viceroy representative in Canada of the Monarchy of Canada, who is the head of state. Canada is one of sixteen Commonwealth realms, all of which share the same person as their respective sovereign....
on the exercise of the Crown prerogative, though the viceroy remained an agent of the British government at Whitehall

Whitehall

Whitehall is a road in Westminster in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards traditional Charing Cross, now at the southern end of Trafalgar Square and marked by the statue of Charles I of England, which is often regarded as the heart of London....
. After that date, other colonies of the empire attained Dominion status and similar arrangements were made. Following the passage of the Statute of Westminster

Statute of Westminster 1931

The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and the United Kingdom, with a few residual exceptions....
in 1931, however, the empire was divided into autonomous kingdoms under one sovereign, thus returning the monarch to a position similar to that which existed pre-1707, where he or she was ministered by separate cabinets for each respective country. Thus, today no minister of the Crown in any Commonwealth realm

Commonwealth Realm

A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 Sovereignty states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom as their monarch....
can advise the monarch to exercise any powers pertaining to any of the other countries.

Ministries

Though the sovereign and/or viceroy is typically advised by a larger body known as a privy council or executive council, in practice it is a subset of the council, the collective body of ministers of the Crown, called the Ministry

Ministry (collective executive)

A ministry refers to a collective body of government minister s headed by a prime minister or premier. Although the term "cabinet " can in some circumstances be a synonym, a ministry can be a broader concept which might include office-holders that do not participate in cabinet meetings....
, which directly guides the monarch and/or governor. The Ministry should not be confused with the Cabinet, as ministers of the Crown may exist outside of this committee. The following are the present ministries of some of the Commonwealth realms, which list the incumbent ministers of the Crown.

65th Australian Ministry
First Rudd Ministry

The First Rudd Ministry of the Rudd Government is the 65th List of Australian ministries. The ministry was sworn in on 3 December 2007 by the Governor-General of Australia Major-General Michael Jeffery....
6th Barbadian Ministry
Ministries and Agencies of the Barbados Government

The Government of Barbados contains a number of Ministry and Agencies which control and govern various aspects of the country, these are known in Barbados as Government Ministries....
113th British Ministry
Brown Ministry

Gordon Brown is currently serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the United Kingdom. His Cabinet of the United Kingdom was formed after he took over from Tony Blair on 27 June 2007....
28th Canadian Ministry
14th New Zealand Ministry
Fifth National Government of New Zealand

The current government in New Zealand is led by the New Zealand National Party.The National Party and its allies won the New Zealand general election, 2008, taking over from Helen Clark's New Zealand Labour Party....

Minister of the Crown

History

Ministries

See also