A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
rotates or changes the composition of
ministers in their
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
, or when the
Head of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...
s, than in systems where cabinet heads must be confirmed by a separate legislative body, and occur at pleasure in
autocratic systems without suitable checks-and-balances.
A shadow cabinet reshuffle may take place to change positions in a
shadow cabinet.
In parliamentary systems
Cabinet reshuffles happen in
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...
s for a variety of reasons. Periodically, smaller reshuffles are needed to replace ministers who have resigned, retired or died. Reshuffles are also a way for a premier to "refresh" the government,
often in the face of poor polling numbers; remove poor performers; and reward supporters and punish others. It is common after elections, even if the party in power is retained, as the prime minister's reading of public opinion as evidenced by the election may require some change in policy, in addition to any changes resulting from the retirement or defeat of individual ministers at the election. Similarly, when a new prime minister enters office from the same party as the previous one, he or she might appoint a very different ministry than that of his or her predecessor to reflect a change in policies and priorities; an example is
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
's
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
, formed on 28 June 2007 after the departure of
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
the previous day.
A reshuffle also provides an opportunity to create, abolish and rename departments (and ministerial posts) and to reassign responsibilities among departments. This may be done to reflect new priorities or for reasons of efficiency.
Canada
*
2018 Canadian cabinet reshuffle
The Twenty-Ninth Canadian Ministry is the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament. The original members were sworn in during a ceremony held at Rideau H ...
*
2021 Canadian cabinet reshuffle
The Twenty-Ninth Canadian Ministry is the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament. The original members were sworn in during a ceremony held at Rideau H ...
India
*
2021 Indian cabinet reshuffle
On 7 July 2021 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out a reshuffle of his ministry.
Background
Modi carried out 3 cabinet reshuffles during his first ministry. The cabinet reshuffle of 2021 is the first cabinet reshuffle of the second ...
United Kingdom
*
Night of the Long Knives (1962)
In British politics, the "Night of the Long Knives" was a major Cabinet reshuffle that took place on 13 July 1962. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet, one-third of the total. The speed and scale of the reshu ...
*
2006 British cabinet reshuffle
Following poor results for the Labour Party in the local elections in England on 4 May 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a cabinet reshuffle the following day.
Changes Secretary of State for the Home Department
John Reid moved from ...
*
2012 British cabinet reshuffle
British prime minister David Cameron conducted the first major reshuffle of his coalition government on 4 September 2012. The reshuffle, nearly two and a half years after the government was sworn in, was highly anticipated, and eschewed the tre ...
*
2014 British cabinet reshuffle
British prime minister David Cameron reshuffled the Conservative members of his coalition government on 15 July 2014. The reshuffle, intended to strengthen his party's position in advance of the 2015 general election, had been long anticipa ...
*
2018 British cabinet reshuffle
Theresa May carried out the first reshuffle of her minority government in January 2018. Following the resignation of her deputy, Damian Green as First Secretary of State in December 2017, the reshuffle had been highly anticipated and briefed in ...
*
2020 British cabinet reshuffle
Boris Johnson carried out the first significant reshuffle of his majority government on 13 February 2020. Following the December 2019 general election, there was considerable speculation that Johnson was planning a major reshuffle of the Cab ...
*
2021 British cabinet reshuffle
Boris Johnson carried out the second significant reshuffle of his majority government from 15 September to 18 September 2021, having last done so in February 2020.
Cabinet-level changes
Junior ministerial changes
Whips' Office appo ...
*
July 2022 British cabinet reshuffle
Boris Johnson carried out the third significant reshuffle of his majority government (the Second Johnson ministry) from 5 to 8 July 2022, having last done so in September 2021. This was a direct result of the July 2022 United Kingdom governmen ...
*
September 2022 British cabinet reshuffle
Liz Truss was invited by Queen Elizabeth II—two days before the monarch's death—to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister of the United Kingdom on 6 September 2022. Johnson resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day a ...
*
October 2022 British cabinet reshuffle
Rishi Sunak was invited by King Charles III to replace Liz Truss as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 25 October 2022, following Truss's resignation and the subsequent Conservative leadership election. The Sunak ministry was formed from ...
Shadow Cabinet reshuffle
*
2016 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
*
May 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet on 9 May 2021. This followed disappointing results for the Labour Party, including historic defeat in the Hartlepool by-election a ...
*
November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
On 29 November 2021, Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet. The slimmed down shadow cabinet, was seen to be Starmer creating a top team in his own image.
The major outcome ...
In other democratic systems
Cabinet reshuffles are far less common in systems where members of the Cabinet are not drawn from the
legislative branch
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
. In such systems there is a far larger pool of viable candidates to choose a cabinet from. Members of such cabinets are usually chosen on account of their qualifications to run a specific portfolio, so moving these cabinet members to different portfolios at a later time usually makes little sense.
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(a
presidential system), it would be very unusual for a president to reassign multiple
cabinet secretaries to new positions, especially since a
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...
member moved to a new position within the cabinet needs to be confirmed in the new role by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
—this alone is seen as a powerful deterrent against U.S. presidents initiating major cabinet reshuffles. On an individual basis, however, U.S. Cabinet members will occasionally change departments—for example,
Norman Mineta
Norman Yoshio Mineta ( ja, 峯田 良雄, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the United States Cabinet for Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. Bush, a ...
served as
Secretary of Commerce under
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
before becoming
Secretary of Transportation
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...
for Clinton's successor,
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
.
In France (a
semi-presidential system within the framework of the contemporary
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic (french: Cinquième République) is France's current republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged from ...
), the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
may tend their resignation to the
President of the Republic, who then selects a successor. The new Prime minister then proposes a list of ministers to the President, who may approve the list or request changes. After the list is approved, the new
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
is put in office. The same practice may be used to change several ministers in one sweep while retaining the same Prime Minister, in which case the President simply selects the incumbent as their own successor. Such successive governments with one same Prime Minister are named after the head of government and numbered (for instance "
Rocard I and "Rocard II" or "
Ayrault I and Ayrault II" see
List of prime ministers of France).
In undemocratic systems
Cabinet reshuffles occur at the pleasure of
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...
s or
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
s in
autocratic systems, which lack the checks-and-balances of systems with greater citizen or legislative control.
See also
*
2006 United Kingdom Cabinet reshuffle
Following poor results for the Labour Party in the local elections in England on 4 May 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a cabinet reshuffle the following day.
Changes Secretary of State for the Home Department
John Reid moved from ...
*
*
Musical chairs
Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. It is a staple of many parties worldwide.
Gameplay
A set of chairs is arranged with one fewer chair than the number of players ...
*
Night of the Long Knives (1962)
In British politics, the "Night of the Long Knives" was a major Cabinet reshuffle that took place on 13 July 1962. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet, one-third of the total. The speed and scale of the reshu ...
References
External links
* {{Wiktionary-inline, reshuffle