A finance minister is an executive or
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 ...
position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's
portfolio
Portfolio may refer to:
Objects
* Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase
Collections
* Portfolio (finance)
In finance, a portfolio is a collection of investments
To invest is to allocate money
Image:National-Debt-Gillray.jpeg, ...
has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", "finance", "financial affairs", "economy" or "economic affairs". The position of the finance minister might be named for this portfolio, but it may also have some other name, like "Treasurer" or, in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Britain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to use Britain as shorth ...

, "
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to the chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the chief executive officer of HM Treasury, Her Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Grea ...
".
The duties of a finance minister differ between countries. Typically, they encompass one or more of
government finance,
fiscal policy
In economics
Economics () is a social science
Social science is the Branches of science, branch of science devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among individuals within those societies ...

, and
financial regulation
Financial regulation is a form of regulation
Regulation is the management of complex systems
A complex system is a system composed of many components which may interaction, interact with each other. Examples of complex systems are Earth's ...
, but there are significant differences between countries:
* in some countries the finance minister might also have oversight of
monetary policy
Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority
In finance and economics, a monetary authority is the entity that manages a country’s currency and money supply, often with the objective of controlling inflation targeting, infla ...

(while in other countries that is the responsibility of an independent
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the and of a or formal monetary union,
and oversees their . In contrast to a , a central bank possesses a on increasing the . Most central banks also have ...

);
* in some countries the finance minister might be assisted by one or more other ministers (some supported by a separate government department) with respect to fiscal policy or budget formation;
* in many countries there is a separate portfolio for general economic policy in the form of a ministry of "economic affairs" or "national economy" or "commerce";
* in many countries financial regulation is handled by a separate agency, which might be overseen by the finance ministry or some other government body.
Finance ministers are also often found in governments of
federated states or provinces of a
federal country. In these cases their powers may be substantially limited by superior legislative or fiscal policy, notably the control of taxation, spending, currency,
inter-bank interest rates and the
money supply
In macroeconomics, the money supply (or money stock) refers to the total volume of money held by the public at a particular point in time in an economy. There are several ways to define "money", but standard measures usually include Circulati ...
.
The powers of a finance minister vary between governments. In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Britain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to use Britain as shorth ...

and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the finance minister (called the "
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to the Chancellor, is a high ranking Minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom
The Government of the United Kingdom, domestically referred to as Her Majesty's Gove ...
" and the "
Treasurer
In ''A new way to pay the National Debt'' (1786), King_George_III
George_III_(George_William_Frederick;_4_June_173829_January_1820)_was__King_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland
Ireland_(;__ga,_Éire_;_Ulster_Scots_dialect,_Ulster-Scots:__)_i ...
" respectively) is in practice viewed as the most important cabinet post after the Prime Minister.
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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the finance minister is called the "
Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with all financial and monetary matters relating to the federal government, and, until 2003, also included several major ...
", though there is a separate and subordinate
Treasurer of the United States
The Treasurer of the United States is an official in the United States Department of the Treasury who was originally charged with the receipt and custody of government funds, though many of these functions have been taken over by different burea ...
, and it is the director of the
Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States
The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the pres ...
who drafts the
budget
A budget is a financial plan
In general usage, a financial plan is a comprehensive evaluation of an individual's current pay and future financial state by using current known variables to predict future income, asset values and withdrawal p ...

.
In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Britain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to use Britain as shorth ...

, the equivalent of the finance minister is the
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to the chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the chief executive officer of HM Treasury, Her Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Grea ...
. Due to a quirk of history, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is also styled
Second Lord of the Treasury
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to the Chancellor, is a high ranking Minister of the Crown
Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign ...
with the
Prime Minister
A prime minister or a premier is the head of the 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 transpar ...
also holding the historic position of
First Lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission
Commission or commissioning may refer to:
Business and contracting
* Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered
** Commission (art), the purchase o ...
. This signals the Prime Minister's seniority and superior responsibility over the
Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department
Ministry or department, also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate are designations used by a first-level executive
Executive may refer to:
Role, title, or function
* Executive ( ...
.
In
Hong Kong
Hong Kong (; , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of China on the ...

the finance minister is called the
Financial Secretary
Financial secretary is an administrative
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a not-for-profit organization, or ...
, though there is a
Secretary for the Treasury subordinate to him.
In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the senior minister is the
Treasurer
In ''A new way to pay the National Debt'' (1786), King_George_III
George_III_(George_William_Frederick;_4_June_173829_January_1820)_was__King_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland
Ireland_(;__ga,_Éire_;_Ulster_Scots_dialect,_Ulster-Scots:__)_i ...
, although there is a
Minister for Finance
A finance minister is an executive or Cabinet (government), cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's Ministry (government department), portfolio has a large v ...
who is more junior and, , heads a separate portfolio of Finance and the Public Service.
Finance ministers can be unpopular if they must raise
tax
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity
In law
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act accord ...
es or cut
spending. Finance ministers whose key decisions had directly benefited both the performance and perception of their country’s economic and financial achievements are recognised by the annual
Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year
Every year, ''Euromoney
''Euromoney'' is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance. First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc.
History and profile
''Euromoney'' was ...
award.
Lists
*
List of current finance ministers
This is a list of current finance ministers of the 193 United Nations member states, Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine.
Finance ministers of List of states with limited recognition, sovereign countries with limited recognition are ...
*
List of female finance ministers
See also
*
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a common type of government department that serves as a finance ministry.
Lists of current ministries of finance
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Finance and Economy (Albania)
* Ministry ...
References
https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/
{{Types of government minister
Finance
Finance is a term for the management, creation, and study of money
In a 1786 James Gillray caricature, the plentiful money bags handed to King George III are contrasted with the beggar whose legs and arms were amputated, in the left corn ...