An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as

public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensur ...

, civil registration and identification, emergency management, supervision of regional and

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

s, conduct of

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

and

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

(including passport issuance) matters. This position is head of a department that is often called an interior ministry, a ministry of internal affairs or a ministry of home affairs. In some jurisdictions, there is no department called an "interior ministry", but the relevant responsibilities are allocated to other departments.

Remit and role

In some countries, the public security portfolio belongs to a separate ministry (under a title like "ministry of public order" or "ministry of security"), with the interior ministry being limited to control over local governments, public administration, elections and similar matters. Notable examples include Greece (

Ministry of Citizen Protection The Ministry of Citizen Protection ( el, Υπουργείο Προστασίας του Πολίτη) is the government department responsible for Greece's public security services, i.e. the Hellenic Police, the Hellenic Fire Service, Hellenic (C ...

) and Israel ( Ministry of Public Security). In some jurisdictions, matters relating to the maintenance of law and order and the

administration of justice The administration of justice is the process by which the legal system of a government is executed. The presumed goal of such an administration is to provide justice for all those accessing the legal system. The phrase is also commonly used to d ...

are the responsibility of a separate

justice ministry A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in ...

. In countries with a federal constitution, interior ministers will often be found at both the federal and sub-national levels. Similarly, autonomous entities and dependent territories may also have interior ministers.

By country

In the United Kingdom, the position of

Secretary of State for the Home Department The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

, normally referred to as the "Home Secretary", was created in the British governmental reorganisation of 1782. The

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

has responsibilities different from similarly-named departments elsewhere, primarily the management and conservation of natural resources, and programs and policies dealing with

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. The functions that fall under what most other countries call an "interior ministry" come under other government departments—mostly the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

(established in 2002 with functions such as immigration management, public safety and disaster relief), with some others falling under the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

(with functions such as handling the national police and the management of prisons) and individual state governments (e.g. election management). In Canada, the post of Minister of the Interior existed from 1873 to 1936, replacing the previous role of the

Secretary of State for the Provinces Secretary of State for the Provinces was an office in the Cabinet of Canada, active from 1867 to 1873. The office was superseded by the Minister of the Interior on May 3, 1873. The position was responsible for managing the responsibilities and in ...

; it included functions similar to the US Department of the Interior. After 1936 the post was abolished, its responsibilities being transferred to other departments. In Hong Kong, the

Secretary for Home Affairs The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs is the head of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong, which is responsible for local issues, and the provision of community and youth services. List of office holders Registr ...

is responsible for matters relating to communities, culture, sports and local governance. Policing and related matters are the responsibilities of the

Secretary for Security The Secretary for Security is the member of the Government of Hong Kong in charge of the Security Bureau, which is responsible for public safety, security, and immigration matters. The post was created in 1973 and since the Principal Offic ...

. The Ministry of Home Affairs in India (MHA) is responsible for internal security and

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

, promoting the official languages. It carries out specialized functions through its departments, namely the Department of Border Management, the Department of Internal Security, the Department of Jammu & Kashmir Affairs, the Department of Home, the Department of Official Language and the Department of States. As such it heads such functions as the internal intelligence, and police and Civil Services of India, also handling protocol, freedom-fighter pensions and manning of the

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

. In Japan, law enforcement is decentralised with the National Public Safety Commission coordinating between the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

and the

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 ...

through its chairman, who is a cabinet member. National security and immigration matters fall under the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

, whilst the

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Japan. Its English name was Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Of ...

handles the administrative system, local government, elections, telecommunication and post matters. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Public Security is responsible for policing, national security, and immigration matters.

Lists

List of current interior ministers This is a list of current interior ministers of the 193 United Nations member states, Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine. Interior ministers of sovereign countries with limited recognition are included in a separate table. St ...

* List of female interior ministers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interior Ministry Interior

Remit and role

By country

Lists

See also

References