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, civil registration and identification, emergency management, supervision of regional and local governments, conduct of elections, public administration and immigration (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.
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) and Israel (Ministry of Public Security). In some jurisdictions, matters relating to the maintenance of law and order and the administration of justice are the responsibility of a separate justice ministry.
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.
In the United Kingdom, the position of Secretary of State for the Home Department, normally referred to as the "Home Secretary", was created in the British governmental reorganisation of 1782. [1]
The United States Department of the Interior has responsibilities different from similarly named departments elsewhere, primarily the management and conservation of natural resources, and programs and policies dealing with Indigenous peoples. The functions that fall under what most other countries call an "interior ministry" come under other government departments—mostly the Department of Homeland Security (established in 2002 with functions such as immigration management, public safety and disaster relief), with some others falling under the Department of Justice (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; 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 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 Ministry of Home Affairs in India (MHA) is responsible for internal security and demographics, promoting the official languages. [2] 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. [3]
In Japan, law enforcement is decentralised with the National Public Safety Commission coordinating between the National Police Agency and the government through its chairman, who is a cabinet member. National security and immigration matters fall under the Ministry of Justice, whilst the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications 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.
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, making the home secretary one of the most senior and influential ministers in the government. The incumbent is a statutory member of the British Cabinet and National Security Council.
The Home Office (HO), also known as the Home Department, is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for immigration, security, and law and order. As such, it is responsible for policing in England and Wales, fire and rescue services in England, Border Force, visas and immigration, and the Security Service (MI5). It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counterterrorism, and immigration. It was formerly responsible for His Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service, but these have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.
Law enforcement in India is imperative to keep justice and order in the nation. Indian law is enforced by a number of agencies. Unlike many federal nations, the constitution of India delegates the maintenance of law and order primarily to the states and territories.
Minister of the Interior is a prominent position in the Government of France. The position is equivalent to the interior minister in other countries, like the Home Secretary in the United Kingdom, the Minister of Public Safety in Canada, or the Minister of Home Affairs in Australia.
In Austria, the Ministry of the Interior is a federal government agency serving as the interior ministry of the Austrian government. It is chiefly responsible for the public security, but also deals with matters relating to citizenship, elections, referendums, plebiscites and the alternative civilian service. The Ministry of the Interior is considered one of the most important ministries in Austria
The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (German: Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat, German pronunciation:[ˈbʊndəsminɪsˌteːʁiʊmdɛsˈɪnəʁnʊntfyːɐ̯ˈhaɪ̯maːt], abbreviated BMI, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn. The current minister is Nancy Faeser. It is comparable to the British Home Office or a combination of the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Justice, because both manage several law enforcement agencies. The BMI is tasked with the internal security of Germany. To fulfill this responsibility it maintains, among other agencies, the two biggest federal law enforcement agencies in Germany, the Federal Police and the Federal Criminal Police Office. It is also responsible for the federal domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard and rescue service duties.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, or simply the Home Ministry, is a ministry of the Government of India. It is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and domestic policy. It is headed by Minister of Home Affairs.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, sometimes referred to as the Home Team, is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the national security, public security, civil defence, border control and immigration of Singapore.
A ministry of home affairs is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement.
The counter-terrorism page primarily deals with special police or military organizations that carry out arrest or direct combat with terrorists. This page deals with the other aspects of counter-terrorism:
The Minister for Home Affairs is the minister in the Australian government responsible for the Department of Home Affairs, the country's interior ministry. The current minister is Tony Burke of the Labor Party, who has held the position since July 2024 in the Albanese ministry.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, abbreviated KDN, MOHA, is a ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for home affairs: law enforcement, public security, public order, population registry, immigration, foreign workers, management of societies, anti-drug, publication / printing / distribution of printed materials, film control, management of volunteer, rehabilitation and implementation of punishment.
The Ministry of the Interior (MIR) is a department of the Government of Spain responsible for public security, the protection of the constitutional rights, the command of the law enforcement agencies, national security, immigration affairs, prisons, civil defense and road traffic safety. Through the Undersecretariat of the Interior and its superior body, the Directorate-General for Internal Policy, the Ministry is responsible for all actions related to ensuring political pluralism and the proper functioning of electoral processes.
The Ministry of the Interior is a government agency of Italy, headquartered in Rome. It is a cabinet-level ministry of the Italian Republic. As of October 2022, Matteo Piantedosi, former Prefect of Rome, is the minister.
The Ministry of Justice is one of the 12 ministries which comprise the Finnish Government. Headed by the Minister of Justice, it is responsible for maintaining the legal safeguards necessary for the successful operation of democracy and fundamental rights of the inhabitants of Finland.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is a ministry of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. An interior ministry, it is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and domestic policy. It contains two divisions: the Public Security Division, and the Security Service Division. It has been modelled to function as an ideal and efficient ministry of the government.
The Department of Home Affairs is a department of the Government of Australia that is charged with responsibilities for national security, protective services, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, transport security and multicultural affairs. The Home Affairs portfolio reports to the Minister for Home Affairs, currently held by Tony Burke, and was led by the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo, until his sacking in November 2023 for breaching the code of conduct.
At the Restoration [in 1660] the practice of appointing two Secretaries of State, which was well established before the Civil War, was resumed. Apart from the modifications which were made necessary by the occasional existence of a third secretaryship, the organisation of the secretariat underwent no fundamental change from that time until the reforms of 1782 which resulted in the emergence of the Home and Foreign departments.
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