International Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ministries of foreign affairs in various countries usually implement a head-to-head responsibility system. The top head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is usually called the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the United States, it's called Secretary of State. In a monarchy, it is called the Foreign Secretary. Generally speaking, the ministers of foreign affairs in various countries are political officers with a tenure system. He is often a close associate of the head of government. Once the head of government steps down or the government changes, the foreign minister usually changes accordingly. In every government, the foreign minister is a crucial position. Sometimes, the head of government himself even serves as his country's foreign minister. For example, at the beginning of the founding of New China, Zhou Enlai personally served as our country's first foreign minister.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is generally referred to as Ministry of Foreign Affairs in English. Countries will regard some fields related to national foreign affairs as the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such as economic and trade, aid cooperation, religion and immigration affairs, so the name is All will be different.

The British Foreign Secretary is also responsible for the affairs of the British overseas territories. Before 1968, the British Foreign Secretary was only responsible for diplomatic relations with non-Commonwealth member states, while the Commonwealth and other colonial affairs were handled by the British. The Commonwealth Office was responsible, and after 1968 the two departments were merged into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Except for the United Kingdom, the foreign ministries of other member states of the Association of Nations are responsible for diplomatic affairs with both member states and non-member states of the Association of Nations. Therefore, the English name is Ministry of External Affairs, which is literally translated as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but it is generally called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. department.

The top executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is called Minister of Foreign Affairs or Foreign Minister in English. However, in some countries, the Chinese or English name is slightly different from the general title. For example, the US Secretary of State (Secretary of State) is usually He is regarded as the foreign minister of the United States, but in fact the position of the U.S. Secretary of State is the chief official of the U.S. cabinet, which is different from the foreign ministers of other countries. The British foreign minister is also Secretary in English instead of the general Minister; Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America It is called Canciller (Chancellor in English); in some countries with a royal system, the Foreign Minister is often called the Foreign Secretary or Foreign Minister.

Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the country's external affairs, the scope of its duties is affected by different government organizations. In previous countries with a cabinet system, the foreign minister could directly formulate the country's foreign policy. However, if there is a strong prime minister, the foreign minister is usually the general administrative cabinet or gives some advice on foreign policy formulation. This situation occurs in presidential countries. It's almost the same. After the Second World War, in order to coordinate overall national policies such as foreign affairs and national defense, countries usually regarded the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of defense as one of the core cabinets, that is, members of the National Security Council. Although in the 19th and early 20th centuries, , the top administrative heads of many countries regard diplomacy as one of their responsibilities, but this situation is not common in developed countries.

Regardless of the political role and scope of authority of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the most basic thing is to be responsible for foreign affairs, such as arranging visits of foreign dignitaries and visits to other countries, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the first to go abroad no matter which country he is in. The highest cabinet member.