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 ensu ...

, civil registration and identification,

emergency management Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

, supervision of regional and

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

s, conduct of

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

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

(including passport issuance) matters. This position is head of a department that is often called an

interior ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

, a ministry of internal affairs or a

ministry of home affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

. 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) and Israel (

Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Public Security can refer to: * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Public Security of Burundi * Ministry of Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Public Security (China) * Ministry of Public Security of Co ...

). 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. Australia In ''Attorney General for ...

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 a ...

. 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 A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory) is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state and remains politically outside the control ...

may also have interior ministers.

By country

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the position of

Secretary of State for the Home Department 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, maki ...

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

United States

The

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

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

Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. 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, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

(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).

Canada

In Canada, the post of

Minister of the Interior 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 ...

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 (Canada), Minister of the Interior on May 3, 1873. The position was responsible for ...

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

Hong Kong

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 Regist ...

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 (Hong Kong), Security Bureau, which is responsible for public safety, security, and immigration matters. The post was created in 1973 a ...

India

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

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...

, promoting the

official languages An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

. 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 In India, the Civil Service is the collection of civil servants of the government who constitute the permanent executive branch of the country. This includes servants in the All India Services, the Central Civil Services, and various State Ci ...

, also handling protocol, freedom-fighter pensions and manning of the

courts A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

Japan

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 *Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: National Revolut ...

and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

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

Ministry 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 ...

, whilst the

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications The is a Cabinet (government), 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 Centr ...

handles the administrative system, local government, elections, telecommunication and post matters.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the

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 List of states with limited recognition, sovereign countries with limited recognition ...

* List of female interior ministers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interior Ministry Interior