A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

rotates or changes the composition of

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in their

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 * Filin ...

, or when the

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...

s than in systems where cabinet heads must be confirmed by a separate legislative body, and occur frequently in autocratic systems. A shadow cabinet reshuffle may take place to change positions in a shadow cabinet.

In parliamentary systems

Cabinet reshuffles happen in parliamentary systems for a variety of reasons. Periodically, smaller reshuffles are needed to replace ministers who have resigned, retired or died. Reshuffles are also a way for a head of government to "refresh" the government, often in the face of poor polling numbers; remove poor performers; and reward supporters and punish others. It is common after elections, even if the party in power is retained, as the prime minister's reading of public opinion as evidenced by the election may require some change in policy, in addition to any changes resulting from the retirement or defeat of individual ministers at the election. Similarly, prime ministers entering office from the same party as the previous one might appoint a very different ministry than their predecessor to reflect a change in policies and priorities; an example is

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

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 ...

, formed on 28 June 2007 after the departure of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

the previous day. A reshuffle also provides an opportunity to create, abolish and rename departments (and ministerial posts), and to reassign responsibilities among departments. This may be done to reflect new priorities or for reasons of efficiency.

Canada

* 2018 Canadian cabinet reshuffle * 2021 Canadian cabinet reshuffle *

2023 Canadian cabinet reshuffle The Twenty-Ninth Canadian Ministry was the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament. The original members were sworn in during a ceremony held at Rideau H ...

India

2021 Indian cabinet reshuffle On 7 July 2021 Prime Minister of India, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out a Cabinet reshuffle, reshuffle of his Second Modi ministry, ministry. Modi carried out 3 cabinet reshuffles during his First Modi ministry, first ministry. T ...

Sweden

2024 Swedish government reshuffle Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson carried out the first cabinet reshuffle of his premiership on 10 September 2024, announcing it during his Declaration of Government speech at the Opening of the Riksdag. The cause for the reshuffle was that Mi ...

United Kingdom

* 1962 British cabinet reshuffle * 1999 British cabinet reshuffle *

2006 British cabinet reshuffle Following poor results for the Labour Party in the local elections in England on 4 May 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a cabinet reshuffle the following day. Changes Secretary of State for the Home Department John Reid moved fr ...

2012 British cabinet reshuffle British prime minister David Cameron conducted the first major reshuffle of his coalition government on 4 September 2012. The reshuffle, nearly two and a half years after the government was sworn in, was highly anticipated, and eschewed the tr ...

2014 British cabinet reshuffle British prime minister David Cameron reshuffled the Conservative members of his coalition government on 15 July 2014. The reshuffle, intended to strengthen his party's position in advance of the 2015 general election, had been long anticipate ...

2018 British cabinet reshuffle Theresa May carried out the first reshuffle of her Second May ministry, minority government in January 2018. Following the resignation of her deputy, Damian Green as First Secretary of State in December 2017, the reshuffle had been highly antici ...

2020 British cabinet reshuffle Boris Johnson carried out the first significant reshuffle of his majority government on 13 February 2020. Following the December 2019 general election, there was considerable speculation that Johnson was planning a major reshuffle of the Cabi ...

2021 British cabinet reshuffle Boris Johnson carried out the second significant reshuffle of his Second Johnson ministry, majority government from 15 September to 18 September 2021, having last done so in 2020 British cabinet reshuffle, February 2020. Cabinet-level change ...

July 2022 British cabinet reshuffle Boris Johnson carried out the third significant Cabinet reshuffle, reshuffle of his majority government (the Second Johnson ministry) from 5 to 8 July 2022, having last done so in 2021 British cabinet reshuffle, September 2021. This was a direct ...

September 2022 British cabinet reshuffle September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the beg ...

October 2022 British cabinet reshuffle October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôctō'' meaning "eight") after Januar ...

February 2023 British cabinet reshuffle British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak carried out the first cabinet reshuffle of his premiership on 7 February 2023. The reshuffle saw a significant restructuring of a number of government departments, and gave Sunak the opportunity to fill the va ...

November 2023 British cabinet reshuffle British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak carried out the second cabinet reshuffle of his Sunak ministry, premiership on 13 November 2023. Suella Braverman was replaced as Home Secretary by James Cleverly. Cleverly was replaced as Foreign Secretary (Uni ...

Shadow Cabinet reshuffle

* 2016 British shadow cabinet reshuffle *

May 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle In the aftermath of relatively poor results in the 2021 local elections, Keir Starmer carried out a May 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle. Starmer dismissed Angela Rayner as Chair of the Labour Party and National Campaign Coordinator following th ...

November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle On 29 November 2021, Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet. The slimmed down shadow cabinet, was seen to be Starmer creating a top team in his own image. Considered a surpr ...

2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle On 4 September 2023, Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the UK Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition, carried out a reshuffle of Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer, his shadow cabi ...

Malaysia

* 2023 Malaysian cabinet reshuffle

In other democratic systems

Cabinet reshuffles are far less common in systems where members of the cabinet are not drawn from the

legislative branch A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

. In such systems there is a far larger pool of viable candidates to choose a cabinet from. Members of such cabinets are usually chosen on account of their qualifications to run a specific portfolio, so moving these cabinet members to different portfolios at a later time usually makes little sense. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

presidential system A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system (sometimes also congressional system) is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled " president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and l ...

), it would be very unusual for a president to reassign multiple

cabinet secretaries A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

to new positions, especially since a

U.S. cabinet The Cabinet of the United States is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The Cabinet generally meets with the president in a room adjacent to the Oval Office in the West Wing of the White House. The presi ...

member moved to a new position within the cabinet needs to be confirmed in the new role by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

—this alone is seen as a powerful deterrent against U.S. presidents initiating major cabinet reshuffles. On an individual basis, however, U.S. cabinet members will occasionally change departments—for example,

Federico Peña Federico Fabian Peña (born March 15, 1947) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 12th United States secretary of transportation from 1993 to 1997 and the 8th United States secretary of energy from 1997 to 1998, during the pres ...

served as

Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

from 1993 until 1997 in the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

and was appointed as

Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when P ...

directly afterwards, serving until 1998. Likewise

Norman Mineta Norman Yoshio Mineta (, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the cabinet of the United States for US Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. ...

served as

Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

under

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

before becoming

for Clinton's successor,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. In France (a

semi-presidential system A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliament ...

within the framework of the contemporary

French Fifth Republic The Fifth Republic () is France's current republic, republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of France, Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged fr ...

), the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

may tender their resignation to the

president of the Republic The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of state and/or heads of government in countries having republican form of government. Designation In most cases the president of a republic is elected, either: * by direct universal s ...

, who then selects a successor. The new prime minister then proposes a list of ministers to the president, who may approve the list or request changes. After the list is approved, the new

is put in office. The same practice may be used to change several ministers in one sweep while retaining the same prime minister, in which case the president simply selects the incumbent as their own successor. Such successive governments with one same prime minister are named after the head of government and numbered (for instance " Rocard I and "Rocard II" or " Ayrault I and Ayrault II").

United States

Saturday Night Massacre The "Saturday Night Massacre" was a series of resignations over the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox that took place in the United States Department of Justice during the Watergate scandal in 1973. The events followed the refusal b ...

* Halloween Massacre

France

* July 2022 French government reshuffle * July 2023 French government reshuffle

Philippines

2025 Philippine cabinet reshuffle Following unfavorable results in the 2025 Philippine midterm election, 2025 Philippine midterm elections, President Bongbong Marcos issued a directive on May 22, 2025, asking for the courtesy resignations of his Cabinet of Bongbong Marcos, cabin ...

In undemocratic systems

Cabinet reshuffles occur at the pleasure of

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

s or

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

s in autocratic systems, which lack the checks-and-balances of systems with greater citizen or legislative control.

Brunei

* 2005 Bruneian cabinet reshuffle *

2010 Bruneian cabinet reshuffle Hassanal Bolkiah carried out the fourth reshuffle of his Council of Cabinet Ministers, government on 29 May 2010, appointing the first female deputy minister and replacing three ministers. The announcement was delivered during a televised speech ...

2015 Bruneian cabinet reshuffle Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number) *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album), 2007 * ''15'' (Phatfish album), 2008 * ' ...

2018 Bruneian cabinet reshuffle Hassanal Bolkiah carried out the sixth reshuffle of his Council of Cabinet Ministers, government on 30 January 2018, replacing some of the nation's longest-serving ministers. The announcement was delivered during a televised speech at 2:30 pm. W ...

2022 Bruneian cabinet reshuffle Hassanal Bolkiah carried out the seventh reshuffle of his government on 7 June 2022, appointing the first female cabinet minister and replacing seven ministers. The announcement was delivered during a televised speech at 3:00 pm. The previous c ...

Hong Kong

2020 Hong Kong cabinet reshuffle The Hong Kong Executive Council was Cabinet reshuffle, reshuffled from 21 to 22 April 2020. The reshuffle is the largest since the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, and the first after the unprecedented 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, large-scale ant ...

2021 Hong Kong cabinet reshuffle Hong Kong Executive Council was Cabinet reshuffle, reshuffled from 24 to 25 June 2021, the second in the Carrie Lam as Chief Executive of Hong Kong, chief executive term of Carrie Lam, and the first after 2020 Hong Kong national security law, Nat ...

References

External links

* {{Wiktionary-inline, reshuffle