Statsminister

Statsminister is a ministerial title in several Germanic languages.

Although it literally means 'State Minister', in Scandinavian languages it came to be used not for an ordinary portfolio or subordinate minister which its English rendering, Minister of State, stands for in many states, but rather for the top cabinet rank(s):
*Prime Minister of Denmark since 1918
*Prime Minister of Finland, as official title in Swedish, the second official language; in Finnish "pääministeri"
*Prime Minister of Norway
*Prime Minister of Sweden

In Sweden, the title has also been used in compounds for portfolio ministers more senior than an ordinary member ("statsråd") of the Privy Council, notably "Justitie-Statsminster" for justice (became in 1876 the Prime Minister and the only Statsminister) and "Statsminister för Utrikes Ärendena", for Foreign Affairs (comparable to the US State Secretary, in 1876 'demoted' to State Councillor but retaining the style Excellency).

External links

* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/ WorldStatesmen- see each present country]