Ministries and Departments

The term ministry can refer to the following:

• A ministry (government department) is a department of a government.
• The Ministry refers to all government ministers (whether or not they are in cabinet) led by a prime minister.
• The Ministry (also known as the Áireacht) was the cabinet of the government established by the revolutionary Irish Republic of 1919-1922.
• Ministry (band) is the name of an industrial music band who released their first album in the 1980s.
• A religious ministry is a type of activity conducted by members of various faiths, particularly the various Christian faiths.
• A now-defunct UK dance music magazine published by the Ministry of Sound. It has morphed into M8.

A department is a part of a larger organization with a specific responsibility. For the division of organizations into departments, see departmentalization.

In particular:

• A government department in the United States and Switzerland corresponds to a ministry in other systems:
  • Department (US government)
  • Department (Swiss government)
• Department (subnational entity)
• Part of an institution such as a commercial company (see departmentalization) or a non-profit organization such as a university.
  • Academic department
• A department store is a retail store that includes many specialized departments such as clothing or household items.
• In the US military:
  • "Department" is a term used by the US Army, mostly prior to World War I.
  • A naval Department is a section devoted to one of several major tasks.
• Part of a state or municipal government:
  • Fire department
  • Police departmet
• Département ("department") is the name given to an administrative district of France and several other French-speaking countries.