Foreign minister

A Foreign Minister or Minister of Foreign Affairs is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations.

World contexts

Difference in titles

In some nations, such as India, the Foreign Minister is referred to as the Minister for External Affairs or, as in the case of Brazil and of the former Soviet Union, as the Minister of External Relations. In the United States the equivalent to the foreign ministry is called the Department of State, and the equivalent position is known as the Secretary of State. Other common titles may include minister of foreign relations. In many Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries in Latin America, the foreign minister is colloquially called canciller (chancellor).

Powers of position

A foreign minister's powers can vary from government to government. In a classic parliamentary system, a foreign minister can potentially exert significant influence in forming foreign policy but when the government is dominated by a strong prime minister the foreign minister may be limited to playing a more marginal or subsidiary role in determining policy. Similarly, the political powers invested in the foreign minister are often more limited in presidential governments with a strong executive. Since the end of World War II, it has been common for both the foreign minister and defense minister to be part of an inner cabinet (commonly known as a national security council) in order to coordinate defense and diplomatic policy. Although the 19th and early 20th centuries saw many heads of government assume the foreign ministry, this practice has since become uncommon in most developed nations.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Russian MFA; Russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which was under the supervision of the Soviet Ministry of External Relations. Sergey Lavrov is the current foreign minister.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Overseas schools

The ministry operates a network of overseas schools for children of Russian diplomats.

See also

In connection with the Moscow building that houses the Ministry's main office:

Andrea Mitchell

Andrea Mitchell (born October 30, 1946) is an American television journalist, anchor, reporter and commentator for NBC News, based in Washington, D.C.

She is the NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, and reported on the 2008 Race for the White House for NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Today, and MSNBC. She anchors Andrea Mitchell Reports airing from noon – 1 pm ET weekdays on MSNBC, has appeared on and guest hosted Meet the Press, and is often a guest on Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Rachel Maddow Show.

Early life, education and early career

Mitchell was raised in a Jewish family, in New Rochelle, New York, the daughter of Cecile and Sydney Mitchell. Her father was the chief executive officer and partial owner of a furniture manufacturing company in Manhattan; he was also the president of Beth El Synagogue in New Rochelle for 40 years. Her mother was an administrator at the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Her brother Arthur moved to Canada in the 1970s, becoming a member of the Legislative Assembly of Yukon and the leader of the Yukon Liberal Party in the 2000s.

Maria Zakharova

Maria Zakharova (born December 24, 1975) is the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation) from August 10, 2015. Candidate (PhD equivalent) in Historical Sciences.

Biography

Maria Zakharova was born December 24, 1975. Her parents were diplomats and she spent her childhood in Beijing, where the mother and father worked. In 1998 she graduated from the Faculty of International Journalism at MGIMO in the field of orientalism and journalism. Practice was held in the Russian embassy in Beijing.

From 2003 to 2005, she was the Head of the Department of Information and Press of the Ministry of Foregin Affairs of the Russian Federation. From 2005 to 2008, she was the press secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in New York. From 2008 to 2011, she was the Head of the Department of Information and Press of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Sergey Lavrov

Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (Russian: Серге́й Ви́кторович Лавро́в, pronounced [sʲɪrˈgʲej ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ lɐvˈrof]; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat and currently the Foreign Minister of Russia, in office since 2004. Prior to that, Lavrov was a Soviet diplomat and the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004. Besides his native Russian, Lavrov speaks English, French, Sinhala and Dhivehi.

Early life and education

Lavrov was born in Moscow on 21 March 1950 to an Armenian father and a Russian mother from Georgia. His mother worked in the Soviet Ministry for Foreign Trade. Lavrov graduated from high school with a silver medal. Since his favorite class was physics, he planned to enter either the National Research Nuclear University or the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, but he entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and graduated in 1972. During his education at the MGIMO, Lavrov studied international relations. Soon he learned Sinhalese, then the only official language of Sri Lanka, as well as Dhivehi, the official language of the Maldives. Moreover, Lavrov learned English and French, but has stated that he is unable to speak the French language fluently. After he was admitted to the university, Lavrov, along with other students, was sent for a month to build the Ostankino Tower. During his summer vacations, Lavrov also worked in Khakassia, Tuva and the Russian Far East. Each semester Lavrov with his fellow students conducted drama performances, which were later presented on the main stage of the university. During the third year of his studies, Lavrov married.