The profession of government minister in Western Europe

Abstract

Who are the cabinet ministers in Western Europe? Are they prepared for their tasks by the jobs which they did before - do specialists, for instance, come to take on the task of running specialist ministries? Are these ministers, on the other hand, politically prepared for being in government? Do they all go through an apprenticeship in Parliament? As a matter of fact, they do not and, in several Continental countries, not just France, but also the Netherlands, Austria, or Norway, many ministers come to office without a parliamentary background. Does this mean that they are better prepared to their tasks than British ministers who, like their Italian or Irish colleagues, all went through Parliament? What kind of career do they then follow? Do they stay in office long? Do they change jobs or not? On this, too, there are many country variations, as there are variations in terms of the 'post-ministerial careers', that is to say of the jobs which, after being ministers they are able to obtain. 'The profession of government minister in Western Europe' looks at all these questions on the basis of a vast file covering over 2,000 ministers from 1945 to the 1980s. Although Western European countries are so similar politically in many ways, the ministerial career is vastly different - and lessons can be drawn from the differences.