The titles of the ministers

The Norwegian government with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
It is interesting to note that around half of the ministers are women.

Today I was thinking how the titles of the ministers in any government reflect what that specific government and country try to prioritize.

From the Norwegian government's own website I copied the titles in English and in Norwegian.

First the titles that sound more familiar from back when I lived in Norway:

Prime Minister = Statsminister

Minister of Finance = Finansminister

Minister of Justice = Justisminister

Minister of Transport and Communications = Samferdselsminister

Minister of Foreign Affairs = Utenriksminister

Minister of Defence = Forsvarsminister


Then comes one minister that came along with the Norwegian oil, after I moved abroad:

Minister of Petroleum and Energy = Olje- og energiminister


The next titles "sound" new to me, some of them because the more complicated names, and some because they seem to have cut bigger departments into smaller departments.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development = Kommunal- og regionalminister

Minister of Government Administration and Reform = Fornyings- og administrasjonsminister

Minister of Agriculture and Food = Landbruks- og matminister

Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs = Fiskeri- og kystminister

Minister of the Environment and International Development = Miljøvern- og utviklingsminister

Minister of Education = Kunnskapsminister (Actually Minister of Knowledge!)

Minister of Research and Higher Education = Forsknings- og høyere utdanningsminister

Minister of Culture and Church Affairs = Kultur- og kirkeminister

Minister of Children and Equality = Barne- og likestillingsminister

Minister of Health and Care Services = Helse- og omsorgsminister

Minister of Trade and Industry = Nærings- og handelsminister

Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion = Arbeids- og inkluderingsminister

The website of the government has versions in four languages - the two official Norwegian languages Bokmål and Nynorsk, the Sami Language and English.
http://www.regjeringen.no/