A Minister of Foreign Affairs (also styled Foreign Minister, Secretary of State, or Foreign Secretary depending on jurisdiction) heads the ministry charged with formulating and executing a state's foreign policy. Core responsibilities typically include negotiating treaties, instructing diplomatic missions abroad, receiving foreign ambassadors, advising the head of government on international matters, and representing the state at multilateral forums such as the UN General Assembly's annual general debate.
Under customary international law, the foreign minister is one of three officials (alongside the head of state and head of government) presumed to represent the state without needing to produce full powers. This principle was affirmed by the International Court of Justice in the Arrest Warrant case (DRC v. Belgium, 2002), which also held that incumbent foreign ministers enjoy full personal immunity from foreign criminal jurisdiction while in office. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969), Article 7(2)(a), likewise recognizes foreign ministers as competent to perform all acts relating to the conclusion of a treaty.
The title and institutional structure vary considerably:
- In the United States, the equivalent is the Secretary of State, who heads the Department of State.
- In the United Kingdom, the role is the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
- In Germany, the Bundesminister des Auswärtigen heads the Auswärtiges Amt.
- In the European Union, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy performs analogous external-representation functions for the Union, though member states retain their own foreign ministers.
Foreign ministers commonly chair or attend bodies such as the G7/G20 foreign ministers' meetings, NATO's North Atlantic Council in ministerial session, and the OSCE Ministerial Council. Their political weight within a cabinet varies: in some states the office is a stepping stone to the premiership; in others, foreign policy is dominated by the head of government, reducing the minister to an implementer.
Example
In 2015, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif concluded negotiations on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Vienna.