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Series:   Elements in International Relations

The Selection and Tenure of Foreign Ministers Around the World

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2024

Hanna Bäck ,
Alejandro Quiroz Flores  and
Jan Teorell
Hanna Bäck
Affiliation:
Lund University
Alejandro Quiroz Flores
Affiliation:
University of Essex
Jan Teorell
Affiliation:
Stockholm University

Summary

Foreign ministers are prominent actors in foreign affairs, often second only to heads of government in their influence. Yet, despite the growing awareness of the importance of key actors, and their backgrounds, in the study of international relations, foreign ministers remain understudied. In this Element, we make an important empirical contribution by presenting an original dataset on the personal and professional background of foreign ministers, spanning thirteen countries and more than 200 years. We use these data to answer three questions: who are the foreign ministers, why are foreign ministers with particular features appointed, and why do some foreign ministers have longer tenure than others? We find that foreign ministers tend to be men of politics who are appointed both on the basis of their affinity to, and to complement the experiences of, the head of government. We also find that foreign ministers stay longer in office when they perform well or are expected to do so, but that they are more likely to lose their posts when conditions make heads of government more prone to 'pin blame' on them to deflect criticism from foreign policy failures.
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Keywords

foreign ministerssecretaries of statecabinet membersministerial selectiontenure in office
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in International Relations
Online ISBN: 9781009441773
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 21 March 2024

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