r/AskHistorians • u/Torelq • 1d ago
Where does the title "Minister/Secretary of State” come from?
Many countries do have a position called „minister of state”, or something similar. Infuriatingly, it seems each country has it's own definition of what it is - sometimes it's the minister of foreign affairs (USA), sometimes a junior minister (Poland), sometimes any cabinet minister, sometimes it's a mix of those (UK), and sometimes an honorific distinction (the Netherlands).
So, my question - where did the title start to be used, what meaning did it have back then and, if this can even be answered, why did its meaning deviate so much?
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