Minister without Portfolio (Netherlands)

In the Netherlands, a Minister without portfolio (Minister zonder portefeuille) is a Government minister that does not head a specific ministry, but assumes the same power and responsibilities as a minister that does. The minister is responsible for a specific part of another minister's policy field. In that sense, a minister without portfolio is comparable to a State Secretary (staatssecretaris), a junior minister in Dutch politics, who also falls under another ministry and is responsible for a specific part of that minister's policy field. However, one distinct difference is that a minister without portfolio is a member of the Council of Ministers and can vote in it, whereas a state secretary is not. The minister for development cooperation has always been a minister without portfolio.