Cabinet of Jamaica

The Cabinet of the Government of Jamaica is the ultimate decision-making body of the executive within the Westminster system of government in traditional constitutional theory. The Cabinet of Jamaica is the principal instrument of government policy. It consists of the Prime Minister, and a minimum of thirteen other Ministers of Government, who must be members of one of the two Houses of Parliament. Not more than four members of the Cabinet may be members of the Senate. The Minister of Finance must be an elected member of the House of Representatives.^[1]

The Cabinet of Jamaica is currently composed of The Jamaica Labour Party members because the party won the 2016 General elections.^[2]

The following are the members of the Government Cabinet led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.^[3]

Composition

Queen-in-Council

The government of Jamaica, formally referred to as Her Majesty's Jamaican Government, is defined by the constitution as the Queen acting on the advice of her Executive Council; what is technically known as the Queen-in-Council, or sometimes the Governor-in-Council, referring to the governor general as the Queen's stand-in.

As the stipulations of responsible government require that those who directly advise the monarch and governor general on how to exercise the Royal Prerogative be accountable to the elected House of Representatives, the day-to-day operation of government is guided only by a sub-group of the Cabinet made up of individuals who hold seats in parliament. This body of ministers of the Crown is the Cabinet, which has come to be the council in the phrase Queen-in-Council.

Ministers, Ministers of State and Ministers without Portfolio

Each minister of the Crown is responsible for the general administration of at least one government portfolio, and heads a corresponding ministry or ministries. The most important minister, following the prime minister, is the Minister of Finance, while other high-profile ministries include foreign affairs, national security, industry and health.

Further, the prime minister may recommend the governor general appoint to Cabinet some ministers of state and ministers without portfolio. Ministers of state often assume one responsibility of a ministry and are not considered as apart of the Cabinet. In the Jamaican press, Ministers of State of often referred to as Junior Ministers. Ministers without portfolio, often working within the Office of the prime minister, assuming one of the prime minister's subsidiary roles (excluding that of Minister of Defence). One exception exists within the current Cabinet.

Ministers

Ministry or Department	Minister	Ministerial title	Incumbent since
Office of the Prime Minister	The Most Hon. Andrew Holness, MP	Prime Minister Minister of Defence, Economic Growth and Job Creation	March 7, 2016
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade	Sen. The Hon. Kamina Johnson-Smith	Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Ministry of Finance and the Public Service	The Hon. Audley Shaw, MP	Minister of Finance and the Public Service
Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries	The Hon. Karl Samuda, MP	Minister of Industry, Commerce ,Agriculture and Fisheries
Ministry of National Security	The Hon. Robert Montague, MP	Minister of National Security
Ministry of Justice	The Hon. Delroy Chuck, MP	Minister of Justice
Ministry of Education, Youth and Information	Sen. The Hon. Ruel Reid	Minister of Education Youth and Information
Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology	The Hon. Dr. Andrew Wheatley, MP	Minister of Energy, Science and Technology
Ministry of Local Government and Community Development	The Hon. Desmond McKenzie, MP	Minister of Local Government and Community Development
Ministry of Transport and Mining	The Hon. Michael Henry, MP	Minister of Transport and Mining
Ministry of Entertainment, Sports, Culture and Gender Affairs	The Hon. Olivia Grange, MP	Ministry of Entertainment, Sports, Culture and Gender Affairs
Ministry of Tourism	The Hon. Edmund Bartlett, MP	Minister of Tourism
Ministry of Health	The Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, MP	Minister of Health
Ministry of Labour and Social Security	The Hon. Shahine Robinson, MP	Minister of Labour and Social Security
Attorney General Chambers	The Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte, QC, MP	Attorney General	March 7, 2016

Ministers without Portfolio

Ministry or department	Minister	Ministerial title	Incumbent since
Office of the Prime Minister	The Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, MP	Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for Water, Works and Housing	March 7, 2016
	The Hon. Daryl Vaz, MP	Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for Land, Environment, Climate Change and Investments
	The Hon. Derrick Smith, MP	Minister without Portfolio
Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries	The Hon. William J.C. Hutchinson, MP	Minister without Portfolio

Ministers of State

Five ministers of state have been appointed but are not a part of the cabinet although they will help in the operations of their various sectors.

Ministry or department	Minister	Ministerial title	Incumbent since
Ministry of Finance and the Public Service	The Hon. Rudyard Spencer, MP	Minister of State for Public Service	March 7, 2016
Ministry of Finance and the Public Service	The Hon. Fayval Williams, MP	Minister of State with Responsibility for the IMF Programme
Ministry of Education, Youth and Information	The Hon. Floyd Green, MP	Minister of State with Responsibility for Youth
Ministry of National Security	Sen. The Hon. Pearnel Charles, Jr.	Minister of State with Responsibility for the Correctional Services
Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Office of the Prime Minister	The Hon. Clifford Everald Warmington, MP	Minister of State for Works	April 13, 2016

References

1. "Government of Jamaica - Cabinet Office". Cabinet.gov.jm. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
2. "Ja Goes Green - JLP Prosperity Message Trumps Ruling Party - Lead Stories - Jamaica Gleaner - Friday | February 26, 2016". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
3. "Cabinet of Jamaica" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-07.