Cabinet shuffle
In the
parliamentary system a
cabinet shuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a
Head of Government rotates or changes the composition of
ministers in his or her
cabinet.
Commonly, a cabinet shuffle refers to certain ministers being shifted from one portfolio to another. Cabinet shuffles happen as periodically moving ministers is often necessary to replace ministers that have resigned due to scandal or retired. Forming cabinets is also one of the most important ways for a head of government to reward or punish supporters, a practice that leads to shuffles whenever a new faction within a party takes over.
Cabinet shuffles are far less common in systems where members of the Cabinet are not drawn from the legislative branch. For instance in the
United States it would very unusual for a president to reassign all the cabinet secretaries to new positions. It does occasionally happen on an individual basis however, for example former
Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta previously served as
Secretary of Commerce.
In the UK the process is known as a
reshuffle, and occurred most recently on
May 5,
2006, when several major Government offices were reassigned following
Labour losses in the
2006 local elections.
