According to Wikipedia, the definition of a government minister is:
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. Some ministers are more senior than others, and are usually members of the government's cabinet.
So, in many governments there are such titles as:
- Education minister
- Agriculture minister
- Foreign minister
- Prime minister
In other jurisdictions, the title secretary is used as a synonym or near-synonym:
- Secretary of Interior
- Secretary of State
- Secretary of Commerce
So, my question: what is a Latin word that captures this sense of the words minister and secretary? Does a single word fully capture this type of government official? Or must I use different words to reflect the difference between secretary and minister, or between a Secretary of State (higher level) and a Forestry minister (lower level)?
I've consulted Traupman's Latin-English dictionary, and it offers administer for "minister" and administer, minister, or praefectus for the political meaning of "secretary." Is one more suitable than others?
This question inspired by How to describe ministers in Latin?