Number of Political Appointees in Each Country
The number of politicians and political appointees in each executive government varies. Even when the legal nomination process is similar, differences appear regarding the type of people that are actually appointed to these posts, how much influence politicians have over the selection process, and whether these posts are considered political appointees or not. The number of political appointees in five central governments, including that of Japan, is outlined as follows.
｡?Japan
The Minister, Vice-Ministers(political), Deputy Chiefs of the Cabinet Secretariat(two out of three are appointed from members of parliament), the Director General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau and the political secretary to the Prime Minister are all political appointees. There approximately 50 political appointees in total. The posts of Vice-Ministers(administrative), officials in the Ministers' cabinet and senior executives are almost all career officials.
｡?U.S.A.
There are approximately 4,000 political appointees in total and these may be categorized as follows.
｡?United Kingdom
The Secretary of State, the Minister of State, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and political secretaries are all political appointees(parliamentary members of the ruling party are appointed to these posts). There are approximately 110 political appointees in total. In addition to this, special advisors from the private sector may be appointed as personal assistants to the Ministers(there are approximately 40 of such posts in the cabinet).
