A politician is a person who has political power in the government of a state, a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government.
U.S. politicians (Kissinger, Nixon, Ford, Haig) in the White House's Oval Office discussing Representative Ford's nomination to the vice presidency
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the 'prime minister', 'premier', 'chief minister', 'chancellor' or other title.
Finland's first female ministers were brought to Finnish Parliament shortly after the turn of the 20th century. From left to right: Hedvig Gebhard (1867–1961), member of parliament, and Miina Sillanpää (1866–1952), Minister of Social Affairs, in 1910.