A government department under the direction of a minister WordNet 3.0

A government department under the direction of a minister of state Open English WordNet

Ministry or department are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration. Wikipedia

A department of a government Wikipedia Disambiguation

Specialised civil organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration Wikidata

The body of top government administrators or other high ranking public officials that are selected by a head of state to manage certain aspects of a state's affairs, as opposed to civil servants whose tenure is unaffected by public changes resulting from democratic elections or some other process. OmegaWiki

Government department, at the administrative level normally headed by a minister (or equivalent rank, e.g. secretary of state), who holds it as portfolio, especially in a constitutional monarchy, but also as a polity. Wiktionary

Government department. Wiktionary (translation)