Defence minister

The title Defence Minister, Minister for Defence, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State for Defence, Secretary of National Defense or some similar variation, is assigned to the person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in some the minister is only in charge of general budget matters and procurement of equipment; while in others the minister is also, in addition, an integral part of the operational military chain of command.

Prior to the 20th century, there were in most countries separate ministerial posts for the land forces (often called "minister for war" etc.) and the naval forces. Since the end of World War II, the title has changed from war to defence, and has often involved putting a single defence minister in charge of all the armed forces. Another common reform which occurred at the end of World War II was to place the defence minister in a national security council, war cabinet, or a "Kitchen Cabinet", which allows the head of government or head of state to coordinate military, diplomatic and economic activities.

Minister of Defence (Vietnam)

The following is a list of Ministers of Defence of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Officeholders

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

Defence Minister of Denmark

The Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Forsvarsminister) is the politically appointed head of the Danish Ministry of Defence . The Minister of Defence is responsible for the Danish armed forces, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the Danish Emergency Management Agency. The main responsibilities of the Minister of Defence are to prevent armed conflicts and war, to safeguard the sovereignty of Denmark and integrity of Danish territory and to promote global peace and stability. Since 2002 these responsibilities have included the political leadership of the Danish contribution to the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

The Minister of Defence follows the directions given by the Prime Minister of Denmark and the decisions of the parliament (Danish: Folketinget). The highest military post in the Danish defence is the Danish Chief of Defence, who reports directly to the Minister of Defence on questions related to the command of the armed forces.