The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF; ms, Kementerian Pertahanan; zh, 新加坡国防部; ta, தற்காப்பு அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the

Government of Singapore The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...

responsible for overseeing the national defence of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bo ...

History

MINDEF, together with the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

, was created on 11 August 1970 by splitting up the then

Ministry of Interior and Defence Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

Responsibilities

MINDEF's mission is to "enhance Singapore's peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor." It has a policy of '' Total Defence'' which consists of Military Defence, Civil Defence, Economic Defence, Social Defence, Psychological Defence and Digital Defence involving the people, public and private sectors of the country.

Organisational structure

MINDEF oversees a single statutory board, the Defence Science and Technology Agency. The

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military, military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defenc ...

, which is in charge of the

Republic of Singapore Air Force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establis ...

(RSAF), the

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the naval service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any sea-borne threats, and the protection of its sea lines of communications, that would compr ...

(RSN) and the

Singapore Army The Singapore Army is the land service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The largest of the four branches of the SAF, the Singapore Army traces its origins to the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR), which was formed ...

is a military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).

Statutory boards

* Defence Science and Technology Agency

Ministers

The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Defence, who is appointed as part of the

Cabinet of Singapore The Cabinet of Singapore forms the executive branch of the Government of Singapore together with the President. It is led by the Prime Minister who is the head of government. The prime minister is a Member of Parliament (MP) appointed by the ...

. The incumbent minister is

Ng Eng Hen Ng Eng Hen ( zh, s=黄永宏, p=Huáng Yǒnghóng; born 10 December 1958) is a Singaporean politician and former oncologist who has been serving as Minister for Defence since 2011. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has b ...

from the

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

References

External links

Official websiteSingapore Government Directory Interactive — Ministry of Defence
*https://www.mindef.gov.sg/oms/dam/publications/ebooks/more_ebooks/ds21.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Defence (Singapore) Military of Singapore Defence, Ministry of

Ministries established in 1970 1970 establishments in Singapore