A ministry of defence or defense (see

spelling differences Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable variations being British and Americ ...

), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided into

ministries 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 mi ...

or departments. Such a department usually includes all branches of the military, and is usually controlled by a defence minister or secretary of defense. 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 they are also an integral part of the operational military chain of command. Historically, such departments were referred to as a ministry of war or department of war, although they generally had authority only over the army of a country, with a separate department governing other military branches. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, most "ministries of war" were army ministries, while the navy and the air force, if they existed as separate branches, had their own departments. As late as 1953, for example, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

had a "ministry of war" alongside a "ministry of the navy". The tendency to consolidate and rename these departments, and to coordinate until then mostly separate components of defence (air, land, navy) arose after World War II.

Lists of current ministries of defence

* Ministry of Defence (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Defence (Albania) * Ministry of Defence (Algeria) * Ministry of National Defence and Homeland Veterans (Angola) * Ministry of Defense (Argentina) * Ministry of Defence of Armenia *

Department of Defence (Australia) The Department of Defence, also known simply as Defence, is a Government department, department of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for administering the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and its related enti ...

* Ministry of Defence (Austria) * Ministry of Defence (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of Defence (Bangladesh) * Ministry of Defence (Belarus) * Ministry of Defence (Belgium) *

Ministry of Defence (Bosnia and Herzegovina) The Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina () is the governmental department in charge of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and protection of Bosnia and Herzegovina from invasion and threats. History Prior to the creation o ...

* Ministry of Defence and Security (Botswana) * Ministry of Defence (Brazil) * Ministry of Defence (Brunei) * Ministry of Defence (Bulgaria) *

Ministry of National Defence (Cambodia) The Ministry of National Defence (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is charged with supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. It is Cambodia's m ...

Ministry of Defence (Cameroon) The Ministry of Defence () is a ministry of the Government of Cameroon. This ministry is responsible for military and defence of the country. Ministers of Defence * Jean Baptiste Mabaya, 1960-1961 * Sadou Daoudou, 1961-1982 * Abdoulaye Maikano, ...

Department of National Defence (Canada) The Department of National Defence (DND; ) is the department of the Government of Canada which supports the Canadian Armed Forces in its role of defending Canadian national interests domestically and internationally. The department is a civilian ...

Ministry of National Defence (Greece) The Ministry of National Defence (, abbreviated ΥΠΕΘΑ), is the civilian cabinet organisation responsible for managing the Hellenic Armed Forces, the leader of which is, according to the Constitution (Article 45), the President of the ...

* Ministry of Defence (Guatemala) * Ministry of Defence (Haiti) *

Ministry of Defence (India) The Ministry of Defence (MoD) or Raksha Mantralay is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the cerem ...

* Ministry of Defense (Indonesia) * Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran) * Ministry of Defence (Iraq) *

Department of Defence (Ireland) The Department of Defence () is the Department of State (Ireland), department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for preserving peace and security in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and administers the Defence Forces (Ireland), Iris ...

* Ministry of Defense (Israel) * Ministry of Defence (Italy) * Ministry of Defense (Japan) *

Ministry of Defence (Jordan) The Ministry of Defence () of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a ministerial mandate in the Government of Jordan responsible for defence of Jordan. It had never been a separate ministerial entity, and since 1970, the Minister of Defence h ...

Ministry of National Defence (Romania) The Ministry of National Defence () is one of the eighteen ministries of the Government of Romania. The current acting Minister of National Defence is Angel Tîlvăr. Ministry The Ministry of National Defence is the specialized body of the ...

Ministry of Defence (Russia) The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (; MOD) is the governing body of the Russian Armed Forces. The President of Russia is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Commander-in-Chief of the forces ...

* Ministry of Defence (Rwanda) * Ministry of National Defence (São Tomé and Príncipe) * Ministry of Defense (Saudi Arabia) * Ministry of Defence (Serbia) * Ministry of Defence and National Security (Sierra Leone) *

Ministry of Defence (Singapore) The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF; ; zh, 新加坡國防部; ) is a ministry (government department), ministry under the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the National security, national defence of Singapore. History MINDEF, ...

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serv ...

* Department of Defense (United States) * Ministry of Defense (Uzbekistan) * Ministry of Defense (Venezuela) * Ministry of Defence (Vietnam) *

Ministry of Defence (Zambia) The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is a government institution in Zambia responsible for preserving, protecting and defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Zambia from both internal and external threats.''Zambia: Poverty Reduction Strat ...

* Ministry of Defence (Zimbabwe)

Historical

* Department of Defence (1901–1921) (Australia) * Department of Defence (1921–1939) (Australia) * Department of Defence Co-ordination (Australia, 1939–1942) * Department of Defence Production (Australia, 1951–1958) * Department of Defence Support (Australia, 1982–1984) *

Ministry of Defence (Artsakh) The Ministry of Defence of Artsakh () was a government agency of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. It was the executive body in implementing defence policies of the Artsakh Defense Army, Artsakh Defence Army. The final minister of defence wa ...

(1995–2023) * Ministry of Defence (Czechoslovakia) (1918–1992) * Ministry of National Defence (East Germany) (1956–1990) * Ministry of Defence (Republika Srpska) (1992–2005) * Ministry of Defense (Soviet Union) (1953–1992) * Ministry of Defence (1947–1964) (United Kingdom)

Lists

* List of current defence ministers

References

{{Authority control Defence Defence

Lists of current ministries of defence

Historical

Lists

See also

References