The Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures was the title of

Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was chief of staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the Irish Civil War. Aiken later served as Tánaiste from 1965 to 1969 and Minister ...

as a member of the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

from 8 September 1939 to 18 June 1945 during The Emergency — the

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

in operation in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Minister was intended to handle

Civil Defence Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...

and related measures, allowing the

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

to concentrate on matters relating to the

regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

. The office was also responsible for handling wartime

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. Aiken was a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

, as there was no Department of State corresponding to his brief, although there was an Office of the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures. The Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1939, which allows for ministers without portfolio, also allows such a minister to have a specific style or title. In fact, Aiken had been appointed on 8 September 1939, and the Act was passed on 21 December 1939, backdated to 8 September. The Minister for Supplies, who did have a corresponding Department of State, was established on the same dates. The section in the Act on

ministers without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

was seen by

Richard Mulcahy Richard James Mulcahy (10 May 1886 – 16 December 1971) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and army general who served as Minister for Education from 1948 to 1951 and 1954 to 1957, Minister for the Gaeltacht from June 1956 to October 1956, ...

as designed to safeguard the legality of Aiken's office.

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

explained the reasoning behind the ministry: The Minister received functions delegated by other ministers, as provided for by section 6 of the

Emergency Powers Act 1939 The Emergency Powers Act 1939 (EPA) was an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) enacted on 3 September 1939, after an official state of emergency had been declared on 2 September 1939 in response to the outbreak of the Second World War. The ...

. Aiken enforced stringent

of news, and of material potentially sympathetic to the Allies, in accordance with Ireland's neutrality. He was also responsible for air raid precautions, delegated by the Minister for Defence.

Seán Moylan Seán Moylan (19 November 1889 – 16 November 1957) was a senior officer of the Irish Republican Army and later a Fianna Fáil politician. He served as Minister for Agriculture from May 1957 to November 1957, Minister for Education from 1951 ...

, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, served also as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures. In April 1941, Aiken went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to ask President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

for military aid. Roosevelt told Aiken that Ireland should be supporting Britain, prompting Aiken to ask Roosevelt to seek guarantees from the British Government that the UK would not invade Ireland. In 1943, Labour Party TDs

William Davin William Davin (19 February 1890 – 1 March 1956) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for over thirty years. He was also a station-master. His first candidacy for public office was at the 1922 general elec ...

and Timothy J. Murphy questioned the need for such a minister, and the vagueness of its responsibilities. The ministry was abolished on 18 June 1945. The following day, Aiken was appointed

Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coordination of Defensive Measures Éamon de Valera Independent Ireland in World War II Lists of defunct government ministers of Ireland