The Ministry of Defence () is a department of the

Albanian Government Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, where the President of Albania is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Albania the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Government a ...

, in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and ordering, coordinating and carrying out the general guidelines of the Cabinet about the defence policy, and is the headquarters of the

Military of Albania The Albanian Armed Forces ( sq, Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë (FARSH)) are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of the General Staff, the Albanian Land ...

. It is Albania's ministry of defence. The Defence Minister of Albania is the nominal head of all the military, serving under the

President of Albania The president of Albania ( sq, Presidenti i Shqipërisë), officially styled the President of the Republic of Albania ( sq, Presidenti i Republikës së Shqipërisë), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and the representa ...

, who is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Albania. The defence minister exercises the administrative and operational authority over the military. The armed forces under the Ministry of Defence are primarily responsible for ensuring the territorial integrity of the nation.

Structure

The Ministry of Defence includes numerous smaller agencies aside from the three main branches of the military. These include the Authority of the State Export Control, the Military Export Import Company, the Center of Culture, Media, and Defence Publications, the Inter-Institutional Maritime Operation Center, and the Defence Intelligence Security Agency. These agencies, centers, and offices report to the Minister of Defence.

Authority of the State Export Control

The Authority of the State Export Control (AKSHE) (Albanian: ''Autoriteti i Kontrollit Shtetëror të Eksporteve'') is the agency tasked with controlling the export, import, and transportation of military goods.

Center of Culture, Media, and Defence Publications

The Center of Culture, Media, and Defence Publications (QKMBM) (Albanian: ''Qendra e Kulturës, Medias, Botimeve të Mbrojtjes, Muzeut dhe Shtëpive të Pushimit'') is an organization involved in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

and general communications for the Ministry of Defence. It is itself composed of the Directorate of Public Relations and Communications, the Directorate of Publications, the Directorate of the Community Relations Activities, and the Directorate of Sports Activities.

Inter-Institutional Maritime Operation Center

The Inter-Institutional Maritime Operation Center (IMOC) (Albanian: ''Qendra Ndërinstitucionale Operacionale Detare'') is an inter-ministry agency tasked with managing Albania's maritime territory. It is a collaboration between the Ministries of Defence, Internal Affairs, Finance, Environment,

Transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

, Agriculture, and Tourism.

Defence Intelligence Security Agency

The Defence Intelligence Security Agency (DISA) (Albanian: ''Agjencia e Inteligjencës dhe Sigurisë së Mbrojtjes'' (AISM)) is a

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

agency within the Ministry of Defence, which provides intelligence to the Ministry as well as the Albanian Armed Forces. It is governed by Law No. 65/2014.

Reorganization

Since the establishment of the institution, the Ministry of Defence has undergone several administrative changes to its organizational structure. When a new department was formed, it often merged with the ministry thus expanding its role, subsequently leading to the name of the ministry being changed. If that department later broke off as a separate ministry or was dissolved, the ministry reverted to its original name. * Ministry of War (1912–1939) * Ministry of War and Defence Command (1944–1946) * Ministry of National Defence (1946–1950) * Ministry of People's Defence (1950–1991) * Ministry of Defence (1991–present)

Subordinate institutions

* Armed Forces Academy * Export Control State Authority ''(AKSHE)'' * Center of Culture, Media and Defence Publications ''(QKMBM)'' * Inter-Institutional Marine Operation Center ''(QNOD)''

Officeholders (1912–present)

Notes

References

{{authority control Politics of Albania Defense 1912 establishments in Albania

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...