The Ministry of Defence ( nl, Ministerie van Defensie; MinDef) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for the armed forces of the Netherlands and

Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

. The Ministry was created in 1813 as the "Ministry of War" and in 1928 was combined with the "Ministry of the Navy". After

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 ...

in the ministries were separated again, in this period the Minister of War and Minister of the Navy were often the same person and the State secretary for the Navy was responsible for daily affairs of the

Royal Dutch Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world a ...

. In 1959 the ministries were merged. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Defence, currently

Kajsa Ollongren Jkvr. Karin Hildur "Kajsa" Ollongren (; ; born 28 May 1967) is a Dutch politician serving as the Netherlands' Minister of Defence since 10 January 2022. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66), she previously served as Minister of the Interior and ...

, assisted by the Chief of the Defence of the Netherlands, Onno Eichelsheim since April 2021.

Responsibilities

The ministry has the responsibility for: * protecting the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (which includes the Netherlands,

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the north ...

and

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

) and her allies; * protecting and enhancing the international legal system and stability; * supporting civil authorities in maintaining order, in case of emergencies and in giving

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...

, both national and international.

Organisation

The ministry consists of the Minister (

) and the State secretary of Defence ( Christophe van der Maat), the so-called Central Staff, the

Netherlands Armed Forces The Netherlands Armed Forces ( nl, Nederlandse krijgsmacht) are the military services of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The core of the armed forces consists of the four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (), the Royal Netherlands ...

and two supporting organisations. The Central Staff of the ministry is led by the Secretary-General, the highest civil servant. The most important elements of the Central Staff are: * several directorates for policy, personnel, materiel and finance * the Defence Staff * the Defence Audit Service * the Security Authority * the Military Intelligence and Security Service * the Military Aviation Authority The highest military official is the

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position withi ...

( nl, Commandant der Strijdkrachten). He is a four-star general or admiral and controls the branches of the armed forces, which are organised in three operational commands: * the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

Command; * the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

Command; * the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

Command. The fourth branch of service, the Royal Netherlands Constabulary, falls directly under the Secretary-General. The armed forces are supported by two civil organisations that reside under the Ministry of Defence: * a Support Command ( nl, Commando DienstenCentra); and * the Defence Materiel Organization ( nl, Defensie Materieel Organisatie). The ministry employs over 70,000 civil and military personnel.

References

External links

*
Ministerie van Defensie
(Rijksoverheid) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

Military of the Netherlands Ministries established in 1813

Responsibilities

Organisation

See also

References

External links