A Ministry of Defence is the common name for a part of the government found in states where
the government is divided into ministries or departments, responsible for matters of
defence.
Such a department usually includes all branches of the military, and is usually controlled
by a Defence Minister, Minister of Defence, or Secretary of Defense.
Historically, such departments were referred to as a Ministry of War or War Department,
although such departments generally had authority only over the army of a country, with a separate
department governing other military branches.
Prior to WWII, most "Ministries of War" were Army ministries, while the Navy and the Air
Force, if it existed as a separate branch, had their own departments.
As late as 1953, for example, the Soviets for instance had a "Ministry of War" alongside
a "Ministry of the Navy".
The tendency to consolidate and rename these departments to highlight their purpose as
providing "defence" arose after World War II.
In India, for example, "the name of the War Department was found objectionable in the
sense that the concept had an aggressive aspect which was inconsistent with Indian traditions".
Ministries of defence Named "Ministry"
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defense Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of National Defence, Cambodia Ministry of National Defense
Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China
Ministry of National Defense Ministry of National Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of National Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of National Defence Ministry of National Defence
Federal Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defense
Ministry of Defence Ministry of National Defense
Ministry of National Defense Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Lithuania
Ministry of Defence Minister of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of People's Armed Forces Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Department of National Defense Ministry of National Defence of the Republic
of Poland Ministry of National Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of National Defence
Ministry of Defence and Aviation Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of National Defense Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of National Defence
Ministry of National Defence Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence, since 1964
Ministry of Defence, previous arrangement in the UK
Ministry of Defence Yugoslav Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence Named "Department"
United States Department of Defense Department of Defence
Department of National Defence Defence Branch, Hong Kong, renamed Security
Branch in 1973 Department of Defence
Department of National Defense Department of Defence
Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, Switzerland
Georgia Department of Defense, United States Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and
Emergency Management, United States Historically named "Ministry of War" or "War
Department" Ministry of War
Ministry of War Ministry of War
Secretariat of National Defense Prussian Minister of War
Ministry of War United States Department of War
References
See also War Office
Defence diplomacy, refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives through the peaceful
employment of defence resources and capabilities Defence minister