Minister of Defence (Denmark)

The Minister of Defence of Denmark (Danish: Forsvarsminister, pronounced [ˈfɒːsvɑsmiˌnistɐ]) is the politically appointed head of the Danish Ministry of Defence. The Minister of Defence is responsible for the Danish armed forces, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the Danish Emergency Management Agency.

Minister of Defence
Forsvarsministeren
Standard of the Minister of Defence
Incumbent
Troels Lund Poulsen
since 22 August 2023
Ministry of Defence
Member ofthe Cabinet
Reports tothe Prime minister
AppointerThe Monarch
on advice of the Prime Minister
Constituting instrumentForsvarsloven
PrecursorMinister for the Navy
Minister of War
Formation14 January 1905
First holderJ.C. Christensen
WebsiteOfficial Website

The Minister of Defence follows the directions given by the Prime Minister of Denmark and the decisions of the Folketing. The Danish Defence Law (Danish: Forsvarsloven) designates in article 9 the Minister of Defence as the supreme authority in Defence (Danish: højeste ansvarlige myndighed for forsvaret). Under the Minister is the Chief of Defence, the senior-ranking professional military officer heading the Defence Command, who commands the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and other units not reporting directly to the Ministry of Defence.[1][2]

The main responsibilities of the Minister of Defence are to prevent armed conflicts and war, to safeguard the sovereignty of Denmark and integrity of Danish territory and to promote global peace and stability. Since 2002 these responsibilities have included the political leadership of the Danish contribution to the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

The current Defence Minister is Troels Lund Poulsen.

History

In 1905, the offices of the Minister of the Navy and the Minister of War were merged to create the current office of Defence Minister.[3]

See also

References
  1. "LOV nr 122 af 27/02/2001 om forsvarets formål, opgaver og organisation m.v." (in Danish). Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  2. "Facts and Figures" (PDF). Danish Defence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  3. "Ministre gennem tiderne" (in Danish).
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