Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)
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The Ministry of Defence (Ministerie van Defensie; Def) is the Dutch Ministry of Defence: it coordinates the military of the Netherlands. The minister is assisted by a state secretary. The current minister is Eimert van Middelkoop, the current state secretary is Jack de Vries.
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[edit] Responsibilities
The ministry has the responsibility for
- protecting the territory of the Netherlands and her allies, including the Dutch Antilles and Aruba.
- protecting and enhancing the international legal system and stability.
- supporting civil authorities in maintaining order, in case of emergencies and in giving humanitarian aid, both national and international.
[edit] Organisation
The ministry consists of the minister and the state secretary of defence, the civil service in the Hague and the military of the Netherlands.
The ministry is led by the secretary-general, the highest civil servant, and a vice-secretary general. It comprises three directorates general: Finance, Personnel and Equipment. The last two control the Command Service Centres (Commando DienstenCentra) and the Defence Material Organisation (Defensie Materieel Organisatie).
The highest military official is the commander of the armed forces (Commandant der Strijdkrachten). He controls the operational commands, the Royal Netherlands Army, Royal Netherlands Navy, Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Constabulary.
The ministry employes over 70,000 civil and military personnel.
[edit] History
Since 1813 the Netherlands had a ministry of War and a ministry of the Navy. In 1928 these merged to form the ministry of defence, but between 1945-1959 the ministries were separated again. In this period the minister of War and the Navy were often the same person and the state secretary of the Navy was responsible for daily affairs. In 1959 the ministries were merged.
[edit] Ministers and State Secretaries
Since 1989 the following politicians have been minister and state secretary of Defence:
| Period | Minister | State Secretary |
|---|---|---|
| 1989-1993 | Relus ter Beek (PvdA) | Berend-Jan van Voorst tot Voorst (CDA) |
| 1993-1994 | Relus ter Beek (PvdA) | Ton Frinking (CDA) |
| 1994-1998 | Joris Voorhoeve (VVD) | Jan Gmelich Meijling (VVD) |
| 1998-2002 | Frank de Grave (VVD) | Henk van Hoof (VVD) |
| 2002 | Benk Korthals (VVD) | Cees van der Knaap (CDA) |
| 2002-2007 | Henk Kamp (VVD) | Cees van der Knaap (CDA) |
| 2007 | Eimert van Middelkoop (CU) | Cees van der Knaap (CDA) |
| 2007-now | Eimert van Middelkoop (CU) | Jack de Vries (CDA) |
[edit] External links
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