Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)

Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)
Dutch Ministry of Defence in The Hague
Netherlands

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The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (Ministerie van Defensie) governs the Netherlands Armed Forces. The Minister is assisted by a State Secretary. The current Minister is Hans Hillen.

Contents

Responsibilities

The ministry has the responsibility for:

  • protecting the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (which includes the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba) 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, both national and international.

Organisation

The ministry consists of the Minister and the State Secretary of Defence, the so called Central Staff, the Netherlands Armed Forces, 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 Commander of the Armed Forces (Commandant der Strijdkrachten). He is a four-star general and controls the branches of the armed forces, which are organised in three operational commands:

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 (Commando DienstenCentra); and
  • the Defence Materiel Organisation (Defensie Materieel Organisatie).

The ministry employs over 70,000 civil and military personnel.

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.

List of Ministers of Defence

Minister of Defence In Office Party Prime Minister Cabinet Note(s)
Jo Meynen June 24, 1945 - July 3, 1946 Anti Revolutionary Party Wim Schermerhorn Schermerhorn-Drees Minister of War
Jim de Booy February 23, 1945 – July 3, 1946 Liberal
(No Party)
Wim Schermerhorn Schermerhorn-Drees Minister of the Marine
Alexander Fiévez
Alexander Fiévez
July 3, 1946 - August 7, 1948 Catholic People's Party Louis Beel Beel I Minister of War
Minister of the Marine (July 3, 1946 - August 7, 1946 / November 24, 1947 - August 7, 1948)
Jules Schagen van Leeuwen August 7, 1946 - November 24, 1947 None Louis Beel Beel I Minister of the Marine (Resigned)
Wim Schokking
Wim Schokking
August 7, 1948 - October 15, 1950 Christian Historical Union Willem Drees Drees-Van Schaik Minister of War and Minister of the Marine (Resigned)
Hans s'Jacob
Hans s'Jacob
October 16, 1950 - March 15, 1951 Christian Historical Union Willem Drees Drees-Van Schaik Minister of War and Minister of the Marine
Kees Staf
Kees Staf
March 15, 1951 - May 19, 1959 Christian Historical Union Willem Drees (1951–1958)
Louis Beel (1958–1959)
Drees I
Drees II
Drees III
Beel II
Sidney J. van den Bergh
Sidney J. van den Bergh
May 19, 1959 - August 1, 1959 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Jan de Quay De Quay (Resigned)
Jan de Quay
Jan de Quay
August 1, 1959 - September 4, 1959 Catholic People's Party Jan de Quay De Quay Prime Minister (Ad interim)
Sim Visser
Sim Visser
September 4, 1959 – July 24, 1963 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Jan de Quay De Quay
Piet de Jong
Piet de Jong
July 24, 1963 – April 5, 1967 Catholic People's Party Victor Marijnen (1963–1965)
Jo Cals (1965–1966)
Jelle Zijlstra (1966–1967)
Marijnen
Cals
Zijlstra
Willem den Toom
Willem den Toom
April 5, 1967 – July 6, 1971 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Piet de Jong De Jong
Hans de Koster
Hans de Koster
July 6, 1971 – May 11, 1973 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Barend Biesheuvel Biesheuvel I
Biesheuvel II
Henk Vredeling
Henk Vredeling
May 11, 1973 – January 1, 1977 Labour Party Joop den Uyl Den Uyl (Resigned)
Bram Stemerdink
Bram Stemerdink
January 1, 1977 - December 19, 1977 Labour Party Joop den Uyl Den Uyl
Roelof Kruisinga
Roelof Kruisinga
December 19, 1977 - March 4, 1978 Christian Historical Union Dries van Agt Van Agt I (Resigned)
Jan de Koning
Jan de Koning
March 4, 1978 - March 8, 1978 Anti Revolutionary Party Dries van Agt Van Agt I Minister for Development Cooperation (Ad interim)
Willem Scholten
Willem Scholten
March 8, 1978 - August 25, 1980 Christian Historical Union Dries van Agt Van Agt I (Resigned)
Pieter de Geus
Pieter de Geus
August 25, 1980 - September 11, 1981 Christian Historical Union
(On October 11, 1980 merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal)
Dries van Agt Van Agt I
Hans van Mierlo
Hans van Mierlo
September 11, 1981 – November 4, 1982 Democrats 66 Dries van Agt Van Agt II
Van Agt III
Job de Ruiter
Job de Ruiter
November 4, 1982 - July 14, 1986 Christian Democratic Appeal Ruud Lubbers Lubbers I
Wim van Eekelen
Wim van Eekelen
July 14, 1986 - September 6, 1988 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Ruud Lubbers Lubbers II (Resigned)
Piet Bukman
Piet Bukman
September 6, 1988 - September 23, 1988 Christian Democratic Appeal Ruud Lubbers Lubbers II Minister for Development Cooperation (Ad interim)
Frits Bolkestein
Frits Bolkestein
September 24, 1988 - November 7, 1989 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Ruud Lubbers Lubbers II
Relus ter Beek
Relus ter Beek
November 7, 1989 – August 22, 1994 Labour Party Ruud Lubbers Lubbers III
Joris Voorhoeve
Joris Voorhoeve
August 22, 1994 - August 3, 1998 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Wim Kok Kok I
Frank de Grave
Frank de Grave
August 3, 1998 – July 22, 2002 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Wim Kok Kok II
Benk Korthals July 22, 2002 – December 12, 2002 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Jan Peter Balkenende Balkenende I (Resigned)
Henk Kamp
Henk Kamp
December 12, 2002 – February 22, 2007 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Jan Peter Balkenende Balkenende I
Balkenende II
Balkenende III
Eimert van Middelkoop
Eimert van Middelkoop
February 22, 2007 – October 14, 2010 ChristianUnion Jan Peter Balkenende Balkenende IV
Hans Hillen
Hans Hillen
Since October 14, 2010 Christian Democratic Appeal Mark Rutte Rutte

See also

External links


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