Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)
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| Ministerie van Defensie | |
General Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of the Defence | |
| Website | https://www.defensie.nl |
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The Ministry of Defence (
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![Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. [The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.] The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (French for "I will maintain".)](/File:State_coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands.svg) |
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Responsibilities
The ministry is responsible for:
- protecting the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (which includes the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten 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 (Kajsa Ollongren) and the State secretary of Defence (Christophe van der Maat), 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
- the Royal Netherlands Navy Command;
- the Royal Netherlands Army Command;
- the Royal Netherlands Air Force Command.
The fourth branch of service, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, is a gendarmerie force that 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 (Dutch: Defensie Ondersteuningscommando); and
- the Command Materiel and IT (Dutch: Commando Materieel en IT).
The ministry employs around 70,000 civil and military personnel.
See also
References
- ^ (in Dutch) [1], Defensie, September 1, 2023
- ^ (in Dutch) [https://www.defensie.nl/onderwerpen/overdefensie/het-verhaal-van-defensie/financien
- ^ "Dijkhoff voor even minister van Defensie" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting.
- ^ Editorial, Reuters (3 October 2017). "Dutch defense minister resigns over peacekeepers' deaths in Mali". Reuters.
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External links
- (in Dutch) Ministerie van Defensie (Rijksoverheid)
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