| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
The Defence Ministry in some countries is a very important ministry, sometimes considered more important than the foreign minister (U.S., secretary of state). It is often assumed by the Prime Minister if war is common for that nation (for example, no less than five Prime Ministers of Israel have held the Defence Ministry during their Premiership). In many nations, it is the very strong convention that the defence minister be a civilian to highlight civilian control over the military. In less democratic countries, the minister is often a uniformed army official.
In the United States, the defence minister has been called the Secretary of Defense since 1947, when the once separate War Department and the Department of the Navy were merged (though the Secretary of the Navy exists to this day, it is no longer a Cabinet level position, being subordinate to the Secretary of Defense). In the United States, military orders typically go from the President of the United States through the Secretary.
In the United Kingdom, the Defence Minister is called the Secretary of State for DefenceThe Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. The post was created on 1 April 1964 and combined the former cabinet positions of First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for. In many countries, the formal title is Minister for Defence.
The People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China PRC comprises most of the cultural, historic, and geographic area known as China. Since its founding in 1949, it has been led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is the world's most populous country, with a population is very unusual in that the Minister of National DefenceThe Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China is a ministry under the State Council. It is headed by the Minister of National Defense . In contrast to practice in other nations, the Ministry of National Defense does not exercise autho (who is usually a senior although not the highest ranking military officer) and the Ministry of National Defence are both very low ranking, relatively powerless groups which to not have command over the People's Liberation ArmyAlternate meaning: Shining Path The People's Liberation Army (PLA; Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , pinyin: Renmin Jiefang Jun), including strategic nuclear forces, an army, navy and air force, serves as the military of the People's Republic o. Command of the military belongs in the party and state Central Military CommissionThe Central Military Commission refers to one of two bodies within the People's Republic of China. Unlike most national armies, the People's Liberation Army is not considered as just another ministry. Although China does have a Ministry of National Defenss, and the MND exists primarily as a liaison and protocolFor the meaning in computer science, see protocol (computing). In addition to the meaning below, treaties are sometimes called protocols. The word derives from a Greek phrase meaning "first leaf", referring to the first draft of a treaty. Protocol is the office to communicate with foreign militaries. Essentially, the MND exists only because most other nations have defence ministries and for protocol and liaison purposes, the PRC needs to have an institution corresponding with that of other governments.