Defence minister

The title Defence Minister, also known as Minister of Defence, Minister for Defence, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of National Defense or some similar variation, is assigned to the person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in some sovereign nations. The minister usually has a very important role in a cabinet.

When cabinets first started appearing in the late 18th century, the defence ministers were often called "Ministers of War", and were in charge of the land forces of a nation. Since the end of World War II, the title has changed from war to defence, and has often involved putting a single defence minister in charge of all the armed forces. Another common reform which occurred at the end of World War II was to place the defence minister in a national security council or a "Kitchen Cabinet", which allows the head of government or head of state to coordinate military, diplomatic and economic activities.

The Defence Ministry in some countries is a very important ministry, sometimes considered more important than the foreign ministry. If war is common for a country, the minister's position is often assumed by the Prime Minister. (For example, five Prime Ministers of Israel have held the Defence (Security) Ministry during their Premiership). In many nations it is a strong convention that the defence minister be a civilian, in order to highlight civilian control over the military. In less democratic countries, the minister is often an active military official; in several countries the minister also holds the position of Commander of the Armed Forces.

People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of China is very unusual in that the Minister of National Defence (who is usually a senior, although not the highest ranking, military officer) and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) are both low ranking and relatively powerless; they do not have command over the People's Liberation Army. Command of the military belongs in the party and in the state Central Military Commissions; the MND exists primarily as a liaison and protocol 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 those of other governments. In ancient China this office was variously referred to as the Grand Marshal (Eastern Han dynasty), Grand Commandant (Qin and Han dynasty) and Grand Protector (Zhou dynasty).

List of defence ministries or departments

 * 🇦🇱 Albania: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇦🇲 Armenia: Defence Ministry
 * 🇦🇺 Australia: Minister for Defence
 * 🇦🇹 Austria: Ministry of National Defence and Sport
 * 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: Ministry of Defense
 * 🇧🇪 Belgium: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇧🇷 Brazil: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇰🇭 Cambodia: Ministry of National Defence
 * 🇨🇦 Canada: Minister of National Defence
 * 🇨🇱 Chile: Ministry of National Defence
 * China: Two governments use "China" in their name:
 * People's Republic of China: Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China
 * Republic of China: Ministry of National Defense
 * 🇨🇴 Colombia: Ministry of National Defense (Colombia)
 * 🇭🇷 Croatia: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇨🇾 Cyprus: Minister of Defence
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic: Ministry of Defence
 * Democratic Republic of Congo: Minister of Defence (Democratic Republic of Congo)
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark: Minister of Defence (list)
 * 🇪🇬 Egypt: Minister of Defence and Military Production
 * 🇪🇪 Estonia: Minister of Defence
 * 🇫🇮 Finland: Minister of Defence
 * 🇫🇷 France: Minister of Defence
 * 🇩🇪 Germany: Federal Ministry of Defence (list)
 * Prussia: Minister of War (1808–1918)
 * 🇬🇷 Greece: Minister for National Defence
 * 🇭🇰 Hong Kong: Secretary for Defence, renamed Secretary for Security in 1973
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary: Minister of Defence
 * 🇮🇩 Indonesia: Minister of Defence
 * 🇮🇳 India: Minister of Defence
 * 🇮🇪 Ireland: Minister for Defence
 * 🇮🇱 Israel: Ministry of Defense (in Hebrew: Sar Ha-Bitakhon)
 * 🇮🇹 Italy: Minister of Defence
 * 🇯🇵 Japan: Minister of Defense
 * 🇱🇹 Lithuania: Ministry of National Defence
 * 🇲🇰 Macedonia: Minister of Defense
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico: Secretariat of National Defense (Mexico)[
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand: Minister of Defence
 * 🇳🇴 Norway: Minister of Defence
 * 🇵🇰 Pakistan: Defence Minister
 * People's Republic of China: Ministry of National Defense
 * 🇵🇪 Peru: Ministry of Defense
 * 🇵🇭 Philippines: Department of National Defense
 * 🇵🇱 Poland: Ministry of National Defence
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal: Ministry of National Defence
 * Republic of China: Ministry of National Defense
 * 🇷🇴 Romania: Ministry of National Defense
 * 🇷🇺 Russia: Ministry of Defence
 * Soviet Union: Minister of Defence
 * Russian Empire: List of heads of the military of Imperial Russia
 * 🇷🇸 Serbia: Minister of Defence
 * 🇸🇬 Singapore: Ministry for Defence
 * 🇸🇴 Somalia: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa: Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
 * 🇪🇸 Spain: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden: Minister for Defence
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland: Member of the Federal Council heading the:
 * Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (list)
 * formerly "Federal Military Department" (list)
 * 🇹🇯 Tajikistan: Ministry of Defense
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Ministry of Defence
 * 🇹🇴 Tonga: Minister of Defence
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey: Ministry of National Defence (Turkey)
 * : Secretary of State for Defence (with list)
 * 🇺🇸: Secretary of Defense (with list)
 * : Ministry of Defence