The Ministry of National Defence ( or MDN) is a Portuguese government ministry, which is responsible for preparing and executing the national defence policy, within the scope of its powers, as well as ensuring and supervising the administration of the Portuguese Armed Forces.
Mission
Participate in the definition of the national defence policy and elaborate and execute the policy related to its military component; Ensure and supervise the administration of the Armed Forces; Ensure the preparation of the means available to the Armed Forces and monitor and inspect their use; Define, execute and coordinate human, material and financial resources policies; Coordinate and guide actions related to the satisfaction of military commitments arising from international agreements, as well as relations with international organizations of a military nature, without prejudice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' own attributions; Prepare the Ministry's budget and guide the drafting of draft proposals for the Military Programming Law (LPM), coordinating and supervising the respective execution; Support the financing of actions, through the attribution of subsidies and the execution of transfers within the scope of the programs that are committed to it; To promote and dynamize the study, investigation, technological development and dissemination of matters of interest to national defence; Provide, in order to guarantee, the security of classified matters, either in Portugal or in national representations abroad; Perform the functions assigned to it within the scope of the Information System of the Portuguese Republic; Provide technical and administrative support to the Superior Council for National Defence and the Prime Minister, in the exercise of their functions, in matters of national defence and the Armed Forces.
Organization The Ministry of National Defence is structured as follows:
Armed forces: Armed Forces General Staff; Portuguese Navy; Portuguese Army; Portuguese Air Force.
Central services integrated in the direct administration: General secretary: Directorate-General for National Defence Policy; Directorate-General for National Defence Resources; General Inspection of National Defence; National Defence Institute; Military Judicial Police. Authorities: Maritime Authority System; National Aeronautical Authority.
Commissions: Coordinating Committee for the Evocation of the Centenary of World War I; Portuguese Military History Commission.
Tutored bodies: Armed Forces Social Action Institute Portuguese Red Cross; League of Combatants.
List of Ministers (since 1974) Colour key #PortraitNameTook officeLeft officePartyPrime Minister1Mário Firmino Miguel(1932–1991)16 May 197430 September 1974Ind.Adelino da Palma Carlos–Vacant office30 September 19743 October 1974Vasco Gonçalves2Vítor Alves(1935–2011)3 October 197424 February 1975Ind.3Silvano Ribeiro(1923–2004)24 February 197519 September 1975Ind.4José Pinheiro de Azevedo(1917–1983)19 September 197523 July 1976Ind.José Pinheiro de Azevedo5Mário Firmino Miguel(1932–1991)23 July 197622 November 1978Ind.Mário SoaresAlfredo Nobre da Costa6José Loureiro dos Santos(1932–1991)22 November 19783 January 1980Ind.Carlos Mota PintoMaria Lourdes Pintasilgo7Adelino Amaro da Costa(1943–1980)3 January 19804 December 1980CDSFrancisco Sá Carneiro–Vacant office4 December 19809 January 1981Diogo Freitas do Amaral8Luís de Azevedo Coutinho(1928–2016)9 January 19814 September 1981CDSFrancisco Pinto Balsemão9Diogo Freitas do Amaral(1941–2019)4 September 198125 February 1983CDS10Ricardo Bayão Horta(b. 1936)25 February 19839 June 1983CDS11Carlos Mota Pinto(1936–1985)9 June 198315 February 1985PSDMário Soares12Rui Machete(b. 1940)15 February 19856 November 1985PSD13Leonardo Ribeiro de Almeida(1924–2006)6 November 198517 August 1987PSDAníbal Cavaco Silva14Eurico de Melo(1925–2012)17 August 19875 January 1990PSD15Carlos Brito(b. 1935)5 January 19905 March 1990PSD16Fernando Nogueira(b. 1950)5 March 199016 March 1995PSD17António Figueiredo Lopes(b. 1936)16 March 199528 October 1995PSD18António Vitorino(b. 1957)28 October 199525 November 1997PSAntónio Guterres19José Veiga Simão(1929–2014)25 November 199729 May 1999PS20Jaime Gama(b. 1947)29 May 199925 October 1999PS21Júlio Castro Caldas(1943–2020)25 October 19993 July 2001Ind.22Rui Pena(1939–2018)3 July 20016 April 2002Ind.23Paulo Portas(b. 1962)6 April 200212 March 2005CDSJosé Durão BarrosoPedro Santana Lopes24Luís Amado(b. 1953)12 March 20053 July 2006PSJosé Sócrates25Nuno Severiano Teixeira(b. 1957)3 July 200626 October 2009PS26Augusto Santos Silva(b. 1956)26 October 200921 June 2011PS27José Pedro Aguiar-Branco(b. 1957)21 June 201126 November 2015PSDPedro Passos Coelho28José Azeredo Lopes(b. 1961)26 November 201515 October 2018Ind.António Costa29João Gomes Cravinho(b. 1964)15 October 201830 March 2022PS30Helena Carreiras(b. 1965)30 March 20222 April 2024PS31Nuno Melo(b. 1966)2 April 2024presentCDSLuís Montenegro
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