The Superior Council of National Defence (Portuguese: Conselho Superior de Defesa Nacional, CSDN) is a body of the Portuguese Government specifically for consulting the President of Portugal on matters of national defence and the functioning and discipline of the Portuguese Armed Forces.
CSDN Composition The CSDN is composed of a group of political and military leaders, among whom include Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers of State, Minister of National Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Internal Administration, Minister of Finance, Ministers responsible for the areas of industry, energy, transport, and communications, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Representatives of the Republic for the Autonomous Regions, Presidents of the governments of the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, President of the National Defense Committee of the Assembly of the Republic, Chiefs of Staff of the Navy, Army, and Air Force, and two Members of the Assembly of the Republic.
The President of the Republic may, on his own initiative or at the request of the Prime Minister, invite other persons to participate, without the right to vote, in meetings of the Superior Council of National Defence. The Superior Council of National Defence meets ordinarily every three months and extraordinarily whenever convened by the President of the Republic, either on his own initiative or at the request of the Prime Minister.
Current composition PositionMemberAffiliationPresident of the Republic and chair of the CouncilAntónio José SeguroPSPrime MinisterLuís MontenegroPSDDeputy Prime MinisterVacantMinister of StateMinister of Foreign AffairsMinister of State and Foreign AffairsPaulo RangelPSDMinister of StateMinister of FinanceMinister of State and FinanceJoaquim Miranda SarmentoPSDMinister of National DefenceMinister of National DefenceNuno MeloCDS–PPMinister of Internal AdministrationMinister of Internal AdministrationLuís NevesInd.Minister responsible for industryMinister of Economy and Territorial CohesionManuel Castro AlmeidaPSDMinister responsible for energyMinister of the Environment and EnergyGraça CarvalhoPSDMinister responsible for transportationMinister responsible for communicationsMinister of Infrastructure and HousingMiguel Pinto LuzPSDChief of the General Staff of the Armed ForcesGeneralJoão Cartaxo AlvesInd.Representative of the Republic for MadeiraPedro Barreto FerreiraInd.Representative of the Republic for the AzoresSusana Goulart CostaInd.President of the Regional Government of MadeiraMiguel AlbuquerquePSDPresident of the Regional Government of the AzoresJosé Manuel BolieiroPSDChair of the National Defence Committee of the Assembly of the RepublicPedro PessanhaCHChief of the Naval StaffAdmiralJorge Nobre de SousaInd.Chief of Staff of the ArmyGeneralEduardo Mendes FerrãoInd.Chief of Staff of the Air ForceGeneralSérgio Costa PereiraInd.Elected members of the Assembly of the RepublicBruno VitorinoPSDFrancisco CésarPS
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