Forsvarsministeriet

Established	May 27, 1950
Activated	October 1, 1950
Defence Minister Defence Minister of Denmark The Defence Minister of Denmark is the Danish political minister as the head of the Danish Ministry of Defence, and is responsible for the Danish military, keeping Denmark defended against external threats, waging war on behalf of Denmark , and the surveillance of the Danish sea and airspace.The...	Nick Hækkerup
Budget (2005)	19,1 billion DKK
Employees	130 civilian ~30.000 military
Webpage	forsvaret.dk

The Ministry of Defence of Denmark is a ministry in the Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 government. It is charged with overall planning, development, and strategic guidance of the entire area of responsibility of the Danish Defence minister, including the armed forces and the emergency management sector. It is the secretariat of the Danish Defence Minister

Defence Minister of Denmark

The Defence Minister of Denmark is the Danish political minister as the head of the Danish Ministry of Defence, and is responsible for the Danish military, keeping Denmark defended against external threats, waging war on behalf of Denmark , and the surveillance of the Danish sea and airspace.The...

.

History

The Ministry of Defence was established following the Danish defence law of May 27, 1950 (law #272), about the central structure of the military of Denmark

Military of Denmark

The armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark, known as the Danish Defence is charged with the defence of the Kingdom of Denmark.The Chief of Defence is the head of the Danish Armed Forces, and is head of the Defence Command which is managed by the Ministry of Defence. Constitutionally, the...

. This combined the two previous ministries; Ministry of War (Krigsministeriet) and the Marine ministry (Marineministeriet). The Minister of Defence had already been created in 1905 as the head of both ministries, though still with branch (Army and Navy) chiefs as administrators.

This new Ministry can though trace its history back to 1660, when King Frederick III

Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...

 established a War collegium (Krigskollegium) for the Army to in both war- and peacetime to administer the Army. A similar command had previously been created for the Navy, the Admiralty (Admiralitetet) of 1655.

The War collegium changed name to Krigskancelliet in 1679 and later to Generalitets- og Kommisariatskollegiet. The day after the de facto end to absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

 in Denmark, March 21, 1848, Anton Frederik Tscherning became the first War minister of Denmark, with the Generalitets- og Kommisariatskollegiet changing name into the Ministry of War on March 25, 1848.
Likewise Adam Wilhelm Moltke

Adam Wilhelm Moltke

Count Adam Wilhelm Moltke was Prime Minister of Denmark from 1848 to 1852. He was the first Danish Prime Minister in the Danish constitutional monarchy outlined in 1848 and signed as the Danish Constitution on 5 June 1849 by Frederik VII of Denmark.Adam Wilhelm Moltke was the grandson of Adam...

 became the first Marine minister (simultaneous Prime minister

Prime Minister of Denmark

The Prime Minister of Denmark is the head of government in Danish politics. The Prime Minister is traditionally the leader of a political coalition in the Folketing and presides over the cabinet....

), while the Admiralty changed into the Marine ministry on April 21, 1848.

Departments and areas of responsibility

• Danish Defence Estates & Infrastructure Organisation (FBE)
• Danish Emergency Management Agency
  Danish Emergency Management Agency
  The Danish Emergency Management Agency is a Danish governmental agency under the Ministry of Defence. Its principal task is to manage an operational part who work out of six Emergency Management Centres, and administrative and legalizing part, who supervises the national and municipal rescue...
  
   (BRS)
• Danish Maritime Safety Administration (FRV)
• Defence Command
  Defence Command (Denmark)
  The Defence Command of Denmark short FKO, is the Danish branch-combined military command and the top coordination and controlling authority of the Danish military...
  
   (FKO)
• Defence Information & Welfare Service (FOV)
• Defence Intelligence (FE)
• Defence Internal Revision
• Defence Judge Advocate Corps
  Defence Judge Advocate Corps (Denmark)
  Defence Judge Advocate Corps is a Danish independent military prosecutor and the legal branch of the Danish military. It is a Level.I command and is under the Ministry of Defence. The Generalauditør heads the Defence Judge Advocate Corps...
  
   (FAUK)
• Home Guard Command
  Home Guard Command (Denmark)
  Home Guard Command , short "HJK", is the Danish Home Guard's top authority and is a level one authority reporting directly to the Ministry of Defence.It is under dual management by a military General and a civilian ....
  
   (HJK)
• Militærnægteradministrationen