The Ministry of Defense of Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

is a ministry

Ministry (government department)

A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...

 of the national executive power that deals with everything related to the country national defense. It currently works at the Libertador Building

Libertador Building

The Libertador Building is a government building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, housing the Ministry of Defense.-Overview:...

, at Paseo Colón 250, Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

.

As of December 2010 the minister of Defense is Arturo Puricelli

Arturo Puricelli

Arturo Puricelli is an Argentine lawmaker, currently the country's Minister of Defense.-Life and times:Arturo Antonio Puricelli was born in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, in 1948. He enrolled at the National University of the Littoral, and became affiliated with the populist Justicialist Party...

.

History

Traditionally the minister of Defense, as the Joint chiefs of Staff ( ) which traces back its origin to 1948 had a minor role in all armed forces activities relegating key decisions to the respectives chiefs of staff

A great change came into effect on June 12, 2006 when President Néstor Kirchner

Néstor Kirchner

Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...

 brought into force the Defence Law, which had been passed in 1988 as a means to modernize the doctrine of the armed forces and define their role, though successive governments had failed to put it into effect.

The law states that the armed forces will only be used against foreign aggression, and reduces the powers of the heads of the armed services, centralizing whole operational and acquisitions decisions under the authority of the minister of Defense through the Armed Forces Joint General Staff emphasizing Jointness

Jointness

Jointness is an expression coined by the US Services to describe cross service cooperation in all stages of the military processes, from research, through procurement and into operations. Today, it is accepted by many advanced militaries including the Israeli Security Forces...

 

Structure

• Estado Mayor Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas (EMC) : Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces
• Secretaría de Estrategia y Asuntos Militares : Strategy and Military Affairs Secretary
• Secretaría de Planeamiento : Planning Secretary
• Secretaría de Asuntos Internacionales de la Defensa : Defense Foreign Affairs Secretary
• Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia Estratégica Militar
  Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia Estratégica Militar
  Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia Estratégica Militar is an Argentine intelligence agency part of the National Intelligence System, created by the 2001 It is structurally dependent of the Ministry of Defense.-Function:Its main mission is to produce strategic military intelligence and analysis...
  
   : National Directory for Military Intelligence
• Dirección Nacional de Derechos Humanos y el Derecho Internacional Humanitario : National Directory for Human Rights
• CITEDEF ( former CITEFA )
• Industrial Complex: ( FMA, Fabricaciones Militares, Tandanor
  Tandanor
  Tandanor is an Argentine worker-owned shipyard, and the nation's largest. Tandanor is involved in shipbuilding and ship repair and has facilities in Buenos Aires' port....
  
  /Domecq Garcia )

See also

• Argentine defense industry
  Argentine defense industry
  The Argentine defense industry has developed over the years, different programs to improve the armed forces of Argentina. The first major steps to establish a defense industry were made during the Second World War and they received a boost during the 1970s after the United States imposed an arms...
  
  
• Argentine Armed Forces
• Defense Diplomacy
  Defence diplomacy
  In international politics, defence diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives through the peaceful employment of defence resources and capabilities.-Origin of the Concept:...
  
  

External links

Ministry of Defense Joint chiefs off Staff