June 19, 2013
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Description
The title Defence Minister, Minister of Defence or Minister for Defence is assigned to a 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.. 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.
(via Freebase)
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![NATO defense ministers concerned about surge of Afghan 'green-on-blue' attacks [Press TV, Iran]](/images/image_cache/base-11976000/11976245/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=0ea892013cc0a21c557eba6647d22cf0)
![Yemeni defense minister survives devastating car bombing [BBC Arabic, UK]](/images/image_cache/base-10190000/10190771/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=265ccb87c121c2b2a1a637eb25e18ad8 "Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi")
![Kuwait denies US troops will stay in Kuwait after withdrawal [Al-Iraqiya TV, Iraq]](/images/image_cache/base-312000/312783/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=bf7a80fe08fa0d3787a87bedc439a06a)
![Yemeni defense minister survives attack [Dubai TV, UAE]](/images/image_cache/base-312000/312083/thumbnail.width=304,height=171,grow=1,crop=center.jpg?sig=87fd12c380fbe9fd69d401869f1f9d52)