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Minister of Defence
Forsvarsminister
Standard of the Minister of Defence
Incumbent Troels Lund Poulsen since 22 August 2023
Ministry of Defence
Type	Minister
Member of	Cabinet State Council Government's Security Committee [da]
Reports to	the Prime minister
Seat	Slotsholmen
Appointer	The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Constituting instrument	Forsvarsloven
Precursor	Minister for the Navy Minister of War
Formation	5 September 1905; 119 years ago (1905-09-05)
First holder	J.C. Christensen
Succession	depending on the order in the State Council
Deputy	Permanent Secretary of State for Defence
Website	Official Website

The Minister of Defence of Denmark (Danish: Forsvarsminister, pronounced [ˈfɒːsvɑsmiˌnistɐ]) is the politically appointed head of the Danish Ministry of Defence. The Minister of Defence is responsible for the Danish Armed Forces, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the Danish Emergency Management Agency.

The Minister of Defence follows the directions given by the Prime Minister of Denmark and the decisions of the Folketing. The Danish Defence Law (Danish: Forsvarsloven) designates in article 9 the Minister of Defence as the supreme authority in Defence (Danish: højeste ansvarlige myndighed for forsvaret). Under the Minister is the Chief of Defence, the senior-ranking professional military officer heading the Defence Command, who commands the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and other units not reporting directly to the Ministry of Defence.

The main responsibilities of the Minister of Defence are to prevent armed conflicts and war, to safeguard the sovereignty of Denmark and integrity of Danish territory and to promote global peace and stability. Since 2002, these responsibilities have included the political leadership of the Danish contribution to the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

The current Defence Minister is Troels Lund Poulsen.

History

In 1905, the offices of the Minister for the Navy and the Minister of War were merged to create the current office of Defence Minister.

See also

• Commander-in-chief#Denmark
• List of ministers of defence (Denmark)

References

1. "LOV nr 122 af 27/02/2001 om forsvarets formål, opgaver og organisation m.v." (in Danish). Retrieved 2014-01-10.
2. "Facts and Figures" (PDF). Danish Defence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
3. "Ministre gennem tiderne" (in Danish).

v t e  Danish ministries and ministerial offices
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v t e Danish Defence
Royal Danish Army    Royal Danish Navy    Royal Danish Air Force    Danish Home Guard
Command organisations	Defence Command Defence Staff Army Command Naval Command Air Command Joint Arctic Command Home Guard Command Special Operations Command
Leadership	Chief of Defence Chief of the Defense Staff Army Chief of the Army Sergeant Major of the Army Navy Chief of the Navy Master chief petty officer Air Force Chief of the Air Force Chief Master Sergeant of the RDAF Home Guard Chief of the Home Guard Command Sergeant Major of the Home Guard
Joint Service	Acquisition and Logistics Organization Administration of Conscientious Objector The Ark Project Emergency Management Agency Estates and Infrastructure Organisation Financial Management Agency Health Services Intelligence Service Internal Auditor Judge Advocate Corps Maintenance Service Personnel Service
Higher education facilities	Royal Danish Defence College Royal Danish Military Academy Royal Danish Naval Academy Royal Danish Air Force Academy
Units	Army Danish Artillery Regiment Engineer Regiment Guard Hussar Regiment Intelligence Regiment Jutland Dragoon Regiment Royal Life Guards Schleswig Foot Regiment Signal Regiment Logistic Regiment Navy 1st Squadron 2nd Squadron Sirius Dog Sled Patrol Danish Task Group Air Force Air Squadron 515 Air Squadron 660 Air Squadron 690 Air Squadron 721 Air Squadron 722 Air Squadron 723 Air Squadron 724 Air Squadron 727 Air Squadron 730 Mobile Air Control Centre Control and Reporting Centre Karup Combat Support Wing Special Forces Jaeger Corps Frogman Corps Sirius Dog Sled Patrol SSR (Home Guard)
Ranks and insignia	Ranks and insignia of Royal Danish Army Ranks and insignia of Royal Danish Navy Ranks and insignia of Royal Danish Air Force Ranks and insignia of Home Guard Badges of the Danish Military

• Government ministerial offices of Denmark
• Ministers of defence of Denmark
• Naval ministers
• NATO defence ministers