Ministry of Defence (Belgium)

The Ministry of Defence (Dutch: Ministerie van Landsverdediging, French: Ministère de la Défense, German: Ministerium der Verteidigung), formerly called the Ministry of War and Ministry of National Defence, is the Belgian ministry responsible for national defence and the Belgian military. Belgium's ministry of defence is responsible to the Minister of Defence.

As a result of the Verhofstadt I Government's plans to modernise the federal administration, all other ministries were transformed into Federal Public Services (FPS), but in August 2007 there still was no Royal Order creating the FPS Defence, although that name is already in use on official websites. The Ministry of Defence is responsible to the Minister of Defence.

The Chief of Defence (CHOD) is the highest uniformed official in the Ministry of Defence. The CHOD is assisted in the exercise of his functions by a Vice-Chief of Defence (VCHOD) and a Secretary-General.

The Ministry of Defence is organised into multiple staff departments and directorates-general. The Armed Forces are subordinate to the Assistant Chief of Staff (ACOS) Operations and Training, who heads the Staff Department for Operations and Training. He is assisted by two Deputy Assistant Chiefs of Staff (DACOS), one for Operations and Planning and one for Training and Support.

Another staff department is the Staff Department for Intelligence and Security, which is led by the ACOS Intelligence and Security. This staff department is also known as the General Intelligence and Security Service and is responsible for military intelligence and security.

Ministers of Defence[edit]

Year	Minister	Party
1831	Albert Goblet d'Alviella	Liberal
1831	Charles d'Hane de Steenhuyze	Liberal
1831	Amédée de Failly [fr]	Liberal
1831–1832	Charles de Brouckère	Liberal
1832	Félix de Merode	Liberal
1832–1836	Louis Evain	?
1836–1840	Jean-Pierre Willmar	Liberal
1840–1842	Gérard Buzen	Liberal
1842–1843	Henri de Liem [fr]	Liberal
1843	Léandre Desmaisières	Liberal
1843–1846	Pierre Dupont	Liberal
1846	Jules Joseph d'Anethan	Catholic
1846–1847	Albert Prisse	Catholic
1847–1850	Félix Chazal	Liberal
1850–1851	Mathieu Brialmont	Liberal
1851–1855	Victor Anoul	Liberal
1855–1857	Léonard Greindl	?
1857–1859	Edouard Berten	Liberal
1859–1866	Félix Chazal	Liberal
1866–1868	Auguste Goethals	Liberal
1868–1870	Bruno Renard	None (technical expert)
1870–1873	Gustave Henri Louis Guillaume	None (technical expert)
1873–1878	Séraphin Thiebault	None (technical expert)
1878–1879	Bruno Renard	None (technical expert)
1879–1880	Jean-Baptiste Liagre	None (technical expert)
1880–1884	Guillaume Gratry	None (technical expert)
1884–1893	Charles Pontus	None (technical expert)
1893–1896	Jacques Brassine	None (technical expert)
1896–1899	Jules Vandenpeereboom	Catholic
1899–1907	Alexandre Cousebandt d'Alkemade	None (technical expert)
1907–1912	Joseph Hellebaut	None (technical expert)
1912	Charles de Broqueville	Catholic
1912	Victor Michel	None (technical expert)
1912–1917	Charles de Broqueville	Catholic
1917–1918	Armand De Ceuninck	None (technical expert)
1918–1920	Fulgence Masson	Liberal
1920	Paul-Emile Janson	Liberal
1920–1923	Albert Devèze	Liberal
1923–1925	Pierre Forthomme	Liberal
1925	Albert Hellebaut	None (technical expert)
1925–1926	Prosper Kestens	None (technical expert)
1926	Prosper Poullet	Catholic
1926–1931	Charles de Broqueville	Catholic
1931–1932	Léon Dens	Liberal
1932	Paul Crokaert	Catholic
1932	Georges Theunis	Catholic
1932–1936	Albert Devèze	Liberal
1936–1940	Henri Denis	None (technical expert)
1940–1944	Hubert Pierlot	Catholic
*1942	Henri Rolin	POB-BWP
1944–1945	Fernand Demets	Liberal
1945–1946	Léon Mundeleer	Liberal
1946–1949	Raoul de Fraiteur	None (technical expert)
1949–1950	Albert Devèze	Liberal
1950	Henri Moreau de Melen	Christian Social Party
1950–1954	Eugène De Greef	None (technical expert)
1954–1958	Antoon Spinoy	PSB-BSP
1958–1961	Arthur Gilson	Christian Social Party
1961–1965	Paul-Willem Segers	CVP
1965–1966	Ludovic Moyersoen	CVP
1966–1968	Charles Poswick	PLP
1968–1972	Paul-Willem Segers	CVP
1972–1979	Paul Vanden Boeynants	PSC
1979–1980	José Desmarets	PSC
1980	Charles Poswick	PRL
1980–1981	Frank Swaelen	CVP
1981–1985	Alfred Vreven	PVV
1985–1988	François-Xavier de Donnéa	PRL
1988–1992	Guy Coëme	PS
1992–1994	Leo Delcroix	CVP
1994–1995	Karel Pinxten	CVP
1995	Melchior Wathelet	PSC
1995–1999	Jean-Pol Poncelet	PSC

2000s[edit]

No.	Portrait	Name (Born-Died)	Term			Political Party	Government
No.	Portrait	Name (Born-Died)	Took office	Left office	Duration	Political Party	Government
1		André Flahaut (born 1955)	12 July 1999	21 December 2007	8 years, 162 days	PS	Verhofstadt I–II
2		Pieter De Crem (born 1962)	21 December 2007	11 October 2014	6 years, 294 days	CD&V	Verhofstadt III Leterme I Van Rompuy Leterme II Di Rupo
3		Steven Vandeput (born 1967)	11 October 2014	12 November 2018	4 years, 32 days	N-VA	Michel I
4		Sander Loones (born 1979)	12 November 2018	9 December 2018	27 days	N-VA	Michel I
5		Didier Reynders (born 1958)	9 December 2018	30 November 2019	356 days	MR	Michel II Wilmès I
6		Philippe Goffin (born 1967)	30 November 2019	1 October 2020	306 days	MR	Wilmès I Wilmès II
7		Ludivine Dedonder (born 1977)	1 October 2020	Incumbent	3 years, 200 days*	PS	De Croo