The Federal Ministry of Defence
The Federal Ministry of Defence assists the Minister in fulfilling his many and varied responsibilities. It consists of the executive group, the civilian directorates and the military staffs.
On 28 October 2009, Dr. Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg was appointed Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Ministry performs the specific functions of the technical department for military defence, centering its efforts on planning and politico-military matters, the supreme command, the supreme authority for Bundeswehr administration including the armaments organization with a focus on procurement for the armed forces.
The so-called Amt Blank became the Federal Ministry of Defence on 7 June 1955. Shortly before this date, the Federal Republic of Germany had acceded to NATO. The Federal Ministry of Defence is thus one of the younger ministries of the Federal Government. It can nevertheless look back on a very eventful history.
