The 'Ministry of Defence' (, , ) is the
Belgian ministry responsible for national defence and the
Belgian military. It is the sole remaining
ministry of the
Federal Government. As a result of the first
Verhofstadt 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,
André Flahaut (
PS).
The
Chief of Defence (CHOD) is the highest official in the Ministry of Defence. General August Van Daele is the Chief of Defence since
January 1,
2003. 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 lead 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.
See also
★
Military of Belgium
External link
★
Website of Defence Belgium