definition
strict definition
defense ministry
Related terms: ministry of war
The executive office of a government department responsible for military affairs and management of its armed forces.
A defense ministry, or ministry of war, is the executive office of a governmental department of military affairs, usually responsible for the management of armies, navies, and other military branches.
The ministry has departmental responsibility for military affairs. Its administrative premises are distinct from a site used by troops for training or weapons testing.
A military office can house administration elsewhere in the armed forces without being the ministry's executive office. The departmental position supplies the more specific defense-ministry meaning.
Related definitions
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finance ministry
A central executive office of a government treasury or department of financial affairs. -
foreign ministry
A central executive office of a government ministry for foreign affairs and diplomacy. -
interior ministry
A central executive office of a government department of internal affairs, especially policing, security, and immigration.