Federal ministry of defense

This article deals with the German authority, for others see Ministry of Defense .

Federal Ministry of Defense - BMVg -
State level	Federation
position	Supreme federal authority
founding	June 7, 1955 as Federal Ministry of Defense
predecessor	Office Blank
Headquarters	Bonn , Hardthöhe
Federal Minister of Defense	Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer ( CDU )
Servants	2,221 (June 1, 2018)
Budget volume	EUR 43.23 billion (2019)
Web presence	bmvg.de

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU)
Federal Minister of Defense

The Federal Ministry of Defense ( BMVg , until 1972 BMVtg ) is a supreme federal authority in the Federal Republic of Germany .

The Federal Ministry is the specialist department within the Federal Government for military defense and all matters relating to the Federal Armed Forces . It is the highest military command authority for the armed forces and the highest service authority for the Bundeswehr administration . The Ministry of Defense has been headed by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer since July 2019 . In addition to political responsibility, it has command and control over the armed forces in peacetime. She is the highest superior of all soldiers in her division and their highest disciplinary superior .

history

See also : History of the Bundeswehr

As early as 1950, the then Federal Chancellor , Konrad Adenauer , transferred the management of planning for a defense contribution from the Federal Republic of Germany to Theodor Blank . In December 1950, about 20 employees began intensive preparatory work in Blank's office called “The Federal Chancellor's Commissioner for Questions relating to the Increase in Allied Troops”. By June 1955, this so-called Amt Blank had grown to over 1,300 employees. It was renamed the Federal Ministry of Defense on June 7, 1955 and the name was adopted in the Basic Law , which was changed shortly thereafter . On December 30, 1961, the name (but not in the Basic Law) - as one of the classic departments such as foreign affairs, finance, interior affairs and justice - was changed to the Federal Ministry of Defense .

Offices

First office of the BMVg on the Hardthöhe in Bonn , in the foreground the "pyramid" ( canteen )

Second office in the Bendlerblock Berlin

The first office of the ministry is on Hardthöhe in Bonn , a second office since 1993 in the Bendlerblock in Berlin . Around 2500 employees work at both offices. When it was founded, the ministry was housed in the Ermekeil barracks in Bonn . The move to Hardthöhe started in 1960.

organization

Motor vehicle stand of the Federal Minister of Defense

Association badge for army uniform wearers in the BMVg

The BMVg is the highest federal authority and highest command authority of the armed forces . At the top is the minister, two parliamentary state secretaries , two permanent state secretaries , the inspector general of the Bundeswehr and the management department. The two parliamentary state secretaries, Peter Tauber (CDU, since 2018) and Thomas Silberhorn (CSU, since 2018), represent the minister in the political-parliamentary area. The two permanent state secretaries, Gerd Hoofe (since 2013) and Benedikt Zimmer (since 2018), support them in the technical management of the ministry and in exercising command and control. The Inspector General, Eberhard Zorn , advises the Minister on military matters. He is the highest-ranking soldier and responsible for the overall design of the armed forces. The ministry is divided into ten departments.

The management team, the press and information staff as well as the "Organization and Revision staff" (Org / Rev) form the management area. The management staff organizes the minister's daily work. He prepares meetings and appointments and coordinates cooperation with the government and parliament. It includes the minister's office, her adjutantage , the “Parliament and Cabinet Department ” and the protocol . The press and information staff coordinates the ministry's media work. He informs the press and the public about the Bundeswehr and Germany's defense and security policy. The head of the staff is also the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense. The Organization and Audit staff supports the management in shaping the Bundeswehr. As the central point of contact, it brings together all organizational and structural matters at the military and civilian levels.

The BMVg is divided into ten departments:

• Politics (Pol; Ministerial Director Detlef Wächter )
• Equipment (A; Vice Admiral Carsten Stawitzki )
• Cyber ​​and information technology (CIT; Lieutenant General Michael Vetter )
• Strategy and commitment (SE; Lieutenant General Bernd Schütt )
• Planning (Plg; Lieutenant General Christian Badia )
• Armed Forces Management (FüSK; Lieutenant General Kai Rohrschneider )
• Budget / Controlling (HC; Ministerial Director Karl Henning Bald )
• Law (R; Ministerial Director Andreas Conradi )
• Personnel (P; Lieutenant General Klaus von Heimendahl )
• Infrastructure, environmental protection and services (IUD; Ministerial Director Barbara Wießalla )

Departments A and CIT report directly to State Secretary Benedikt Zimmer. He is also responsible for the affairs of the Plg department. The HC, R, P and IUD departments as well as the Org / Rev staff report to State Secretary Gerd Hoofe. The Plg, FüSK and SE departments report to the General Inspector of the Bundeswehr.

Parliamentary State Secretary Silberhorn supports the Defense Minister in the parliamentary and political representation of the tasks from Departments A, Plg, HC, R and IUD and Parliamentary State Secretary Tauber of Departments Pol, CIT, FüSK, SE and P.

The staff element "Equal Opportunities, Diversity and Inclusion" with the contact point "Discrimination and Violence in the Bundeswehr" is part of the Personnel Department and is aimed at "all active and former, civil and military Bundeswehr members who experience bullying, discrimination, physical or emotional violence within the Bundeswehr experienced or have experienced. This also applies in connection with discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity ”.

The following organizational areas exist in the subordinate division of the Federal Armed Forces:

• army
• air force
• marine
• Force Base
• Cyber ​​and information space
• Central medical service
• staff
• Equipment, information technology and usage
• Infrastructure, environmental protection and services
• Administration of justice
• Military chaplaincy

Six departments are directly subordinate to the General Inspector :

• Command of the Bundeswehr
• Planning Office of the Bundeswehr
• Aviation Office of the Bundeswehr
• Command academy of the Bundeswehr
• Inner Guidance Center
• Federal Office for the Military Counterintelligence Service

household

The budget of the Federal Ministry of Defense and the Bundeswehr as a subordinate area result from section 14 of the respective Federal Budget Act . According to Art. 87a, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law , the "numerical strength [of the armed forces] and the main features of their organization [...] must be derived from the budget" .

Procurement orders from the Defense Ministry with a value of more than 25 million euros must be approved separately by the budget committee before the contract is concluded , in addition to the budget estimate and approval and advice in the Defense Committee of the Bundestag . This so-called “25 million euro bill”, formerly the “50 million DM bill”, was introduced by the Budget Committee in 1981 by means of a decision of principle.

See also : Defense budget

2019

The budget for 2019 amounts to 43.23 billion euros. In detail:

• Personnel expenses (18.76 billion euros)
• Real administrative expenditure (6.74 billion euros)
• Military procurement, equipment, etc. (15.52 billion euros)
• Allocations and grants (1.76 billion euros)
• Investment spending (0.45 billion euros)

Compared to 2018, the defense budget increased by 12.2 percent. In the 2019 federal budget, the distribution of the 2,721.5 positions is planned as follows (actual positions as of June 1, 2018 in brackets):

• 1087.0 soldiers (833)
• 1261.5 civil servants (961)
• 0373.0 employees (427)

2018

The budget for 2018 amounts to 38.52 billion euros. In detail:

• Personnel expenses (17.90 billion euros)
• Real administrative expenditure (6.39 billion euros)
• Military procurement, equipment, etc. (EUR 12.30 billion)
• Allocations and grants (1.66 billion euros)
• Investment spending (0.28 billion euros)

Compared to 2017, the defense budget has increased by 4.1 percent.

In the 2018 federal budget, the distribution of the 2,726.5 positions is planned as follows:

• 1,087.0 soldiers
• 1266.5 officials
• 0373.0 employees (collective bargaining employees)

2017

The budget for 2017 amounts to 37.00 billion euros. In detail:

• Personnel expenses (17.82 billion euros)
• Real administrative expenditure (6.11 billion euros)
• Military procurement, equipment, etc. (11.23 billion euros)
• Allocations and grants (1.53 billion euros)
• Investment expenditure (0.32 billion euros)

Compared to 2016, the defense budget has increased by 7.9 percent.

In the 2017 federal budget, the distribution of the 2,355.5 positions is planned as follows:

• 0838.0 soldiers
• 1106.5 officials
• 0411.0 employees (collective bargaining employees)

2016

The budget for 2016 amounts to 34.29 billion euros. In detail:

• Personnel expenses (16.99 billion euros)
• Real administrative expenses (5.75 billion euros)
• Military procurement, equipment, etc. (10.16 billion euros)
• Allocations and grants (1.27 billion euros)
• Investment spending (0.21 billion euros)
• Special financing expenses (−0.08 billion euros)

Compared to 2015, the defense budget has increased by 4 percent.

In the 2016 federal budget, the distribution of the 2,400 positions is planned as follows:

• 0822 soldiers
• 1130 officials
• 0435 employees (collective bargaining employees)

2015

The budget for 2015 amounts to 32.97 billion euros. In detail:

• Personnel expenses (16.37 billion euros)
• Real administrative expenses (5.73 billion euros)
• Military procurement, equipment, etc. (9.52 billion euros)
• Allocations and grants (1.15 billion euros)
• Investment spending (0.20 billion euros)

Compared to 2014, the defense budget has increased by 1.6 percent.

Federal Minister since 1955

According to Article 65a, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law , the Federal Minister of Defense has authority over the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. He is at the head of the ministry and, in accordance with the departmental principle ( Art. 65, sentence 2 GG ), runs his business area independently and on his own responsibility and thus has the authority to issue instructions to all members of the Bundeswehr, including civilian employees.

If the federal territory under attack by armed force or such an event is imminent, can Bundestag and Bundesrat the defense case gem. Art. 115a GG determine, whereby the command and command according to. Art. 115b GG passes to the Federal Chancellor .

With Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer , since July 17, 2019, after Ursula von der Leyen, a woman has headed the ministry for the second time.

Surname	image	Political party	Beginning of the term of office	Term expires	Cabinet (s)
Federal Minister for Defense
Theodor Blank (1905–1972)		CDU	June 7, 1955	October 16, 1956	Adenauer II
Franz Josef Strauss (1915–1988)		CSU	October 16, 1956	December 29, 1961	Adenauer III Adenauer IV
Federal Minister of Defense
Franz Josef Strauss (1915–1988)		CSU	December 30, 1961	January 9, 1963	Adenauer IV
Kai-Uwe von Hassel (1913–1997)		CDU	January 9, 1963	1st December 1966	Adenauer V Erhard I Erhard II
Gerhard Schröder (1910–1989)		CDU	1st December 1966	October 21, 1969	Kiesinger
Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015)		SPD	October 22, 1969	July 7, 1972	Brandt I.
Georg Leber (1920–2012)		SPD	July 7, 1972	February 16, 1978	Brandt I Brandt II Schmidt I Schmidt II
Hans Apel (1932-2011)		SPD	17th February 1978	October 1, 1982	Schmidt II Schmidt III
Manfred Wörner (1934–1994)		CDU	4th October 1982	May 18, 1988	Kohl I Kohl II Kohl III
Rupert Scholz (* 1937)		CDU	May 18, 1988	April 21, 1989	Kohl III
Gerhard Stoltenberg (1928-2001)		CDU	April 21, 1989	March 31, 1992	Kohl III Kohl IV
Volker Rühe (* 1942)		CDU	April 1, 1992	October 26, 1998	Kohl IV Kohl V
Rudolf Scharping (* 1947)		SPD	October 27, 1998	July 19, 2002	Schröder I
Peter Struck (1943–2012)		SPD	July 19, 2002	November 22, 2005	Schröder I Schröder II
Franz Josef Jung (* 1949)		CDU	November 22, 2005	October 28, 2009	Merkel I
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (* 1971)		CSU	October 28, 2009	March 3, 2011	Merkel II
Thomas de Maizière (* 1954)		CDU	March 3, 2011	17th December 2013	Merkel II
Ursula von der Leyen (* 1958)		CDU	17th December 2013	17th July 2019	Merkel III Merkel IV
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (* 1962)		CDU	17th July 2019	officiating	Merkel IV

See also : List of German Defense Ministers

Military service of the Federal Defense Ministers and State Secretaries

Of the eighteen federal defense ministers, twelve have done military service (or military service). Six of them held reserve officers - and four were reserve sergeants. Of the nineteen Parliamentary State Secretaries, nine served; five as reserve officers and one as reserve sergeant.

Hans Apel was the first Federal Minister of Defense who had not done military service and, like his successors in office Manfred Wörner and Rupert Scholz , belonged to the so-called white classes who did not have to do basic military service. Manfred Wörner was up to the rank of military exercises while Colonel of the Reserve of the Air Force transported.

Volker Rühe and Peter Struck were postponed from military service due to their studies, and after that they were no longer called in due to their age.

Helmut Schmidt was the first Federal Minister of Defense to do military service as part of a military exercise in the Bundeswehr. Even Rudolf Scharping , Franz Josef Jung , Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and Thomas de Maiziere rendered military service.

criticism

On May 5, 2017, the negative Big Brother Award in the authorities category was given to the German Armed Forces and the Federal Minister of Defense as their Commander-in-Chief “for the massive digital armament of the German Armed Forces with the new ' Cyber ​​and Information Room Command ' (KdoCIR) ". In his laudation, Rolf Gössner ( International League for Human Rights ) explained the jury's criticism.

See also

• List of State Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Defense

Former ministries

• Prussian War Ministry
• Bavarian War Ministry
• Saxon Ministry of War
• Württemberg Ministry of War
• Reichswehr Ministry
• Ministry for National Defense of the GDR
• Ministry of Disarmament and Defense

literature

• Siegfried Mann: The Federal Ministry of Defense . Boldt, Bonn 1971, ISBN 3-87086-009-X .
• Christoph Reifferscheid, Ulf Bednarz: The Federal Ministry of Defense . In: Ina Wiesner (Ed.) German Defense Politics (= writings of the Bundeswehr Academy for Information and Communication . Vol. 30). Nomos, Baden-Baden 2013, ISBN 978-3-8487-0824-6 , pp. 103-126.

Web links

Commons : Federal Ministry of Defense  - collection of images

• Official website of the Federal Ministry of Defense
• Historical pictures and documents from the Federal Archives : On the way to the Ministry of Defense. The Central Office for Homeland Service and the Blank Office 1950–1955

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Budget Act 2019 (PDF; 16; 2 MB) In: The structure of the federal budget. Federal Ministry of Finance, December 17, 2018, accessed on August 20, 2019 (Section 14 from p. 2044). 
2. ↑ List of Abbreviations. (PDF; 49 kB) Abbreviations for the constitutional organs, the highest federal authorities and the highest federal courts. In: bund.de. Federal Office of Administration (BVA), accessed on August 14, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Cabinet minutes up to 1972. In: bundesarchiv.de. Retrieved November 13, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Cabinet minutes from 1973. In: bundesarchiv.de. Retrieved November 13, 2019 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} structure and organization. In: bmvg.de. Retrieved November 12, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Andreas Baumann: Minister Ursula von der Leyen stops withdrawal from Bonn. In: General-Anzeiger (Bonn) . March 10, 2014, accessed March 21, 2014 . 
7. ^ The Departments of the Ministry of Defense. In: bmvg.de. Retrieved November 12, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Organization plan . (PDF) In: bmvg.de. October 1, 2019, accessed November 12, 2019 . 
9. ↑ State Secretaries. In: bmvg.de. Accessed April 30, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Thorsten Jungholt: Let's talk about sex, soldier. WeltN24, January 31, 2017, accessed May 26, 2017 . 
11. ↑ New contact point for victims of discrimination, bullying and physical and emotional violence. Federal Ministry of Defense, February 4, 2017, accessed on May 26, 2017 . 
12. ^ Structure and organization. In: BMVg. May 30, 2017, accessed April 30, 2020 . 
13. ↑ Ulf von Krause : The Bundeswehr as an instrument of German foreign policy . Springer, Wiesbaden 2013, ISBN 978-3-658-00184-1 , pp. 53 ( google.de ).
14. ↑ Budget Act 2018. (PDF; 35 MB) In: The structure of the federal budget. Federal Ministry of Finance, July 12, 2018, accessed on September 4, 2018 (Section 14 from p. 2102). 
15. ↑ Budget Act 2017. (PDF; 31; 5 MB) In: The structure of the federal budget. Federal Ministry of Finance, December 20, 2016, accessed on February 6, 2017 (Section 14 from p. 1977). 
16. ↑ Law on the establishment of the federal budget for the 2016 budget year (Budget Law 2016). (PDF; 36; 1 MB) In: bundeshaushalt-info.de. Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), December 21, 2015, p. 16 , accessed on August 14, 2016 . 
17. ↑ Budget Act 2015. (PDF; 29 MB) In: The structure of the federal budget. Federal Ministry of Finance, December 23, 2014, accessed on March 4, 2015 (Section 14 from p. 1951). 
18. ↑ Off to cyber warfare - Ursula von der Leyen receives “Big Brother Award”. In: Stern.de. May 5, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017 . 
19. ^ Eike Kühl: Negative price for spying imams. In: Zeit Online. May 5, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017 . 
20. ↑ Rolf Gössner : The BigBrotherAward 2017 in the authorities category goes to the Bundeswehr and the Federal Minister of Defense, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen (CDU), as their commander-in-chief. In: BigBrotherAwards.de. May 5, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017 . 

Coordinates: 50 ° 41 ′ 57 ″  N , 7 ° 2 ′ 25 ″  E