Federal Ministry of Defense (Germany)
| Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (BMVg) | |
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 Entrance to the Hardthöhe, Bonn |
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 19191/19552 |
| Jurisdiction | Cabinet of Germany |
| Headquarters |
Hardthöhe, Bonn, Germany 50°41′57″N 7°2′25″E / 50.69917°N 7.04028°ECoordinates: 50°41′57″N 7°2′25″E / 50.69917°N 7.04028°E |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executives |
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| Website | http://www.bmvg.de |
| Footnotes | |
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1: As the Ministry of the Reichswehr, succeeding the Ministry of War of Prussia, the Ministry of War of Saxony, the Ministry of War of Bavaria, the Ministry of War of Württemberg and the Imperial Naval Office 2: As the Ministry of Defence (Bundesministerium für Verteidigung) in West Germany |
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The Federal Ministry of Defence (German: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung), abbreviated BMVg, is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe district in Bonn and has a second office in the Bendlerblock building in Berlin.
According to Article 65a of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz), the Federal Minister of Defence is Commander-in-chief of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, with around 253,430 active personnel. Article 115b decrees that in the state of defence, declared by the Bundestag with consent of the Bundesrat, the command in chief passes to the Chancellor.
The ministry currently has approximately 3,730 employees. Of these, 3,230 work in Bonn while around 500 work in the Bendlerblock building in Berlin.
From the Unification of Germany in 1871 until the end of World War I, the German Empire did not have a national Ministry of War. Instead the larger German states (such as the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg), insisting on their autonomy, each had an own war ministry. According to the military agreements the Prussian minister president Otto von Bismarck had forged with the South German states on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, the major states were responsible also for the defence of the smaller states. However, the Imperial Navy from 1889 was overseen by a federal department, the Imperial Naval Office.
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