Federal Minister of Defence Bundesminister der Verteidigung |
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Federal Ministry of Defence | |
Reports to | The Federal Chancellor |
Appointer | The President, upon advice of the Federal Chancellor |
Formation | 13 February 1919 |
First holder | Gustav Noske |
Website | bmvg.de |
The Federal Minister of Defence (German: Bundesminister der Verteidigung) is the head of the Federal Ministry of Defence and a member of the Federal Cabinet.
According to Article 65a of the German Constitution (German: Grundgesetz), the Federal Minister of Defence is Commander-in-chief (German: Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt) of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces. 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 Federal Chancellor. The highest-ranking military officer in the Bundeswehr is the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (German: Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr).
The current Federal Minister of Defence is Ursula von der Leyen.