Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1948 |
Preceding agency | |
Jurisdiction | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
Annual budget | Rs 307 Billion (2016) |
Minister responsible | |
Agency executive | |
Website | www |
The Ministry of Defence (Sinhala: රාජ්ය ආරක්ෂක හා නාගරික සංවර්ධන අමාත්යාංශය Rajya Arakshaka Ha Nagarika Samvardhana Amathyamshaya) (Tamil: பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் நகர அபிவிருத்தி அமைச்சகம்) is the Sri Lankan government ministry responsible for implementation of government defence policy and the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.
The Ministry of Defence states that its principal objectives are the formulation, co-ordination and the execution of policies in relation to the national security. With the end of the Cold War, the MOD does not foresee any short-term conventional military threat, the main threat to Sri Lanka having been the now-defunct terrorist organization, the LTTE). The Ministry of Defence also manages day-to-day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement.
The National Security Council of Sri Lanka is the executive body of the Sri Lankan government that is charged with the maintenance of national security with authority to direct the Sri Lankan military and Police. The Minister of Defence and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff are permanent members of the National Security Council.
With Ceylon gaining independence in 1948, the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was formed to administer the country's armed forces and formulate defence and foreign policy. The Prime Minister was also the Minister of Defence and External Affairs, and was supported by a Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and External Affairs who was a member of Parliament.