United Kingdom Ministry of Defence
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| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 April 1964 (As modern department) |
| Jurisdiction |
 United Kingdom
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| Headquarters |
Whitehall, Westminster, London 51°30′14″N 0°07′30″W / 51.5040°N 0.1249°WCoordinates: 51°30′14″N 0°07′30″W / 51.5040°N 0.1249°W |
| Employees | 56,860 civilian staff (October 2015) |
| Annual budget | £45 billion; FY 2015–16 (≈$69 billion) |
| Minister responsible | |
| Department executives | |
| Child agencies | |
| Website | mod.uk |
The Ministry of Defence (MoD or MOD) is the British government department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by Her Majesty's Government and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The MoD states that its principal objectives are to defend the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its interests and to strengthen international peace and stability. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the MoD does not foresee any short-term conventional military threat; rather, it has identified weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, and failed and failing states as the overriding threats to Britain's interests. The MoD also manages day-to-day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement.
During the 1920s and 1930s, British civil servants and politicians, looking back at the performance of the state during World War I, concluded that there was a need for greater co-ordination between the three Services that made up the armed forces of the United Kingdom—the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. The formation of a united ministry of defence was rejected by David Lloyd George's coalition government in 1921; but the Chiefs of Staff Committee was formed in 1923, for the purposes of inter-Service co-ordination. As rearmament became a concern during the 1930s, Stanley Baldwin created the position of Minister for Coordination of Defence. Lord Chatfield held the post until the fall of Neville Chamberlain's government in 1940; his success was limited by his lack of control over the existing Service departments and his limited political influence.
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