Ministry of Defence (Singapore)

Ministry of Defence
Agency overview
Formed	11 August 1970; 53 years ago
Preceding agency	Ministry of Interior and Defence;
Jurisdiction	Government of Singapore
Headquarters	303 Gombak Drive, MINDEF Building, Singapore (669645)
Motto	Safeguarding Singapore's Peace
Employees	282 (2018)
Annual budget	S$16.36 billion; US$12.6 billion (2022)
Ministers responsible	Ng Eng Hen, ; Minister; Heng Chee How, ; Senior Minister of State; Zaqy Mohamad, ; Senior Minister of State;
Agency executives	Chan Heng Kee, ; Permanent Secretary (Defence); Melvyn Ong Permanent Secretary (Defence Development); BG Ng Chad-Son, ; Deputy Secretary (Technology)/Future Systems and Technology Architect; Elaine Ng, ; Deputy Secretary (Administration); Tan Peng Yam, ; Chief Defence Scientist; Teo Eng Dih, ; Deputy Secretary (Policy); BG Mark Tan Ken-Li, ; Defence Cyber Chief;
Child agency	Defence Science and Technology Agency;
Website	www.mindef.gov.sg

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF; Malay: Kementerian Pertahanan; Chinese: 新加坡國防部; Tamil: தற்காப்பு அமைச்சு) is a ministry under the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the national defence of Singapore.

History

MINDEF, together with the Ministry of Home Affairs, was created on 11 August 1970 by splitting up the then Ministry of Interior and Defence.

Responsibilities

MINDEF's mission is to "enhance Singapore's peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor."^[2]

It has a policy of Total Defence which consists of Military Defence, Civil Defence, Economic Defence, Social Defence, Psychological Defence and Digital Defence involving the people, public and private sectors of the country.

Organisational structure

MINDEF has one statutory board, the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA).

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), which consists of the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), is a military component of MINDEF.^[3]

The Security and Intelligence Division (SID), the foreign intelligence service of Singapore, is autonomous within the ministry.

Ministers

The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Defence, who is appointed as part of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent minister is Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Ng Eng Hen from the People's Action Party.

Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office		Cabinet
Goh Keng Swee MP for Kreta Ayer (1918–2010)	9 August 1965	16 August 1967	PAP	Lee K. II
Lim Kim San MP for Cairnhill (1916–2006)	17 August 1967	10 August 1970	PAP	Lee K. II
Lim Kim San MP for Cairnhill (1916–2006)	17 August 1967	10 August 1970	PAP	Lee K. III
Goh Keng Swee MP for Kreta Ayer (1918–2010)	11 August 1970	11 February 1979	PAP	Lee K. III
				Lee K. IV
				Lee K. V
Howe Yoon Chong MP for Potong Pasir (1923–2007)	12 February 1979	31 May 1982	PAP	Lee K. V
Howe Yoon Chong MP for Potong Pasir (1923–2007)	12 February 1979	31 May 1982	PAP	Lee K. VI
Goh Chok Tong MP for Marine Parade (until 1988) MP for Marine Parade GRC (from 1988) (born 1941)	1 June 1982	30 June 1991	PAP	Lee K. VI
				Lee K. VII
				Lee K. VIII
				Goh I
Yeo Ning Hong MP for Kim Seng SMC (until 1991) MP for Kampong Glam GRC (from 1991) (born 1943)	1 July 1991	1 July 1994	PAP	Goh I
	1 July 1991	1 July 1994	PAP	Goh II
Lee Boon Yang MP for Jalan Besar GRC (born 1947)	2 July 1994	1 August 1995	PAP
Tony Tan MP for Sembawang GRC (born 1940)	2 August 1995	1 August 2003	PAP
				Goh III
				Goh IV
Teo Chee Hean MP for Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC (born 1954)	2 August 2003	20 May 2011	PAP	Goh IV
				Lee H. I
				Lee H. II
Ng Eng Hen MP for Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC (born 1958)	21 May 2011	Incumbent	PAP	Lee H. III
				Lee H. IV
				Lee H. V
				Wong I

References

^ ^a ^b "Singapore Budget" (PDF).
^ "About Us: Mission". Ministry of Defence (Singapore). Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
^ "MINDEF Departments". Singapore Government Directory. Archived from the original on 21 January 2017.