Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China
| 中华人民共和国国防部 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guófángbù | |
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 Ministry of National Defense HQ, Beijing | |
| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 28 September 1954 |
| Type | Constituent Department of the State Council (cabinet-level executive department) |
| Jurisdiction |  People's Republic of China |
| Headquarters | Beijing 39°54′28″N 116°19′15″E / 39.90778°N 116.32083°E |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | State Council Central Military Commission |
| Website | www.mod.gov.cn (in English) |
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State representative
Executive organ Military organ
Supervisory organ |
 China portal |
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The Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国国防部; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國國防部; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Guófángbù) or for short the "National Defense Ministry" (simplified Chinese: 国防部; traditional Chinese: 國防部; pinyin: Guófángbù) is the 2nd-ranked ministry under the State Council. It is headed by the Minister of National Defense.
The MND was set up according to a decision adopted by the 1st Session of the 1st National People's Congress in 1954. In contrast to practice in other nations, the MND does not exercise command authority over the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which is instead subordinate to the Central Military Commission (CMC). Instead, the MND itself only serves as liaison body representing the CMC and PLA when dealing with foreign militaries in military exchange and cooperation.
Its official responsibilities had been to exercise unified administration over the development of the armed forces of the country such as recruitment, organization, equipment, training, scientific military research of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the ranking and remuneration of the officers and servicemen. However, in reality these responsibilities are carried out by the CMC's 15 departments.
Structure
There are a number of departments under the Ministry of National Defense:
- General Office
- Foreign Affairs Office
- Peacekeeping Office
- Mobilisation Office
The Ministry of National Defense General Office is in fact the same body as the CMC General Office. Other offices are also staffed by personnel from the Joint Staff Department.
Minister
Although the Ministry itself does not exercise much authority, the role of the Minister of National Defense has always been viewed as one of the most important positions in the country's political system. The position of Minister has always been given to an active military officer (with the exception of Geng Biao), a State Councilor and a member of the Communist Party's Central Committee and member (sometimes a Vice Chairman) of the Central Military Commission, enabling him to take part in the decision making in the PLA, the Government and the Party.
List of Defense Ministers
| No. | Portrait | Minister | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marshal Peng Dehuai 彭德怀 (1898–1974) | September 1954 | April 1959 | 4 years, 7 months | |
| 2 | Marshal Lin Biao 林彪 (1907–1971) | April 1959 | September 1971 | 12 years, 5 months | |
| Vacant 1971–75 | |||||
| 3 | Marshal Ye Jianying 叶剑英 (1897–1986) | January 1975 | March 1978 | 3 years, 2 months | |
| 4 | Marshal Xu Xiangqian 徐向前 (1901–1990) | March 1978 | March 1981 | 3 years | |
| 5 | Geng Biao 耿飚 (1909–2000) | March 1981 | June 1983 | 2 years, 3 months | |
| 6 | General Zhang Aiping 张爱萍 (1910–2003) | June 1983 | March 1988 | 4 years, 9 months | |
| 7 | General Qin Jiwei 秦基伟 (1914–1997) | March 1988 | March 1993 | 5 years | |
| 8 | General Chi Haotian 迟浩田 (born 1929) | March 1993 | March 2003 | 10 years | |
| 9 | General Cao Gangchuan 曹刚川 (born 1935) | March 2003 | 17 March 2008 | 5 years | |
| 10 | General Liang Guanglie 梁光烈 (born 1940) | 17 March 2008 | 16 March 2013 | 4 years, 11 months | |
| 11 | General Chang Wanquan 常万全 (born 1949) | 16 March 2013 | 19 March 2018 | 5 years | |
| 12 | General Wei Fenghe 魏凤和 (born 1954) | 19 March 2018 | Incumbent | 6 years, 51 days | |
See also
- State Council of the People's Republic of China
- Central Military Commission (China)
- Defense diplomacy
References
- "Ministry of National Defence". SinoDefence.com. Archived from the original on 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
External links
- Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China (Chinese)
- Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China (English)
- 中国军网
- China Military Online sponsored by the PLA Daily
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