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Ministry of Defense (Indonesia)

Ministry of Defense
Kementerian Pertahanan
Seal of the Ministry of Defense
Flag of the Ministry of Defense

Front view of the Ministry of Defense building
Ministry overview
Formed18 August 1945; 79 years ago (1945-08-18)
JurisdictionGovernment of Indonesia
HeadquartersJenderal Soedirman Building
Central Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
Employees54,848 civilian employees[1]
438,410 active duty military (2021 estimate)[2]
Annual budgetUSD 9.3 billion (2022)
Ministry executive
Websitewww.kemhan.go.id

The Ministry of Defense (Indonesian: Kementerian Pertahanan abbreviated Kemhan) is an Indonesian government ministry responsible for the defense of Indonesia. The ministry was formerly known as the Department of Defense (Departemen Pertahanan Republik Indonesia; Dephan) until 2009 when the nomenclature changed based on Act Number 39 of 2008 on State Ministries, the name of the Department of Defense was changed to the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia.[3] The currently-appointed minister is Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, replacing Prabowo Subianto, who was elected President, on 21 October 2024.[4]

The ministry is one of the three ministries (along with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs) explicitly mentioned in the constitution of Indonesia, which means that it cannot be dissolved by the president.

If both the president and vice president were to die, resign, or are unable to perform their duties, the minister of defense, along with minister of foreign affairs and the minister of home affairs will jointly execute presidential duties until the succeeding president and vice President are elected by the People's Consultative Assembly within thirty days.[5]

History

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Sukarno era

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After the proclamation of Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945, the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI) immediately set up the first presidential cabinet which in the first cabinet didn't have a Minister of Defense. The function of the State Defense at that time was at the Minister of Public Security. On 6 October 1945, Supriyadi was declared Minister of Public Security. However, he never appeared, and was replaced on 20 October by interim minister Imam Muhammad Suliyoadikusumo.[6]

During the time of the First Sjahrir Cabinet, the function of the state defense was also under the authority of the Minister of Public Security, held by Mr. Amir Sjarifuddin. However, in the Second Sjahrir Cabinet, the People's Security Minister was renamed as the Minister of Defense which was still held by Amir Sjarifuddin. At the time of Mr. Amir Sjarifuddin became prime minister, the defense minister is also held by the prime minister. In the period of the First Hatta Cabinet, when the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia was in an emergency state due to the pressure of the Dutch forces, the Vice President Mohammad Hatta served as interim minister of defense.

Suharto era

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In the First Development Cabinet, the Minister of Defense and Security was held by the Indonesian President Gen. Suharto. Only later on the Second Development Cabinet and subsequently, the function of state defense was always united with the security function and was under the Ministry of Defense and Security where the Minister of Defense and Security would if needed serve concurrently as Commander of the Armed Forces (Panglima ABRI) (this was the case four times during Suharto's presidency). In 1985, as part of a wide reorganization of the armed forces, military appointments to the posts of ministers and below began to phased out, allowing retired officers and civilians to serve in the ministry, and operational control over the Armed Forces was passed directly to the office of the President.

Reformation

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On 1 July 2000, the Ministry of Defense reformed itself with the separation of the TNI and the Polri[7] and also a separation of positions, in which the Minister of Defense can be of a civilian background and can no longer concurrently serve as the TNI Commander (Panglima). Defense is regulated through Law no. 3 of 2002 on State Defense and Law no. 34 of 2004 on the Indonesian National Armed Forces.[8][9] Law no. 3 of 2002 on State Defense Article 16 further stipulates the responsibilities of the Minister of Defense, as follows:[8]

  1. Minister leads the Ministry of Defense.
  2. The Minister assists the President in formulating the general policy of state defense.
  3. The Minister shall stipulate a policy on the implementation of state defense based on the general policy set by the President.
  4. The Minister compiles the defense white paper and establishes bilateral, regional and international cooperation policies in its field.
  5. The Minister formulates a general policy of using the power of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and other defense components.
  6. The Minister shall determine the policy of budgeting, procurement, recruitment, management of national resources, as well as the development of technology and defense industries required by the Indonesian Armed Forces and other defense force components.
  7. The minister works with the heads of ministries and other government agencies and develops and implements strategic planning for the management of national resources for defense purposes.

Pursuant to Article 18 Paragraph 4, the Commander of the National Armed Forces shall be responsible to the President in the use of the state defense component and cooperate with the Minister in meeting the needs of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.[8]

Naming history

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Previous nomenclatures and their time period were:

  1. Department of People's Security (Departemen Keamanan Rakyat) (1945–1946)
  2. Department of Defense (Departemen Pertahanan) (1946–1962, 1999–2009)
  3. Department of Defense and Security (Departemen Pertahanan dan Keamanan) (1962–1999)

Task and Duties

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The Ministry of Defense has the task of carrying out government affairs in the defense sector to assist the President in administering the country's government. In carrying out its duties, the Ministry of Defense performs the functions of:[10]

  1. Formulation, determination and implementation of policies in the fields of defense strategy, defense planning, defense potential and defense strength;
  2. Coordinating the implementation of tasks, coaching and providing administrative support to all organizational elements within the Ministry of Defense;
  3. Management of state property/wealth which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense;
  4. Supervision over the implementation of tasks within the Ministry of Defense;
  5. Implementation of defense facilities management;
  6. Implementation of research and development in the defense sector;
  7. Implementation of education and training in the defense sector;
  8. Iimplementation of management of strategic defense installations;
  9. Implementation of technical activities from the center to the regions; And
  10. Implementation of substantive support to all organizational elements within the Ministry of Defense.

Organization

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The Minister of Defense, by Presidential Decree No. 94/2022,[11] is the head of the Ministry of Defense, the principal assistant to the president in all matters concerning national defense, and has authority and control over the Ministry of Defense. Because the Constitution vests all military authority in the People's Representative Council and the president, the statutory authority in the Minister of Defense is derived from their constitutional authorities. Since it is impractical for the People's Representative Council and the president to participate in every piece of matters relating to national defense, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister's subordinate officials generally exercise national defense authority.

The organizational structure of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia according to Defense Ministerial Regulation No. 1/2024 is as follows:[12]

Leadership elements

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Secretariat

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Inspectorate

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Directorates-General

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Agencies

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Advisors

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Centers

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List of ministers

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Main article: List of Ministers of Defense (Indonesia)

Seal

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ini 10 Instansi Dengan Jumlah PNS Terbanyak". jpnn.com. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Nihil Tentara Cadangan, Indonesia Tertinggal dari Negara Tetangga". www.suara.com. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2022.[title missing]
  3. ^ "SEJARAH". Kementerian Pertahanan (in Indonesian). Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  4. ^ "President Prabowo Subianto Announces "Red and White" Cabinet Lineup". 20 October 2024.
  5. ^ Article 8 of The 1945 Constitution of The Republic of Indonesia  – via Wikisource.
  6. ^ P. N. H. Simanjuntak (2003). Kabinet-Kabinet Republik Indonesia: Dari Awal Kemerdekaan Sampai Reformasi [Cabinets of the Republic of Indonesia: From the Start of Independence to the Reform Era]. Jakarta: Djambatan. p. 18. ISBN 9789794284995.
  7. ^ Ketetapan MPR Nomor VI/MPR/2000 Tahun 2000 Pemisahan Tentara Nasional Indonesia Dan Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia (People's Consultative Assembly Decision VI/MPR/2000) (in Indonesian). People's Consultative Assembly. 2000.
  8. ^ a b c Undang Undang Nomor 3 Tahun 2002 tentang Pertahanan Negara (Law 3) (in Indonesian). People's Representative Council. 2002.
  9. ^ Undang Undang Nomor 34 Tahun 2004 tentang Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Law 34) (in Indonesian). People's Representative Council. 2004.
  10. ^ Republik Indonesia, Kementerian Pertahanan (21 March 2019). "PERATURAN MENTERI PERTAHANAN REPUBLIK INDONESIA NOMOR 14 TAHUN 2019 TENTANG ORGANISASI DAN TATA KERJA KEMENTERIAN PERTAHANAN" (PDF). Jakarta: 3, 4. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ Peraturan Presiden No. 94/2022 tentang Kementerian Pertahanan [JDIH Setkab RI] (PDF) (Presidential Regulation 94). 2022.
  12. ^ "Peraturan Menteri Pertahanan Nomor 1 Tahun 2024 Tentang Organisasi dan Tata Kerja Kementerian Pertahanan".
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