 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 11 August 1970; 54 years ago (1970-08-11) |
| Preceding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Singapore |
| Headquarters | 303 Gombak Drive, MINDEF Building, Singapore (669645) |
| Motto | Safeguarding Singapore's Peace |
| Employees | 282 (2024)[1] |
| Annual budget |  S$20.25 billion (2024)[1] |
| Ministers responsible |
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| Agency executives |
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| Child agency | |
| Website | www |
| Agency ID | T08GA0011B |
TheMinistry of Defence (MINDEF;Malay:Kementerian Pertahanan;Chinese:新加坡國防部;Tamil:தற்காப்பு அமைச்சு) is aministry under theGovernment of Singapore responsible for overseeing thenational defence ofSingapore.
MINDEF, together with theMinistry of Home Affairs, was created on 11 August 1970 by splitting up the thenMinistry of Interior and Defence.
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 ofTotal 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.
MINDEF has one statutory board, theDefence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA).
TheSingapore Armed Forces (SAF), which consists of theSingapore Army, theRepublic of Singapore Navy (RSN), theRepublic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), and theDigital and Intelligence Service (DIS), is a military component of MINDEF.[3]
TheSecurity and Intelligence Division (SID), the foreignintelligence service of Singapore, is autonomous within the ministry.
The Ministry is headed by theMinister for Defence, who is appointed as part of theCabinet of Singapore.
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Party | Cabinet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Goh Keng Swee MP forKreta Ayer (1918–2010) | 9 August 1965 | 16 August 1967 | PAP | Lee K. II | |
 | Lim Kim San MP forCairnhill (1916–2006) | 17 August 1967 | 10 August 1970 | PAP | ||
| Lee K. III | ||||||
| Goh Keng Swee MP forKreta Ayer (1918–2010) | 11 August 1970 | 11 February 1979 | PAP | ||
| Lee K. IV | ||||||
| Lee K. V | ||||||
| Howe Yoon Chong MP forPotong Pasir (1923–2007) | 12 February 1979 | 31 May 1982 | PAP | |||
| Lee K. VI | ||||||
 | Goh Chok Tong MP forMarine Parade SMC &Marine Parade GRC (born 1941) | 1 June 1982 | 30 June 1991 | PAP | ||
| Lee K. VII | ||||||
| Lee K. VIII | ||||||
| Goh I | ||||||
| Yeo Ning Hong MP forKim Seng SMC &Kampong Glam GRC (born 1943) | 1 July 1991 | 1 July 1994 | PAP | |||
| Goh II | ||||||
| Lee Boon Yang MP forJalan Besar GRC (born 1947) | 2 July 1994 | 1 August 1995 | PAP | |||
 | Tony Tan MP forSembawang GRC (born 1940) | 2 August 1995 | 1 August 2003 | PAP | ||
| Goh III | ||||||
| Goh IV | ||||||
 | Teo Chee Hean MP forPasir Ris–Punggol GRC (born 1954) | 2 August 2003 | 20 May 2011 | PAP | ||
| Lee H. I | ||||||
| Lee H. II | ||||||
.jpg) | Ng Eng Hen MP forBishan–Toa Payoh GRC (born 1958) | 21 May 2011 | Incumbent | PAP | Lee H. III | |
| Lee H. IV | ||||||
| Lee H. V | ||||||
| Wong I | ||||||
