| Ministero della Difesa | |
 | |
 Headquarters in Via XX Settembre | |
| Ministry of the Italian Republic overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | February 14, 1947; 78 years ago (1947-02-14) |
| Preceding agencies | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Italy |
| Headquarters | Via XX Settembre, 8 00187Rome 41°32′53″N12°17′36″E / 41.54806°N 12.293306°E /41.54806; 12.293306 |
| Minister responsible | |
| Deputy Ministers responsible | |
| Website | www |
TheMinistry of Defence (Italian:Ministero della Difesa, orMDD) is the government body of theItalian Republic responsible for military and civil defence matters and managing theItalian Armed Forces. It is led by theItalian Minister of Defence, a position occupied byGuido Crosetto since October 2022.
The Ministry of Defence was created in 1947 by the merger of theMinistry of War,Ministry of the Navy, andMinistry of Aeronautics under theDe Gasperi III Cabinet.
The first Minister of Defence wasLuigi Gasparotto.
The precursors of the Ministry of Defence were theMinistry of War and theMinistry of the Navy, among the first ministries created in theKingdom of Sardinia. With theItalian unification, during theCavour IV Cabinet, the division of the two ministries remained, similar to other European government bodies. On 30 August 1925 theMussolini Cabinet established theMinistry of Aeronautics as a third ministry with a military role; it oversaw both theRegia Aeronautica ("Royal Air Force") andcivil aviation. In Mussolini'sItalian Social Republic of 1943–1945, a Ministry of National Defence was created, but was abolished along with the rest of the Italian Social Republic upon the cessation ofWorld War II and theItalian Civil War in 1945.
The Ministries of War, the Navy, and Aeronautics came under the control of theItalian Republic when it replaced the Kingdom of Italy in June 1946. The Decree of the Temporary Head of State n. 17 of 4 February 1947,[1] issued during the De Gasperi III Cabinet, established the merger of the Ministries of War, Navy, and Aeronautics — which, autonomously and with their own regulations, had presided over matters of military defence until then — into the unified Ministry of Defence. Upon its creation, the Ministry of Defence inherited oversight of civil aviation from the Ministry of Aeronautics, but the Italian Republic transferred the responsibilities for civil aviation to theMinistry of Transport and Civil Aviation (Italian:Ministero dei trasporti e dell'aviazione civile) in 1963.[2]
The provisions which led to the actual unification of the Ministry were law n. 1862 of 12 December 1962[1] and law n. 1058 of 2 October 1964,[1] with which that delegation was renewed and extended by civil personnel in order to conform to needs derived from the organization of central and peripheral services offices, as well as of factories and military arsenals.[cleanup needed]
The Minister has the task of overseeing the coordination of Italian defence and he/she is charged with reporting to theParliament on any military implications for Italy, the redistribution ofmilitary expenditure and the implementation of national defensive programmes.
This activity has to be coordinated with those of thePresident of the Italian Republic, who presides over the Supreme Council of Defence and commands the Italian Armed Forces.[3] The Minister of Defence, in relation to military magistrates and the Council of Military Judiciary, has the same function of theItalian Minister of Justice within theHigh Council of the Judiciary (CSM).
The Minister is also the chancellor and treasurer of theMilitary Order of Italy.
The Ministry of Defence was re-organized with the Decree of the President of Republic n. 145 of 3 August 2009[1] in offices in direct collaboration with the Minister, 9 general directions for the technical-administrative field and commands for the technical-operative field. The structure of the General Secretariat, general directions and central offices of the Ministry of Defence is regulated by the Ministerial decree of 16 January 2013.[4]
The cabinet office of the Ministry is formed as follows:[5]
The technical-administrative area is organized in four general directions[6] and five technical directions:[7]
This field reports directly to the General Secretary and National Director of Weaponry, who in turn report to the Defence Chief of Staff only for technical-operative aspects.
The operative-military structure of the Ministry is organized as follows:[8]
The Defence General Staff (Stato maggiore della Difesa) report directly to the Minister, with the Chief of Defence at the top who controls the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces and, limited to the technical-operative attributions, the General Secretary of Defence.[10] The Chief of Defence is responsible for the planning, predisposition and use of armed forces in their entirety, and for these activities he is supported by a Staff and a Command of Joint Operations (COI).[10]
The consultative and support bodies of the Minister of Defence are the following:
The Italian Chief of Defence General Staff is appointed with a decree of the President of the Republic, on proposal by the Minister of Defence.[10] He must be an officer of the Navy, Army, or Air Force with the rank ofammiraglio di squadra, generale di corpo d'armata,orgenerale di squadra aerea in standing service.[10] He reports directly to the Minister of Defence, for whom he is also the higher technical-military advisor and to whom he responds regarding the actuation of directives received.[10]
The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, reunited in the committee of Chiefs of Staff, is hierarchically subordinate to the CSMD, who also joins the Supreme Council of Defence and he is replaced by the oldest in office among the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces.[10]
The General Secretary of Defence is also the National Director of Weaponry, to whom the National Direction of Weaponry (within the General Secretariat of Defence) is subordinated. This charge was established in 1965 and it has been altered several times. During the 1990s, law n. 25 of 1997[1] made it more agile, efficient and appropriate for modern needs.
The General Secretary directly reports to the Minister of Defence regarding administrative competences and to the CSMD for technical-operative ones. He also controls the 9 general directions of the Ministry. The main tasks of the General Secretary of Defence are related to the actuation of directives issued by the Minister in the field of higher administration, to the operation of technical-administrative field of defence, to the promotion and coordination of technological research relative to weaponry materials. The General Secretary manages the supplying of means, materials and weapon systems for the Armed Forces, support to the Italian defence industry and direct/indirect offsets.
TheCentro Alti Studi per la Difesa ("Centre for Defence Higher Studies", CASD) is the highest organization of studies and training in the field of security and defence.[11] The purpose of CASD is to improve the knowledge and skills of higher officials and civil defence officers, refine professional training and cultural formation of officers among interforces, and to work on studies regarding the organization of national defence and military preparation.[12]
The president of the CASD is responsible for the higher studies in the field of security and defence, as well as for the training of the relative managers. He is assisted by a Staff for general support and the coordination of activities common to four independent bodies of CASD:Istituto alti studi per la difesa ("Italian Defence Higher Studies Institute", IASD),Istituto superiore di stato maggiore interforze ("Joint Services Staff College", ISSMI),Centro militare di studi strategici ("Military Centre for Strategic Studies", CeMiSS) andCentro per la Formazione Logistica Interforze ("Joint Logistics Education Centre", Ce. FLI).[11] The president is directly subordinate to the Chief of Staff and is assisted by a Directive Council he presides over, formed by IASD military and civilian Adjuvant Directors, the ISSMI Director, the CeMiSS Director acting as secretary, the CeFLI Direction and the Chief of Defence.[11]
The Directive Council examines and expresses its opinions on study programmes of the two formation institutes, on activities of sessions and courses, on the evaluation system of Attending Officers and on all the organizational and functional aspects of CASD, aimed at increasing the maximum level of synergy in the use of the available human, material and financial resources.[11]
According to theItalian Constitution, military courts have the jurisdiction established by law during wartime, while they only rule on military crimes committed by members of the Armed Forces.[13] The relationship between the Minister of Defence, military magistrates and the Council of Military Judiciary is similar to the one between the Minister of Justice,High Council of the Judiciary and ordinary magistrates.[14]
Disciplinary proceedings involving the military magistrates are regulated by the laws for ordinary magistrates. The military general prosecutor at theCourt of Cassation exercises the function of the Public Minister and does not take part in deliberations.[15]
Council of Military Judiciary
TheConsiglio della magistratura militare ("Council of Military Judiciary", CMM) is an autonomous body with competences specular to the ordinary ones of the CSM.[14] It was established with law n. 561 of 30 December 1988[15] and it covers assumptions, assignations, transfers, promotions, disciplinary proceedings and every aspect involving the juridical status of military magistrates. The CMM is also responsible for the provision of extrajudicial charges and it is competent on every other subject according to law.[16]
According to the law, the Ministry oversees various public and private entities, as follows:
The public entities overseen and funded by the Ministry are:[17]
The entities of private law overseen and funded by the Ministry are:[23]
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The President shall be the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, shall preside over the Supreme Council of Defence established by law, and shall make declarations of war as have been agreed by Parliament.
Military tribunals in times of war shall have the jurisdiction established by the law. In times of peace they shall have jurisdiction only over military offences committed by members of the armed forces.
Art 48,Agenzia industrie difesa: 1. L'Agenzia industrie difesa, istituita [...] con personalita' giuridica di diritto pubblico, e' posta sotto la vigilanza del Ministro della difesa [...]. Scopo dell'Agenzia e' quello di gestire unitariamente le attivita' delle unita' produttive e industriali della difesa indicate con uno o piu' decreti del Ministro della difesa.[...]
