title: Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)
text: The Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg) is a Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. At present the headquarters of the ministry are still in Bonn with 3230 working in the Hardthöhe. The second office employs about 500 people in the Bendlerblock in Berlin.
  
  Organisation
  The BMVg is at the highest Federal authority and the highest command authority of the defence forces. The BMVg has civilian and military departments:
   the General staff (Führungsstab)of the defence forces, under the Inspector General of the Federal Armed Forces
   the top staffs of the 3 forces (Army, Navy and Air Force)
   the armaments department the department of defence administration, infrastructure and environmental protection
   the personel, social and central department
   the legal department
   the Budget department
   the department for modernisation.
  
  Operatively the General Staff of the Defence Forces (or "FÜ S", which is short for ) is the most important, it has seven sections divided into 42 smaller sections
  
  The press and information staff and the planning staff work directly under the minister
  
  Federal Minister of Defence
  In peace time the Federal Minister of Defence is commander in chief of the Armed Forces, not the Federal President.
  
  If Germany is attacked, or about to be attacked, command passes to the Chancellor.
  
  History 
  In 1950 Chancellor Konrad Adenauer gave Theodor Blank the job of preparing for the time when Germany could have an army. In December 20 people where working in the "Blank Office". On 7 June 1955 it had 1300 employees, and it became the Federal Ministry for  Defence.
  
  It was renamed in Federal Ministry of defence on December 1961 and was seen as one of the "classic departments" . At German reunification the National People's Army (Nationale Volksarmee) of East Germany was made part of the Federal Armed Forces. Not long after this, Germany's army took part in the war in Kosovo. This was the first time that Germany's army had been sent to fight outside Germany since the end of World War II
  
  Federal Ministers of Defence since 1955
  
  References