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Forsvarsdepartementet / Ministry of Defence

The Minister of Defence heads the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence and carries the constitutional and political responsibility for the activities of the Armed Forces. All matters not decided in Council are decided by the Minister, or by departmental officials on the Minister's behalf. So-called "military command matters", i.e. matters concerning mobilisation and defence plans, are dealt with outside the Council. The Minister of Defence presents such matters to the King in the presence of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs alone. This procedure is adopted only very occasionally.

The strategic leadership of the of the Armed Forces includes the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence, the Chief of Defence and his/her strategic functions within the Ministry of Defence, collocated with the Defence Staff. As of 1 August 2003 the Chief of Defence (CHOD NO) and the strategic functions of the Defence Command Norway (DEFCOM NOR) were incorporated into the MoD. At the same time, the Defence Staff (DEFST NOR) was established to support CHOD in the carrying out of the administration of the AFMO's operations. About 100 offi cers were hired in positions in the MoD, which employed a total of about 300. DEFST NOR numbered 184 positions.

The Ministry of Defence is a political/administrative institution. In other words, the Ministry of Defence is both a part of the apparatus of political control and a part of the administrative system. The Minister of Defence is a member of the Government and overall head of the Ministry. The State Secretary is directly responsible to the Minister. The Secretary General is the Ministry's most senior civil servant. The Chief of Defence exercises his or her role as the Defence Minister's top military adviser and the Chief of Defence's strategic functions are integrated with the Ministry.

The Ministry of Defence is organised in five departments with a total staff of just over 300. There are both civilian and military posts at all levels within the Ministry.

• The Department of Personnel and General Services deals with administrative tasks. Some of these tasks are purely internal while others, for example personnel policy and common legal services, entail responsibilities across the sector as a whole. The department's responsibilities include internal personnel policy, overall employer's responsibility for the defence sector, responsibility for internal restructuring projects including new forms of working, management and control systems and legal questions - both in the Ministry of Defence and on behalf of the sector as a whole. Security and administrative routines within the Ministry, pay, postal services, IT, minutes and records, archiving and library services also form part of the department's portfolio.
• The Department of Security Policy is responsible for the handling of questions of security policy as well as for the Ministry's internal activities and external relations in the field of security policy. This entails responsibility for security policy studies, security and defence related cooperation with allied and partner countries, defence policy relations with NATO, the European Union, the United Nations and OSCE, security related crisis management and questions of military or international law.
• The Department of Operations and Emergency Planning has overall responsibility for operational and emergency planning, crisis management planning and the planning of exercises - including civil defence liaison. This entails monitoring relevant aspects of the strategic situation, ensuring effective utilisation of military aid to the civil power in the event of disasters or accidents, participation in international cooperation concerning the planning of operations, and for planning the composition and deployment of Norwegian forces taking part in operations both in Norway and abroad.
• The Department of Defence Policy and Long-Term Planning is responsible for strategic analysis, the development of long-term defence policy and overall planning for the defence sector. This entails responsibility for the follow-up and analysis of fundamental development trends of relevance to the defence sector, the development of a unified overall policy in areas bearing on developments in defence, providing superior guidelines for ICT development as well as the development of defence policy aims and tasks.
• The Department of Finance and Management has overall responsibility for followup of the defence restructuring and for ensuring that approved long-term plans are implemented. This entails translating the long-term plans into more concrete fouryear plans regarding, for example, finance, structural changes, investment, operating costs and disposals. This also includes the work of preparing and following up the annual defence budget. The department is also responsible for the day-to-day running of the Norwegian Armed Forces and the Norwegian Defence Estates Agency.

The Norwegian National Security Authority (NoNSA), also referred to by the Norwegian acronym NSM, is an administrative directorate subordinate to the Ministry of Defence. On behalf of the Ministry of Justice and the Police the Authority acts as the executive agency concerned with protective security across both military and civil sectors. NoNSA's mission is to assist in countering threats to the security of vital assets and information primarily against espionage, sabotage and acts of terrorism.

The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (NDRE), usually referred to by the Norwegian acronym FFI, is a civilian research agency organised as an administrative agency charged with special responsibilities and answerable directly to the Ministry of Defence. FFI is the prime agency for research and development directed towards meeting the needs of the Norwegian Armed Forces and the agency also provides specialist advice to the strategic leadership. In particular, FFI closely monitors developing trends in science and military technology that may have a bearing on security policy or defence planning.

The Norwegian Defence Estates Agency (NDEA) is an administrative agency subordinate to the Ministry of Defence. The agency's primary tasks relate to the planning, construction, administration, leasing and disposal of defence estates and properties. The buildings administered by the agency cover several million square meters. Other property include a land area amounting to approximately 1.3 billion square metres. The Defence Estates Agency has the Norwegian Armed Forces as its largest and most important customer but is not itself part of the Armed Forces' military organisation.