Minister of Defence (Denmark)

The Minister of Defence of Denmark (Danish: Forsvarsminister, pronounced [ˈfɒːsvɑsmiˌnistɐ]) is the politically appointed head of the Danish Ministry of Defence. The Minister of Defence is responsible for the Danish Armed Forces, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the Danish Emergency Management Agency.

Minister of Defence
Forsvarsminister
Standard of the Minister of Defence
Incumbent Troels Lund Poulsen since 22 August 2023
Ministry of Defence
Type	Minister
Member of	Cabinet State Council Government's Security Committee [da]
Reports to	the Prime minister
Seat	Slotsholmen
Appointer	The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Constituting instrument	Forsvarsloven
Precursor	Minister for the Navy Minister of War
Formation	5 September 1905; 119 years ago (1905-09-05)
First holder	J.C. Christensen
Succession	depending on the order in the State Council
Deputy	Permanent Secretary of State for Defence
Website	Official Website

The Minister of Defence follows the directions given by the Prime Minister of Denmark and the decisions of the Folketing. The Danish Defence Law (Danish: Forsvarsloven) designates in article 9 the Minister of Defence as the supreme authority in Defence (Danish: højeste ansvarlige myndighed for forsvaret). Under the Minister is the Chief of Defence, the senior-ranking professional military officer heading the Defence Command, who commands the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and other units not reporting directly to the Ministry of Defence.^[1][2]

The main responsibilities of the Minister of Defence are to prevent armed conflicts and war, to safeguard the sovereignty of Denmark and integrity of Danish territory and to promote global peace and stability. Since 2002, these responsibilities have included the political leadership of the Danish contribution to the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

The current Defence Minister is Troels Lund Poulsen.

History

In 1905, the offices of the Minister for the Navy and the Minister of War were merged to create the current office of Defence Minister.^[3]

List of ministers of defence

Christian IX (1863–1906)

No.	Portrait	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Political party	Cabinet	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Christensen, Jens ChristianJens Christian Christensen (1856–1930)	5 September 1905	12 October 1908	3 years, 37 days	Venstre Reform	Christensen I–II

Frederick VIII (1906–1912)

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Political party	Cabinet	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
2		Neergaard, Niels ThomasiusNiels Thomasius Neergaard (1854–1936)	12 October 1908	16 September 1909	339 days	Moderate Venstre	Neergaard
(1)		Christensen, Jens ChristianJens Christian Christensen (1856–1930)	16 September 1909	18 October 1909	32 days	Venstre Reform	Holstein-Ledreborg
3		Holstein-Ledreborg, LudvigLudvig Holstein-Ledreborg (1839–1912)	18 October 1909	28 October 1909	10 days	Independent	Holstein-Ledreborg

Christian X (1912–1947)

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Political party	Cabinet	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
4		Krabbe, ChristopherChristopher Krabbe [da] (1833–1913)	28 October 1909	5 July 1910	250 days	Social Liberals	Zahle I
5		Berntsen, KlausKlaus Berntsen (1844–1927)	5 July 1910	21 June 1913	2 years, 351 days	Moderate Venstre	Berntsen
6		Munch, Peter RochegunePeter Rochegune Munch (1870–1948)	21 June 1913	30 March 1920	6 years, 283 days	Social Liberals	Zahle II
7		Konow, HenriHenri Konow (1862–1939)	30 March 1920	5 April 1920	6 days	Independent	Liebe
8		Friis, Michael PedersenMichael Pedersen Friis (1857–1944)	5 April 1920	5 May 1920	30 days	Independent	Friis
9		Berntsen, KlausKlaus Berntsen (1844–1927)	5 May 1920	9 October 1922	2 years, 157 days	Venstre	Neergaard II
10		Brorsen, SørenSøren Brorsen (1875–1961)	9 October 1922	23 April 1924	1 year, 197 days	Venstre	Neergaard III
11		Rasmussen, LaustLaust Rasmussen [da] (1862–1941)	23 April 1924	14 December 1926	2 years, 235 days	Social Democrats	Stauning I
(10)		Brorsen, SørenSøren Brorsen (1875–1961)	14 December 1926	30 April 1929	5 years, 7 days	Venstre	Madsen-Mygdal
(11)		Rasmussen, LaustLaust Rasmussen [da] (1862–1941)	30 April 1929	24 November 1932	3 years, 208 days	Social Democrats	Stauning II
12		Hansen, Hans PeterHans Peter Hansen (1872–1953)	24 November 1932	31 May 1933	188 days	Social Democrats	Stauning II
13		Stauning, ThorvaldThorvald Stauning (1873–1942)	31 May 1933	4 November 1935	2 years, 157 days	Social Democrats	Stauning II
14		Andersen, AlsingAlsing Andersen (1893–1962)	4 November 1935	10 April 1940	4 years, 158 days	Social Democrats	Stauning III–IV–V
None (10 April 1940 – 8 July 1940) (Alsing Emanuel Andersen)
None (8 July 1940 – 4 May 1942) (Søren Brorsen)
(10)		Brorsen, SørenSøren Brorsen (1875–1961)	4 May 1942	29 August 1943	1 year, 117 days	Venstre	Stauning VI Buhl I Scavenius
None (29 August 1943 – 5 May 1945) (Søren Brorsen)
15		Kraft, Ole BjørnOle Bjørn Kraft (1893–1980)	5 May 1945	7 November 1945	186 days	Conservatives	Buhl II
16		Petersen, HaraldHarald Petersen (1893–1970)	7 November 1945	13 November 1947	2 years, 6 days	Venstre	Kristensen

Frederick IX (1947–1972)

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Political party	Cabinet	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
17		Hansen, Hans RasmusHans Rasmus Hansen (1896–1971)	13 November 1947	30 October 1950	3 years, 17 days	Social Democrats	Hedtoft I–II
(16)		Petersen, HaraldHarald Petersen (1893–1970)	30 October 1950	30 September 1953	2 years, 335 days	Venstre	Eriksen
(17)		Hansen, Hans RasmusHans Rasmus Hansen (1896–1971)	30 September 1953	25 May 1956	2 years, 238 days	Social Democrats	Hedtoft III Hansen I
18		Hansen, PoulPoul Hansen (1913–1966)	25 May 1956	15 November 1962	6 years, 174 days	Social Democrats	Hansen I Kampmann I Krag I
19		Hansen, PoulVictor Gram (1910–1969)	15 November 1962	2 February 1968	5 years, 79 days	Social Democrats	Krag I–II
20		Ninn-Hansen, ErikErik Ninn-Hansen (1922–2014)	2 February 1968	17 March 1971	3 years, 43 days	Conservatives	Baunsgaard
21		Ninn-Hansen, ErikKnud Østergaard [da] (1922–1993)	17 March 1971	11 October 1971	208 days	Conservatives	Baunsgaard
22		Olesen, KjeldKjeld Olesen (1932–2024)	11 October 1971	27 September 1973	1 year, 351 days	Social Democrats	Krag I Jørgensen I

Margrethe II (1972–present)

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Political party	Cabinet	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
23		Møller, OrlaOrla Møller (1916–1979)	27 September 1973	19 December 1973	83 days	Social Democrats	Jørgensen I
24		Brøndum, ErlingErling Brøndum (1930–2017)	19 December 1973	13 February 1975	1 year, 56 days	Venstre	Hartling
(23)		Møller, OrlaOrla Møller (1916–1979)	13 February 1975	1 October 1977	2 years, 230 days	Social Democrats	Jørgensen II
25		Søgaard, PoulPoul Søgaard (1923–2016)	1 October 1977	10 September 1982	4 years, 344 days	Social Democrats	Jørgensen II–III–IV–V
26		Engell, HansHans Engell (born 1948)	10 September 1982	10 September 1987	5 years, 0 days	Conservatives	Schlüter I
27		Collet, Bernt JohanBernt Johan Collet (born 1941)	10 September 1987	3 June 1988	267 days	Conservatives	Schlüter II
28		Enggaard, KnudKnud Enggaard (1929–2024)	3 June 1988	25 January 1993	4 years, 236 days	Venstre	Schlüter III–Schlüter IV
29		Hækkerup, HansHans Hækkerup (1945–2013)	25 January 1993	21 December 2000	7 years, 331 days	Social Democrats	P. N. Rasmussen I–II–III–IV
30		Trøjborg, JanJan Trøjborg (1955–2012)	21 December 2000	27 November 2001	341 days	Social Democrats	P. N. Rasmussen IV
31		Jensby, Svend AageSvend Aage Jensby (born 1940)	27 November 2001	24 April 2004	2 years, 149 days	Venstre	A. F. Rasmussen I
32		Gade, SørenSøren Gade (born 1963)	24 April 2004	23 February 2010	5 years, 305 days	Venstre	A. F. Rasmussen I–II–III L. L. Rasmussen I
33		Bech, Gitte LillelundGitte Lillelund Bech (born 1969)	23 February 2010	3 October 2011	1 year, 222 days	Venstre	L. L. Rasmussen I
34		Hækkerup, NickNick Hækkerup (born 1968)	3 October 2011	9 August 2013	1 year, 310 days	Social Democrats	Thorning-Schmidt I
35		Wammen, NicolaiNicolai Wammen (born 1971)	9 August 2013	28 June 2015	1 year, 323 days	Social Democrats	Thorning-Schmidt I–II
36		Holst, CarlCarl Holst (born 1970)	28 June 2015	30 September 2015	94 days	Venstre	L. L. Rasmussen II
37		Christensen, PeterPeter Christensen (1975–2025)	30 September 2015	28 November 2016	1 year, 59 days	Venstre	L. L. Rasmussen II
38		Frederiksen, Claus HjortClaus Hjort Frederiksen (born 1947)	28 November 2016	27 June 2019	2 years, 211 days	Venstre	L. L. Rasmussen III
39		Bramsen, TrineTrine Bramsen (born 1981)	27 June 2019	4 February 2022	2 years, 222 days	Social Democrats	Frederiksen I
40		Morten Bødskov (born 1970)	4 February 2022	15 December 2022	314 days	Social Democrats	Frederiksen I
41		Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (born 1973)	15 December 2022	6 February 2023	53 days	Venstre	Frederiksen II	[4]
–		Troels Lund Poulsen (born 1976) Acting	6 February 2023	1 August 2023	176 days	Venstre	Frederiksen II	[4]
41		Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (born 1973)	1 August 2022	22 August 2023	21 days	Venstre	Frederiksen II	[4]
42		Troels Lund Poulsen (born 1976)	22 August 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 341 days	Venstre	Frederiksen II	[5]

See also

• Commander-in-chief#Denmark