Ministerio da Defesa Nacional / Ministry of National Defence

National Defence, in essence, is an integrated strategy put into practice by Portugal to guarantee its unity, sovereignty and independence, the welfare and the prosperity of the Nation, the unity of the Nation and the normal performance of its tasks, the liberty of political action of the sovereignty organs and the regular functioning of the democratic institutions, according to the National Constitution.

National defence is a wide and consensual concept requiring the commitment of the citizens, of the society and of the political powers, in order to maintain and reinforce security and to create conditions for the prevention and fighting against any external threats, which directly or indirectly may oppose the pursuance of national goals. Therefore, it has a global scope, integrating military and non-military components.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is the governmental department whose main role is to prepare and implement the National Defence policy, within the competencies laid down on the "Law of National Defence and Armed Forces". The Minister of Defence is also responsible for the management and control of the Armed Forces and related Agencies. He is responsible as well for an integrated Sea Affairs policy in cooperation with relevant ministers.

Following acceptance of the 1982 constitutional revision, the government passed the National Defense Law that created a Ministry of Defense. Proponents of the National Defense Law hoped to define a coherent role for the military in society. Under a Ministry of Defense, the government, instead of the military, would have complete control of security policies. It would also remove the military from defense procurement and allow the government to approve the Armed Forces' long-term strategy.

Major duties of the Ministry of Defence are:

• To take part in the definition of the National Defence Policy and formulate and implement its military component;
• To ensure the management and control of the Armed Forces;
• To assure the means and resources for the Armed Forces and supervise their employment;
• To define, implement and coordinate policies concerning personnel, equipment and financial resources;
• To coordinate and provide guidance on matters related to National military commitments within international organisations and agreements without impinge on the regular tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• To prepare the annual budget of the Ministry, and give guidance for the drafting of the "Military Procurement Law" and supervise its implementation;
• To contribute for the funding of defence related activities through subsidy attribution and programme-connected transfers;
• To promote studies, research, technological development and dissemination of matters of interest to National Defence;
• To assure the security of sensitive information both in Portugal and in national representations abroad;
• To exert the tasks assigned within the National Intelligence System;
• To provide support to the Higher Council of National Defence and to the Prime-Minister in the framework of his responsibilities regarding National Defence and Armed Forces.

In 1985 Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Rui Machete observed that "... there is not as yet a ministry of defense and this requires stability and political will which will make it possible to perform this task, which is very considerable. It is here that medium- and long-term strategic planning, which defines the major defense aims and is not a specifically military problem, should be affected. The problems connected with technological innovation, in which defense ministries usually have a major role to play, the need to promote industries in order to ensure that a certain kind of innovation is applied to Armed Forces equipment -- all these are things which do not existin Portugal."

Portugal participated in major NATO and EU multilateral operations, including ISAF in Afghanistan, KFOR and EUPM in the Balkans, and UNIFIL in Lebanon. Yet Allies are often frustrated by low levels of contributions and ambition, by unexpected force changes, and by excruciating delays in Portuguese decision-making and deployments. These involutions are not intentional, but are the product of domestic politics, including a native mistrust of military institutions rooted in the fact that Portugal cast off its military dictatorship only in 1974. Complicating this mindset is a set of structural impediments, including severe budgetary pressures and an ossified hierarchy.

Another factor is the "stove-pipe" structure of the services. The result of the segregation of the services from each other and from the MOD's policy leadership was the creation of three service fiefdoms. While the Chief of Defense (CHOD) is nominally the most senior military officer, he does not have command or budget authority over the individual service chiefs, who regularly ignore his orders.