Ministry of Defence (Brunei)

The Ministry of Defence (abbreviated as MinDef; Malay: Kementerian Pertahanan) is a cabinet-level ministry in the Government of Brunei which is responsible for the national security of Brunei and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, the country's military forces. It is Brunei's ministry of defence. It is headed by the Minister of Defence (Menteri Pertahanan) and the incumbent is Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the current Sultan of Brunei as well as the Supreme Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces; and the Second Minister of Defence (Menteri Pertahanan Kedua), which is currently held by Major General (Retired) Awang Halbi bin Mohd Yussof since 2018.[1] The ministry was established in 1984 as one of the first ten ministries immediately set up after Brunei's independence from the United Kingdom in 1984.[2] It is headquartered in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

Ministry of Defence
Kementerian Pertahanan

Ministry of Defence building
Ministry overview
Formed1984 (1984)
JurisdictionGovernment of Brunei
HeadquartersBandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
4.926172°N 114.935348°E / 4.926172; 114.935348
Annual budget$589 million BND (2019)
Ministers responsible
Websitehttp://www.mindef.gov.bn

Leadership

The first Minister of Defence upon the inception of the ministry was Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III who was the late father of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and had been the preceding Sultan of Brunei until his abdication in 1967.[2] Upon his passing in 1986, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah took over the position and he has since become the Minister of Defence up to this day.

The post of the Second Minister of Defence appeared for the first time with the cabinet reshuffle in 2018. Awang Halbi bin Mohd Yussof, the incumbent Second Minister of Defence, is also the first one who holds this position. At the same time, the Deputy Minister of Defence portfolio was discontinued in the current cabinet. The last person who held this position was First Admiral (Laksamana Pertama) (Retired) Abdul Aziz bin Mohd Tamit who took office from 2015 until 2018.

Budget

The allocated budget for the Ministry of Defence for the current fiscal year 2019-20 is B$589 million (US$434 million as of July 2019),[3][4] an increase from B$493 million in the previous year.[5]

References
  1. Othman, Azlan (31 January 2018). "Sultan reshuffles Cabinet". Borneo Bulletin Online. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  2. "MINDEF - Introduction". www.mindef.gov.bn. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  3. "XE: Convert BND/USD. Brunei Darussalam Dollar to United States Dollar". xe.com. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  4. Abu Bakar, Rasidah (13 March 2019). "MinDef budget to focus on promoting defence diplomacy, improving capabilities". The Scoop. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  5. Hazair, Hadthiah (21 March 2018). "14th LegCo session ends with $5.3B budget passed". The Scoop. Retrieved 10 July 2019.


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