The Ministry of Defense (Spanish: Ministerio de Defensa; abbrevriated MINDEF) of Argentina is a ministry of the national executive power that oversees and advises on matters of national defense, including overseeing the Argentine Armed Forces.
The Ministry of Defense is one of the oldest ministries in the Argentine government, having existed continuously since the formation of the first Argentine executive in 1854, in the presidency of Justo José de Urquiza (then known as the Ministry of War). The incumbent minister is Luis Petri, who has served since 10 December 2023 in the cabinet of Javier Milei.
Traditionally the minister of Defense, as the Joint chiefs of Staff (Spanish: Estado Mayor Conjunto) which traces back its origin to 1948 had a minor role in all armed forces activities, relegating key decisions to the respectives chiefs of staff.[2]
A major change came into effect on 12 June 2006 when President Néstor Kirchner brought into effect the Defense Law, which had been passed in 1988 as a means to modernize the doctrine of the armed forces and define their role, although successive governments had failed to put it into effect.
The law states that the armed forces will only be used against foreign aggression, and reduces the powers of the heads of the armed services, centralizing whole operational and acquisitions decisions under the authority of the minister of Defense through the Armed Forces Joint General Staff emphasizing Jointness[3]
