Ministry of National Defence and Sport (Austria)

For a list of holders of the ministry, see List of Defense Ministers of Austria. For the defence ministries of other countries, see defence minister.

The Ministry of Defence and Sports (Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport, sometimes shortened to BMLVS or Verteidigungsministerium) is the government ministry of Austria for all matters relating to the military affairs (especially the Austrian Armed Forces) or to sport. In the Faymann cabinet, its current minister is Norbert Darabos (SPO).

Authority

The Ministry of National Defence and Sport's base in the Rossauer Kaserne in Vienna.

The minister is head of all the ministry's subordinate authorities and has command and control of the Austrian Armed Forces in all cases it is not directly subject to the President of Austria and is 'Ressortchef' of the 'Sektion Sport'. For certain acts, such as the use of more than 5,000 men of the militia or reserve, the Federal Minister for Defence's authorization is bound by this, since in these cases the constitutional command of the army takes precedence.

Responsibilities

Specifically, the Ministry^[1] is responsible for matters regarding:

• the armed forces' constitutionally-defined duties
• the armed forces' operational and tactical leadership
• military aviation
• the provision of arms, equipment, materiel and personnel to the armed forces
• weapons, ammunition and munitions
• military technology, including weapons testing and military-technical research
• military restricted areas
• care of the armed forces' health, including military hospitals and supply of medicines
• military attachés
• the establishment, maintenance and management of all military buildings, facilities and properties owned by the state, the ministry building, the military administration or the army, including the Military History Museum, known as the Heeresgeschichtlichen Museum
• shipping, road transport, telecommunications and mapping in the military field
• the running of the Military History Museum, known as the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Militärhistorisches Institut).
• the armed forces' finances
• the army forest at Allentsteig
• anagement of Austria's shares in the SIVBEG (Strategische Immobilien Verwertungs-, Beratungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft) as long as the federal government is a shareholder, and the regulation of that company.
• the European Defence Agency
• sport affairs

Office holders

• Minister: Norbert Darabos
• Head of the Minister's Cabinet: Stefan Kammerhofer
• Chief of the General Staff: General Edmund Entacher
• Deputy Chief of Staff: Generalleutnant Othmar Commenda
• Head of Section I (Zentralsektion or Central Section): Sektionschef Rainer Holenia
• Head of Section II (Planung or Planning): Generalleutnant Dietmar Franzisci
• Head of Section III (Bereitstellung or Supply): Generalleutnant Freyo Apfalter
• Head of Section IV (Einsatz or Mission): Generalleutnant Christian Segur-Cabanac
• Head of Section V (Sport): post vacant

Subordinate departments

Subordinate to the ministry are the:

• Streitkräfteführungskommando (Supreme Command): Generalleutnant Günter Höfler
• Kommando Einsatzunterstützung (Operations Support Command): Generalmajor Bernhard Bair
• Kommando Führungsunterstützung (Command Support Command): Brigadier Hermann Loidolt
• Ämter (Offices) :
  • Armed forces personnel office: Hofrat Thomas Mais
  • Armed forces' building and surveying office : Brigadier Heinz Kurka
  • Office for armaments and procurement: Brigadier Christian Tauschitz
  • Office for armaments and military technology: Brigadier Erich Apoloner
  • Heeresnachrichtenamt (Intelligence Office): Generalmajor Edwin Potocnik
  • Abwehramt (Army Office): Generalmajor Anton Oschep
• Academies:
  • Landesverteidigungsakademie (National Defence Academy): General Raimund Schittenhelm
  • Theresianische Militärakademie (Military Academy): Generalmajor Norbert Sinn
  • Heeresunteroffiziersakademie (Army Non-Commissioned Officers' Academy): Brigadier Heinz Hufler
• Weapons training and technical schools:
  • Heerestruppenschule (Army Soldiers School): Brigadier August Reiter
  • Flieger- und Fliegerabwehrschule (Flight and Air Defence School): Brigadier Günther Schiefert
  • ABC-Abwehrschule (Defence School): Oberst Michael Schuster
  • Heereslogistikschule (Army Logistics School): Brigadier Dieter Jocham
  • Führungsunterstützungsschule (Leadership Support School): Brigadier Rainer Kubiska
• Militärmedizinisches Zentrum (Military Medical Centre): Brigadier Eugen Gallent

Historical development

The Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Sport have been linked since 2009.

Defence Ministry

Previous to 1918, there was a Ministry of War for the whole of Austro-Hungary and a Ministry of Defence solely for the Austrian half of the empire. The defence ministry took on various names during the First Austrian Republic of 1918 to 1938, but was abolished during Austria's anschluss into Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. During the Allied occupation of Austria from 1945 to 1956, defence was in the remit of the "Office for National Defence"

From 1945 to 1956, during the period of the occupation forces fremdkontrollierten by Republic of Austria were the agendas of national defense for the "Office for National Defence" (Amtes für Landesverteidigung), a section in the Federal Chancellery. This became a new ministry in 1956.

Sports Ministry

Sport first became a government portfolio in Austria in 1966, as part of the remit of the Federal Ministry of Education, which was in 1984 renamed the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Sports. In 1991 sport was moved to the Federal Ministry of Health, Sport and Consumer Protection, then in 1995 to the Federal Chancellery, in 2000 to the Federal Ministry of Public Service and Sports, in 2003 back to the Federal Chancellery and finally in 2009 joined the current Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports.

References

1. ^ Appendix to § 2, Section H of the Federal Ministries Act 1986 as amended

External links

• (German) Official site of the Ministry
• (German) Business division of the Ministry