Minister of Defence (Finland) explained

Post:	Minister of Defence
Body:	the Republic of Finland
Native Name:	Puolustusministeri Försvarsminister
Flag:	Flag of the Minister of Defence (Finland).svg
Flagsize:	150px
Flagcaption:	Flag of the Minister of Defence
Incumbent:	Antti Häkkänen
Incumbentsince:	20 June 2023
Department:	Ministry of Defence
Member Of:	Cabinet
Seat:	Helsinki, Finland
Nominator:	Prime Minister
Appointer:	President
Termlength:	Four years (de facto)
Website:	www.defmin.fi/english

The Minister of Defence (fi|puolustusministeri, sv|försvarsminister) is a member of the Finnish Council of State. As the head of the Ministry of Defence, the minister is responsible for the administration of national defence. The ministry is headquartered in Helsinki. The current Minister of Defence is Antti Häkkänen.

From June to November 1918 the post was called Chief of the War Department, and from then until 1922 the post was called the Minister of War.

The President of the Republic is the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Defence Forces. The commander of the military forces is the Chief of Defence.

Ministry offices

Finnish Ministry of Defence Offices consists of two wings:

South Makasiinikatu 8 since - Built by CL Engel as barracks for the Finnish Guard in 1922 and destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt by retaining the original walls from 1954 to 1956 and used as Defense Headquarters since 1956^[1]
Fabiansgatan 2 - newer wing was built in 1961 by Finnish architects Viljo Revell and Heikki Castrén.

Previous ministry offices

Eteläesplanadi 10 - 1918-1921 it was located here and now home to Ministry of Justice
Korkeavuorenkatu 21 (Ohrana House) - relocated in 1921 and here until beginning of World War II; now Finnish Border Guard Headquarters
Snellmaninkatu 4-6 - moved here 1941 to 1956 which now home to Finnish Financial Supervision Authority

List of ministers of defence

Source:^[2] ^[3]

External links

The Ministry of Defence of Finland

Notes and References

http://www.defmin.fi/ministerio/puolustusministerio/historiaa (Finnish)
Web site: Council of State - Ministers of War. Valtioneuvosto.fi. 30 December 2017.
Web site: Council of State - Ministers of Defence. Valtioneuvosto.fi. 30 December 2017. dead. 29 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190329172636/https://valtioneuvosto.fi/tietoa/historiaa/hallitukset-ja-ministerit/raportti/-/r/v9l/11 .