The Ministry of Defence (Dutch: Ministerie van Defensie; MinDef) is the Dutch ministry responsible for the armed forces of the Netherlands and veterans' affairs.

The ministry is responsible for: The ministry consists of the Minister (Ruben Brekelmans) and the State Secretary of Defence (Gijs Tuinman), the so-called Central Staff, the Netherlands Armed Forces and two supporting organisations.

The Central Staff of the ministry is led by the Secretary-General, the highest civil servant.

The most important elements of the Central Staff are: The highest military official is the Chief of Defence (Dutch: Commandant der Strijdkrachten).

He is a four-star general or admiral and controls the branches of the armed forces, which are organized in three operational commands: The fourth branch of service, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, is a gendarmerie force that falls directly under the Secretary-General.