The Ministry of Defense (Amharic: የመከላከያ ሚኒስቴር, romanized: yemekelakeya mīnīsitēri) is a cabinet-level office in charge of defense-related matters of Ethiopia.

[1] This institution can trace its origins back to the Ministry of War, which Emperor Menelik II established in 1907, and made Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis Minister over it.

[2] Emperor Haile Selassie re-established the Ministry of War in 1942, making Ras Abebe Aregai its Minister.

[3] The Ministry is headed by a civilian minister which is a requirement of Article 87 of the current constitution of Ethiopia.

The five floor building of more than 700 offices and facilities serves now as the headquarters of the ministry, and is located on 13 hectares of land in Addis Ababa.