| Ministry of Defence | |
| Native Name: | Ministerio de Defensa |
| Type: | Ministry |
| Seal: | File:Seal of Peruvian Ministry of Defense.png |
| Preceding1: | Ministry of War |
| Preceding2: | Ministry of the Navy |
| Preceding3: | Ministry of Aeronautics |
| Superseding6: | --> |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of Peru |
| Headquarters: | Lima, Peru |
| Minister8 Name: | --> |
| Deputyminister8 Name: | --> |
| Chief9 Name: | --> |
| Child25 Agency: | --> |
| Keydocument6: | --> |
The Ministry of Defence (Spanish; Castilian: Ministerio de Defensa, MINDEF) is the government ministry responsible for safeguarding national security on land, sea and air. It exercises command over the Peruvian Armed Forces composed of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force., the minister of defense is .
In 1821, José de San Martín created three ministries of the Protectorate of Peru: those of Finance (Hacienda), War and Navy (Guerra y Marina) and Foreign Affairs (Relaciones Exteriores). They were again reestablished in 1844 after a series of changes in government.[1]
On October 13, 1920, during the second government of President Augusto B. Leguía, the Ministry of War and Navy was separated into two ministries through law N° 4003. The Navy Aviator Corps (Spanish; Castilian: Cuerpo de Aviadores de la Armada) was created the same year as part of the Peruvian Navy, with the Navy ministry being reorganised as the Ministry of Navy and Aviation (Spanish; Castilian: Ministerio de Marina y Aviación), combining both military entities until 1941, when the Ministry of Aviation (also known as the "Ministry of Aeronautics" Spanish; Castilian: Ministerio de Aviación; Ministerio de Aeronáutica)[2] was created.[3]
The Ministry of Defence was created by Law No. 24654 on 1 April 1987, during the government of President Alan García. It absorbed the aforementioned Ministries of War, Navy and Aeronautics as well as the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and the National Defence Secretariat.[4]
The government agency under his command is organized as follows: