Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports

Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport
Agency overview
Formed	1848
Jurisdiction	Federal administration of Switzerland
Headquarters	Bern
Employees	11,595[1]
Annual budget	Expenditure: CHF 6.5 billion Revenue: CHF 1.6 billion (2009)[1]
Minister responsible	Ueli Maurer, Federal Councillor
Website
vbs.admin.ch

The Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) (Italian: Dipartimento federale della difesa, della protezione della popolazione e dello sport; German: Eidgenössisches Departement für Verteidigung, Bevölkerungsschutz und Sport; French: Département fédéral de la Défense, de la protection de la population et des sports) is one of the seven departments of the Swiss federal government, headed by a member of the Swiss Federal Council.

Organisation

The Department is composed of the following departmental sectors:^[2]

• Defence / Armed Forces sector: Swiss Armed Forces headquarters and staff, Land Forces, Air Force, Armed Forces Logistics Organisation (AFLO), Armed Forces Command Support Organisation (AFCSO).
• Civil Protection sector: Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP), responsible for the coordination of the civil protection services of the cantons and municipalities. Operates the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) and the Spiez Laboratory, which is responsible for weapons of mass destruction research and protection.
• Sport sector: Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO),^[3] responsible for sport policy, the National Youth Sports Centre Tenero and the Youth and Sport organisation.
• armasuisse sector: Responsible for armaments procurement, technology and research. The sector includes the Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo), which compiles and manages geographical reference data and maps.

The following services are also part of the DDPS:

• General Secretariat
• Office of the Military Attorney General: The military prosecutor's office.
• Strategic Intelligence Service (SIS): Switzerland’s foreign intelligence service.
• Directorate for Security Policy (DSP): Responsible for strategy development, defence and procurement policy, arms control and disarmament policy.

Name of department

• 1848: Military Department
• 1979: Federal Military Department
• Since 1998: Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport

List of heads of the department

1848-1854: Ulrich Ochsenbein 1855-1859: Friedrich Frey-Herosé 1860-1861: Jakob Stämpfli 1862 only : Constant Fornerod 1863 only : Jakob Stämpfli 1864-1866: Constant Fornerod 1867-1868: Emil Welti 1869 only : Victor Ruffy 1870-1871: Emil Welti 1872 only : Paul Cérésole 1873-1875: Emil Welti 1876-1878: Johann Jakob Scherer 1879-1888: Wilhelm Hertenstein 1889-1890: Walter Hauser 1891-1897: Emil Frey 1897-1898: Eduard Müller 1899 only : Eugène Ruffy

1900-1906: Eduard Müller 1907 only : Ludwig Forrer 1908-1911: Eduard Müller 1912-1913: Arthur Hoffmann 1914-1919: Camille Decoppet 1920-1929: Karl Scheurer 1930-1940: Rudolf Minger 1940-1954: Karl Kobelt 1955-1966: Paul Chaudet 1967-1968: Nello Celio 1968-1979: Rudolf Gnägi 1980-1983: Georges-André Chevallaz 1984-1986: Jean-Pascal Delamuraz 1987-1989: Arnold Koller 1989-1995: Kaspar Villiger 1996-2000: Adolf Ogi 2001-2008: Samuel Schmid

2009-: Ueli Maurer

See also

• Sport in Switzerland

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Chancellery. "The Swiss Confederation – a brief guide 2009". http://www.bk.admin.ch/dokumentation/02070/index.html?lang=en 
2. ^ "Organisation". Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport. http://www.vbs.admin.ch/internet/vbs/en/home/departement/organisation.html. Retrieved May 2008. 
3. ^ Federal Office of Sport

External links

• Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport Official Website