The Ministry of National Defence , is the national executive ministry of the Government of Colombia

Government of Colombia

The government of Colombiais a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches.Its legislature has a congress,its judiciary has a supreme court, andits executive branch has a president....

 charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security

National security

National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...

 and the armed forces of Colombia, similar to the defense ministries in other countries. It is composed by the National Army, National Armada

Colombian National Armada

The Colombian Navy , also known as the "Armada Nacional" or just the "Armada" in Spanish, is the naval branch of the military forces of Colombia....

 and Air Force

Colombian Air Force

The Colombian Air Force or FAC is the Air Force of the Republic of Colombia.The Colombian Air Force is one of the three institutions of the Armed Forces of Colombia, charge according to the 1991 Constitution of the work to exercise and maintain control of Colombia's airspace to defend the...

 and the National Police

Colombian National Police

The National Police of Colombia is the national police force of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military of Colombia , it constitutes along with them the "Public Force" and is also controlled by the Ministry of Defense. They are the largest police force in Colombia...

.

List of Ministers of War and Defence

Minister (a)	Period
Gral. Pedro Briceño Méndez	1821-1825
Gral. Carlos Soublette Carlos Soublette Carlos Soublette was President of Venezuela 1837-1839 and 1843–1847, and a hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence....	1825-1828
Gral. Rafael Urdaneta Rafael Urdaneta Rafael José Urdaneta y Faría was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence in several countries in northern South America.- Biographic data :...	1828-1829
Gral. Pedro Alcántara Herrán Pedro Alcántara Herrán Pedro Alcántara Herrán Martínez de Zaldúa was a Colombian general and statesman who served as President of the Republic of the New Granada between 1841 and 1845. As a general he served in the wars of independence of the New Granada and of Peru....	1830
Gral. José Miguel Pey	1830-1831
Gral. José Marìa Obando José María Obando José María Ramón Obando del Campo was a Neogranadine General and politician who twice served as President of Colombia...	1831-1832
Gral. José Hilario López	1832-1833
Gral. Antonio Obando	1833-1837
Gral. José Hilario López	1837-1838
Gral. Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...	1838-1840
Gral. José Acevedo	1841-1845
Gral. Joaquin Paris Joaquin Paris Joaquín Paris y Ricaurte was a hero of the Latin American war for independence....	1845
Gral. Juan María Gómez	1845-1846
Gral. Joaquín Barriga	1846-1849
Gral. Tomás Herrera Tomás Herrera Tomás Herrera is the name of:* Tomás de Herrera , Central and South American statesman and general* Tomas Herrera Martinez , Cuban basketball player...	1849-1850
Gral. Valerio Barriga	1851-1853
Cnel. Santiago Frasser	1853
Gral. Pedro Alcántara Herrán Pedro Alcántara Herrán Pedro Alcántara Herrán Martínez de Zaldúa was a Colombian general and statesman who served as President of the Republic of the New Granada between 1841 and 1845. As a general he served in the wars of independence of the New Granada and of Peru....	1854-1855
Gral. José María Ortega	1856-1861
Gral. Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera y Arboleda was a Colombian general and political figure. He was president of Colombia four times. The first time was as president of Republic of New Granada from 1845 to 1849. During the Colombian Civil War of 1860-1862 he led liberal forces in a civil war against...	1861-1863
Gral. Rafael Mendoza	1864
Gral. Francisco Barriga	1864-1866
Gral. Rudesindo López	1866-1867
Gral. Sergio Camargo	1868-1870
Gral. Santos Acosta Santos Acosta Manuel María de los Santos Acosta Castillo was a Colombian General and political figure. He served as the president of Colombia from 1867 until 1868.- Biographic data :Acosta was born in Miraflores, Boyacá, on November 1, 1828...	1871-1872
Gral. Ramón Santodomingo Vila	1873-1875
Gral. Santos Acosta Santos Acosta Manuel María de los Santos Acosta Castillo was a Colombian General and political figure. He served as the president of Colombia from 1867 until 1868.- Biographic data :Acosta was born in Miraflores, Boyacá, on November 1, 1828...	1875-1876
Gral. Fernando Ponce	1877
Gral. Ezequiel Hurtado Ezequiel Hurtado Ezequiel Hurtado Hurtado was a politician, military general and statesman who became President of Colombia. He was born in Silvia, in the department of Cauca, 14 December 1825 and died in Popayán, 4 September 1890. His parents were Nicolas Hurtado and Maria Trinidad Hurtado...	1878-1879
Gral. Eliseo Payan Eliseo Payán José Eliseo Payán Hurtado was a Colombian lawyer, politician, and military officer. Payán as Vice President of Colombia assumed the Presidency of Colombia due to the absence of President Rafael Núñez in 1887.- Biographic data :...	1880-1882
Gral. Juan Mateus	1882-1884
Gral. José María Campo	1884-1886
Gral. Leopoldo Cuervo	1887-1890
Gral. Olegario Rivera	1890-1892
Gral. Antonio Cuervo	1893-1895
Gral. Pedro Rivera	1896-1898
Gral. Jorge Holguin Jorge Holguín Jorge Marcelo Holguín Mallarino was a Colombian politician and military officer, two time Acting President of Colombia for the periods between June, 1909 to August of the same year as interim president, and from November, 1921 to August, 1922...	1899
Gral. José Santos	1900
Gral. Próspero Pinzón	1900
Gral. José Domingo Ospina	1900-1901
Gral. Ramón González Valencia Ramón González Valencia Ramón González Valencia was a Colombian conservative, military officer and statesman. He participated in the civil wars of 1876, Colombian Civil War of 1895, and the Thousand Days War.- Biographic data :...	1901
Gral. Pedro Nel Ospina Pedro Nel Ospina Pedro Nel Ospina Vázquez was a Colombian general and political figure. He served as president of Colombia between 1922 and 1926.- Biography:...	1901
José Vicente Concha Ferreira José Vicente Concha José Vicente Concha was a Colombian politician who served as President of Colombia from 1914-1918. He was also a noted member of the Colombian Conservative Party.- Biographic data :...	1901-1902
Gral. Aristides Fernández	1902-1903
Gral. Alfredo Vásquez Cobo	1903-1904
Gral. Diego Castro	1904-1905
Gral. Diego Euclides de Angulo	1905-1906
Manuel Castro	1906
Gral. Manuel María Sanclemente	1906-1908
Gral. Víctor Calderón	1908-1909
Gral. Nicolás Perdomo	1909
Gral. Alfredo Vásquez Cobo	1909
Gral. Jorge Marcelo Holguín Mallarino Jorge Holguín Jorge Marcelo Holguín Mallarino was a Colombian politician and military officer, two time Acting President of Colombia for the periods between June, 1909 to August of the same year as interim president, and from November, 1921 to August, 1922...	1909
Gral. Diego Euclides de Angulo	1909
Gral. Luis Enrique Bonilla	1909
Gral. Pedro Rivera	1909
José Medina Calderón	1909-1910
Juan Bautista Valencia	1910
Gral. Mariano Ospina Vásquez	1910-1911
Gral. José Manuel Araújo	1911-1914
Gral. Isaías Luján	1914-1915
Guillermo Valencia Castillo Guillermo Valencia Guillermo Valencia Castillo was a Colombian poet and translator. He was the father of Guillermo León Valencia , Colombian president during 1962-1966....	1915
Gral. Pedro Justo Berrío	1915
Antonio José Cadavid	1915-1916
Gral. Salvador Franco	1916-1918
Jorge Roa	1918-1921
Bonifacio Vélez	1921
Aristóbulo Archila	1921-1922
Carlos Vélez Daníes	1922
José Ulises Osorio	1922-1923
Gral. Alfonso Jaramillo	1923-1924
Gral. Carlos Jaramillo Isaza	1924-1925
Francisco Solórzano	1925-1926
Ignacio Rengifo	1926-1929
Alejandro Cabal Pombo	1929
Gral. José Joaquín Villamizar	1929
Gral. Agustín Morales Olaya	1929-1931
Carlos Adolfo Urueta	1931-1932
Carlos Arango Vélez	1932-1934
Cptán. Carlos Uribe Gaviria	1934
Alberto Pumarejo	1934
Marco Aurelio Auli	1934-1935
Benito Hernandez Bustos	1935-1936
Plinio Mendoza Neira	1936-1937
Alberto Pumarejo	1937-1938
José Joaquín Castro Martínez	1938-1939
Gonzalo Restrepo	1939-1942
Alejandro Galvis Galvis Alejandro Galvis Galvis Alejandro Galvis Galvis was a Colombian publisher and politician.He graduated the law school of the Universidad Republicana de Bogotá. From 1914 on he worked as journalist for the newspapers Juventud Liberal and El Progreso...	1942-1943
Ramón Santodomingo	1943
Alberto Arango Tavera	1943
Gonzalo Restrepo	1943-1944
Gral. Domingo Espinel	1944-1945
Luis Tamayo	1945-1946
Carlos Sánz de Santamaría	1946-1947
Fabio Lozano y Lozano	1947-1948
Fernando Londoño y Londoño Fernando Londoño y Londoño Fernando Londoño y Londoño was a Colombian lawyer and diplomat who served as 3rd Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, Ambassador of Colombia to Brazil, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia...	1948
Teniente General Germán Ocampo Herrera	1948-1949
Eduardo Zuleta Àngel	1949
Gral. Rafael Sánchez Amaya	1949-1950
Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez	1950-1951
José María Bernal	1951-1953
Lucio Pabón Núñez	1953
Gral. Gustavo Berrío	1953-1954
Gral. Gabriel París Gordillo Gabriel París Gordillo Gabriel París Gordillo was President of Colombia from May 1957 to August 1958 as Chairman of the Colombian Military Junta Government following the 1957 Coup d'état.- Biographic data :...	1954-1957
Gral. Alfonso Saiz	1957-1959
Gral. Rafael Hernández	1959-1962
Gral. Alberto Ruiz Novoa	1962-1965
Gral. Gabriel Rebeiz	1965-1967
Gral. Gerardo Ayerbe Chaux	1967-1970
Gral. Hernando Currea	1970-1974
Gral. Abraham Varón	1974-1978
Gral. Luis Carlos Camacho Leyva	1978-1982
Gral. Fernando Landazábal Reyes	1982-1984
Gral. Gustavo Matamoros D`Costa	1984-1985
Gral. Miguel Vega Uribe	1985-1986
Gral. Rafael Samudio Molina	1986-1988
Gral. Manuel Jaime Guerrero Paz	1988-1989
Gral. Oscar Botero Restrepo	1989-1991
Rafael Pardo Rueda	1991-1994
Fernando Botero Zea Fernando Botero Zea Fernando Botero Zea is a Colombian politician who served in several public positions, including as Defense Minister under President Ernesto Samper, for whom he was campaign manager in his presidential run. Botero was elected as a member of the Colombian Congress for the Liberal Party...	1994-1995
Juan Carlos Esguerra Portocarrero Juan Carlos Esguerra Portocarrero Juan Carlos Esguerra Portocarrero is the 8th and current Minister of Justice and Law of Colombia, serving in the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón.-Career:...	1995-1997
Guillermo Alberto González Mosquera	1997
Gilberto Echeverri Mejía Gilberto Echeverri Mejía Gilberto Echeverri Mejía was a Colombian politician, businessman and engineer....	1997-1998
Rodrigo Lloreda Caicedo	1998-1999
Luis Fernando Ramirez Acuña Luis Fernando Ramírez Luis Fernando Ramírez Acuña is a Colombian politician former Defense and labor minister and Vice Presidential candidate. Ramírez led the Ministry of Defense during President Andrés Pastrana's government and had to deal with the peace process between the government and the Revolutionary Armed...	1999-2001
Gustavo Bell Lemus	2001-2002
Martha Lucía Ramírez Martha Lucía Ramírez Marta Lucía Ramírez is a Colombian lawyer, diplomat, and politician. She served as Minister of National Defence, and 6th Minister of Foreign Trade of Colombia, the first woman to ever hold either post...  de Rincón	2002-2003
Jorge Alberto Uribe Echavarría Jorge Alberto Uribe Jorge Alberto Uribe Echavarría isa Colombian politician and businessman.He was educated at primary and secondary schools in Colombia, with two years spent at Culver Military Academy in the United States...	2003-2005
Camilo Ospina Bernal	2005-2006
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...	2006-2009
Freddy Padilla de León Freddy Padilla de León General Freddy Padilla de León is a retired General of the Army of Colombia and currently serves as Ambassador of Colombia to Austria and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Vienna...	2009-2009
Gabriel Silva Luján Gabriel Silva Luján Gabriel Silva Luján is the current Ambassador of Colombia to the United States. Silva, who was Colombia's Minister of National Defence from 2009 to 2010 and General Manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, had already served as Ambassador in Washington, D.C...	2009-2010
Rodrigo Rivera Salazar Rodrigo Rivera Salazar Rodrigo Rivera Salazar is a Colombian politician. A lawyer, and journalist by trade, Rivera served in the Congress first as a Member of the Chamber of Representatives for two terms from 1990 to 1998, and then as Senator of Colombia for two terms from 1998 to 2006, when he retired from Congress to...	2010-present