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Defense Department (The Netherlands)

Ministerie van Defensie

Last modified: 2006-03-11 by jarig bakker
Keywords: defense |
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[minister of defense new flag] by Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003 Other Defense pages: See also:

Minister of Defense

Information based on Album 2000 with details VVKM9 (official flag regulations for the Dutch navy).
The Minister of Defence (Dutch: Minister van Defensie) uses a white flag (2:3) with along the top and the bottom three horizontal stripes red, white and blue, each 1/12th of the flag height. At the centre of the flag a foul anchor with on top  of it the lion from the national arms. Placed under it the motto "Je Maintiendrai" (that is French, meaning: I shall maintain) in latin letters. Placed above this the air force eagle, all in gold.
Adopted by Order in Council on 10 April 1957.
The emblem is taken (and modified a little) from the image at the Shipmate site.
About <nl~mindf.gif> at <nl~minis.html>: this was the flag of the Minister of Navy (Minister van Marine). In 1958 the Ministry of War (Ministerie van Oorlog) and Ministry of Navy were merged to form the Ministry of Defense. The title Minister of Defense was introduced in 1956, both ministries were already lead by the same person from 1947.
Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003

Flag of the Minister of Navy

minister of defence from Shipmate's Flagchart, recolored by Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Minister of the Navy - Source: Flags of All Nations [hms58].
Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Secretary of State for Navy

[Secretary of State for Navy] image by Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Minister of the Navy - Source: Flags of All Nations [hms58].
Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Flag of the Minister of War

[minister of war] image by Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Minister of the War - Source: Flags of All Nations [hms58].
Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Secretary of State for War

[Secretary of State for War] image by Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Secretary of State for War - Source: Flags of All Nations [hms58].
Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Flag of the Secretary of State of Defence

secretary of state of defence by Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003

Secretary of State for Defence. Seven equal horizontal stripes red-white-blue-white-red-white-blue.
Adopted by Order in Council on 20 October 1971.
Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003

Chief of Staff

[Chief of Staff] by Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003

Chief of Defence Staff (Chef Defensiestaf). Seven equal horizontal stripes red-white-blue-white-red-white-blue, with in the centre a green circle with a diameter 4/10th of the flag height. In this circle four swords.
Adopted with three sword by Order of the Minister of Defence on 13 December 1974.
I assume the swords stand for the military branches: navy, army, air force and (service independent from the army in 1998) marechaussee (military police).
Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003

In Vexilla Nostra [vxn] 238 (July-September 2003) I found the confirmation that the swords stand for the military branches, and that the marechaussee became independent from the army in 1998.
However, it also says that the the handles of the old version were brown, while at the new version they are yellow. At my GIFs I had them both light brown. The blades are white, which I forgot to mention.
Mark Sensen, 18 Oct 2003

Since monday 5 september 2005, the "Chef Defensiestaf" ("Chief of Defence Staff") of Dutch defence has a new title, namely "Commandant der Strijdkrachten" ("Commander of the Armed Forces").
See "Chef Defensiestaf nu Commandant der Strijdkrachten".
As far as I know the flag hasn't changed.
Mark Sensen, 6 Sep 2005

Chief of Staff former flag

[Chief of Staff] by Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003

Chief of Staff c. 1939 flag

[Chief of Staff 1939] by Jarig Bakker, 31 May 2005

"Wie, Wat, Waar? 1940", an annual published by the Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad in Nov. 1939, shows a flag for the "Chef v.d. Generale Staf": white, bordered orange; in center a white 4-pointed star fimbriated orange, charged with a lion rampant with in its left paw a bunch of arrows and in its right paw a sword, all orange. The star is surrounded by four three-pointed crowns, and c. 16 spots arranged circularly, all orange.
At the time General Reynders was the Chief of Staff. After the second world war this flag was apparently replaced by another one - less conspicuous.
Jarig Bakker, 31 May 2005

Are you sure that the proportions are NOT 2 to 3?
Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Chief of Staff c. 1930? flag

[Chief of Staff 1930] by Jarig Bakker, 23 Jun 2005

In "The International Flag Book in Colour", by Pedersen, 1971 [ped71] is a flag for the Chief of the Defense Staff:
white field, bordered orange, charged with two olive branches in saltire, enclosing 4 6-pointed stars, placed 1,2,1, all yellow.
Pedersen explains: or Joint Services Commander-in-Chief - introduced c. 1930.
Derkwillem Visser, in "Gemeentevlaggen en Wapens Koninkrijk der Nederlanden", 2001, has the same image, attributed to "Opperbevelhebber Land- en Zeestrijdkrachten - omstreeks 1939" (commander in chief Land and Sea forces, c. 1939).
Jarig Bakker, 23 Jun 2005

Chief of Defence Staff ("Commanding General, Netherlands and National Sector" according to [hms58]).
Miles Li, 23 Aug 2005

Commander-in-Chief, First Netherlands Corps

[Commander-in-Chief, First Netherlands Corps] image by Miles Li, 24 Aug 2005

Commander-in-Chief, First Netherlands Corps - Source: Flags of All Nations [hms58].
Miles Li, 24 Aug 2005

Inspector General

[Inspector General] by Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003

Inspector General Armed Forces (Inspecteur-Generaal der Krijgsmacht).
Seven equal horizontal stripes red-white-blue-white-red-white-blue, with in the centre a circle with a diameter 4/10th of the flag height. This shows in circular form the emblem of the Inspector General, which is orange with a blue cross over all, the lion from the national arms on the centre of the cross.
Adopted by Order of the Minister of Defence on 26 March 1982.
The Inspector General of the Netherlands Armed Forces is the ombudsman for the Defence organisation. The functions of Inspector General for the Army (est. 1945), Inspector General for the Navy (est. 1946) and Inspector General for the Air Force (est. 1953) were merged on 1 January 1970. All these functions were until 1976 held by Prince Bernhard. I've seen photos of Prince Bernhard with the badge on his uniform. I don't know if the similarity between the emblem and the royal flag is a coincidence or not.
Mark Sensen, 5 Oct 2003

Department of Defense

[Defense Department flag] by Stefan Lambrecht, 19 Mar 2005 http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm

Mark Sensen spotted this link.
Info: On all military establishments on which daily the Dutch flag is hoisted it is allowed to hoist the flag of the military division. This flag is hoisted immediately after the national flag and lowered immediately before the national flag, if it is impossible to hoist and lower them simultaneously.
The measurements have to be equal or smaller than the national flag. The divisional flag may be used also at public presentations outside the military establisments. They have been included in the flag-catalogue.
It is allowed to use old divisional flags, but only in the military establishments.
Defense Department (Ministerie van Defensie (including the Central Organisation))
Stefan Lambrecht, 19 Mar 2005

Royal Navy (Koninklijke Marine)

[Royal Navy flag] by Stefan Lambrecht, 19 Mar 2005 http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm

Royal Landforce (Koninklijke Landmacht)

[Royal Landforce flag] by Stefan Lambrecht, 19 Mar 2005 http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm

Royal Airforce (Koninklijke Luchtmacht)

[Royal Airforce flag] by Stefan Lambrecht, 19 Mar 2005 http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm

Command Service Centers (Commando DienstenCentra)

[Command Service Centers flag] by Stefan Lambrecht, 19 Mar 2005 http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm

This used to be Defense Interservice Command (Defensie Interservice Commando)