Ministry of Defence (Latvia)
The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia () is the Latvian government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of related subordinate agencies. The ministry is headed by the politically appointed Minister of Defence. The ministry was established on 22 November 1918 as the Ministry of Protection (), just four days after the proclamation of the independence of Latvia. Jānis Zālītis, a member of the People's Council of Latvia, was appointed as minister. After the end of the Latvian War of Independence, in 1922 the ministry was renamed as the Ministry of War (). After the occupation of Latvia in 1940 by the Soviet Union, the ministry was formally dissolved on 27 September 1940, and its building taken over by the HQ of the Baltic Military District of the Soviet Army until August 1994. On 13 November 1991, the ministry was re-established in its current form as the Ministry of Defence on the basis of the Public Security Department by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia. Core tasks Strategic analysis, research and development (R&D) The development of long-term policy including future strategic