Ministry of Defence

A Ministry of Defence or Defense (see spelling differences), also known as a Department of Defence or Defense, is the common name for a part of the government found in states where the government is divided into ministries or departments, responsible for matters of defence. Such a department usually includes all branches of the military, and is usually controlled by a Defence Minister, Minister of Defence, or Secretary of Defense.

Historically, such departments were referred to as a Ministry of War or Department of War, although such departments generally had authority only over the army of a country, with a separate department governing other military branches. Prior to WWII, most "Ministries of War" were Army ministries, while the Navy and the Air Force, if it existed as a separate branch, had their own departments. As late as 1953, for example, the Soviets for instance had a "Ministry of War" alongside a "Ministry of the Navy".

The tendency to consolidate and rename these departments to highlight their purpose as providing "defence" arose after World War II. In India, for example, "the name of the War Department was found objectionable in the sense that the concept had an aggressive aspect which was inconsistent with Indian traditions".

PJ Harvey

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Polly Jean Harvey, MBE (born 9 October 1969), known as PJ Harvey, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, writer, poet, and composer. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments.

Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automatic Dlamini as a vocalist, guitarist, and saxophone player. The band's frontman, John Parish, would become her long-term collaborator. In 1991, she formed an eponymous trio and subsequently began her professional career. The trio released two studio albums, Dry (1992) and Rid of Me (1993) before disbanding, after which Harvey continued as a solo artist. Since 1995, she has released a further six studio albums with collaborations from various musicians including John Parish, former bandmate Rob Ellis, Mick Harvey, and Eric Drew Feldman and has also worked extensively with record producer Flood.

Among the accolades she has received are the 2001 and 2011 Mercury Prize for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) and Let England Shake (2011) respectively—the only artist to have been awarded the prize twice—eight Brit Award nominations, six Grammy Award nominations and two further Mercury Prize nominations. Rolling Stone awarded her 1992's Best New Artist and Best Singer Songwriter and 1995's Artist of the Year, and listed Rid of Me, To Bring You My Love (1995) and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. In 2011, she was awarded for Outstanding Contribution To Music at the NME Awards. In June 2013, she was awarded an MBE for services to music.

Ministry (collective executive)

A ministry (usually preceded by the definite article, i.e., the ministry) refers to a collective body of government ministers headed by a prime minister or premier. It is described by the Oxford Dictionary as "a period of government under one prime minister”. Although the term "cabinet" can in some circumstances be a synonym, a ministry can be a broader concept which might include office-holders that do not participate in cabinet meetings. Other titles can include "administration" (in the United States) or "government" (in common usage among most parliamentary systems) to describe similar collectives.

The term is primarily used to describe the successive governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which share a common parliamentary political heritage. In the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, a new ministry begins after each election, regardless of whether the prime minister remains the same. For example, after winning the 1979 general election, Margaret Thatcher, as prime minister of the United Kingdom, began the First Thatcher ministry. After winning the 1983 general election, she began the Second Thatcher ministry, and so on. In Canada, a new ministry is only formed if the government loses an election.

Ministry of Defence Police

The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP are not Military Police and should not be confused with the Royal Military Police or any other Service Police organisation. The MDP has an established strength of 2,700 police officers, based at numerous defence locations across the United Kingdom.

The force was originally formed in 1971 by the merger of three separate service constabularies: the Air Force Department Constabulary, the Army Department Constabulary, and the Admiralty Constabulary. The force, which consists of two divisions, is headquartered at MDPGA Wethersfield, Essex.

Although superficially similar to other UK police forces, the MDP is significantly different in role, function and accountability. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and to counter terrorism, as well as uniformed policing and investigative services to Ministry of Defence property, personnel, and installations throughout the United Kingdom. MDP officers are attested as constables under the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987. All MDP officers are trained to use firearms and 90% of those on duty are armed at any given time.

Defense

Defense or defence may refer to:

Tactics and strategy

Politics and economics

Concepts in law

Other uses