Defence Secretary (Persia)

Nation
 Reports To
 Member of
 First Holder

The **Secretary of State for Defence** (Persian: **وزیر امور خارجه در امور دفاع**), also known simply as the **Defence Secretary**, is a senior cabinet minister within the Persian government and is the head of the powerful Ministry of Defence. The position is considered one of the most prestigious appointments within the Persian government and is normally given to a respected or senior politician of the ruling party.

As head of the Ministry of Defence, the defence secretary is responsible for the political oversight of the Persian armed forces and for ensuring that the armed forces enact the directives of the Persian government. Whilst the minister is not the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, they are constitutionally empowered to take command of the armed forces during periods of "exceptional military circumstances" and have the power to make promotions and change commands without oversight, though these changes can be halted either by the president or the National People's Congress. The defence secretary is responsible to both the prime minister and to congress, and is expected to inform congress of the actions of the Ministry of Defence through legislative questioning, select committees, and the publication of written statements. Within government, the defence secretary is required to work closely with the finance secretary to secure funding for the maintenance and expansion of the Persian armed forces.

Similarly to all government ministers, the secretary of state for defence is appointed by the president at the recommendation of the prime minister, though the president retains the power to reject a recommendation. The incumbent officeholder must either be a sitting member of the National Peoples Congress of the Republic of Persia or a serving member of the armed forces in order to hold office, but is not subject to any term limits for their position. Instead, they serve at the pleasure of the president, who has the power to dismiss the secretary of state for defence at any given point; however, congress can vote to overturn the dismissal with a two thirds majority vote. Similarly, the National People's Congress also has the power to remove the defence secretary from office with a simple majority vote, but the president can veto any such resolution. Like most other cabinet ministers, the secretary of state for defence is bound by departmental responsibility; this means that any failures of the Ministry of Defence are automatically considered to be failures of the incumbent minister, who is consequently expected to offer their resignation to either the president or the prime minister. As the minister responsible for the armed forces, this also means that the defence secretary is expected to offer to resign in the case of a significant military defeat, though this may be refused by the prime minister or president.

Since the office's establishment in April 2018, there have been nine people to hold the position across thirteen ministries. In addition to this, Xu Fenlin briefly served as acting defence secretary for 174 days between November 2035 and May 2036 in his capacity as the military leader of the Shanghai Pact's intergovernmental Coordination Council. At nine years and nineteen days, Muhammed Abdulla's tenure as defence secretary is the longest on record, whilst Gholam Esmaeili was the shortest serving permanent officeholder at just one hundred and two days.