Italian Government
Functions
The Secretary General of Defence:
- Issues implementing provisions of the political-administrative and high administration guidelines concerning the technical-industrial and technical-administrative area of the Defence, as dictated by the Minister of Defence, for the purpose of achieving the efficiency objectives set for the military instrument;
- Receives technical-operational directives from the Chief of Defence Staff with reference to study and testing activities, procurement of materials and weapon systems;
- Formulates annual and multi-annual planning proposals relating to the industrial area of interest of the Defence and to the study and experimentation activities, pursuant to Article 5, Paragraph 2, letter b) of Law No. 25 of 1997, in agreement with the Chief of Defence Staff, within the framework of the general planning of the military instrument;
- Issues implementing directives for the legal, economic, disciplinary and social affairs of military and civilian personnel. He follows trade union issues, parliamentary activities and decentralized negotiations relating to the Defence civilian personnel;
- Pursuant to Article 5, Paragraph 2, letter a) of Law No. 25 of 1997, he has the General Directors of the Ministry under his authority and is responsible for directing and coordinating their activities;
- Based on the directives of the Chief of Defence Staff, provides the operational use of the funds intended to be invested for the implementation of the relevant programmes;
- Provides the operational use of the funds intended for operation in the technical-administrative and technical-industrial area of competence, including those intended for cooperation and international agreements resulting from the application of memorandums, arranging for the assignment of the relevant financial resources and for the distribution of funds between subordinate bodies and departments, including those referred to in Article 4 of Legislative Decree No. 459 of 28 November 1997;
- Based on the guidelines of the Minister of Defence and the technical-operational directives of the Chief of Defence Staff, he:
- Proposes the necessary actions to harmonize the Defence objectives in terms of testing and development, production and supply with the national economic-industrial and technical-scientific policy;
- Is responsible for the security systems of subordinate joint bodies;
- Has under his authority the managers of the bodies of the relevant technical-administrative and technical-industrial areas;
- Proposes to the Minister of Defence, having consulted the Chief of Defence Staff, the general organizational guidelines of the bodies in the relevant technical-administrative and technical-industrial areas, their staff within the limits of the foreseen overall resources, and the distribution of civilian personnel resources to be assigned to them;
- Provides suggestions to the Minister of Defence for the managing roles of general management offices to be assigned to civilian managers;
- Proposes to the Minister of Defence, upon indication of the General Director for Civilian Personnel, the civilian managers to be assigned to the General Directorates and bodies in the technical-administrative and technical-industrial areas. The proposal is made in agreement with the Chief of Defence Staff for the technical-operational area and with the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces for the bodies dependent on the Armed Force Inspectorates referred to in Article 2 of Legislative Decree No. 459 of 28 November 1997;
- Issues, in his areas of competence and based on the provisions of the Chief of Defence Staff, directives regarding the definition of activities related to militarization and civil mobilization;
- Identifies and promotes technological research programmes for the development of armament programmes at national and international level, based on the criteria established by the Chief of Defence Staff;
- Directs, controls and coordinates the technical-administrative aspects of development programmes and contractual activities pertaining to the General Directorates, concerning the procurement, disposal and transfer of armament materials;
- Follows the promotional activities of the Defence industry in Italy and abroad, providing useful elements of coordination;
- Issues directives concerning safety and prevention, and coordinates the relevant activities in Defence work environments, in accordance with current regulations;
- Ensures the management of disputes for matters not assigned to the competence of the General Directorates.
International Functions
The Secretary General of Defence:
- Participates in high international forums in the framework of implementing multinational agreements related to testing and development, representing – upon indication of the Minister of Defence – the national policies in the field of technical-scientific activities for Defense purposes;
- Exerts control over the implementation of memorandums of understanding and technical and logistical assistance agreements between national and foreign Armed Forces, with reference to the legal and financial aspects;
- Is responsible for armaments policy in relation to the production of defence materials, and to this end prepares technical-industrial consultative elements for the Minister. He follows and coordinates all acquisition programmes that take place or involve any expenses abroad, as well as all co-production or mutual interest agreements with one or more countries, and follows foreign orders entrusted to the national industry, in order to deal with all the issues related to the participation of the national industry in international Defence co-production programmes with a unified and joint vision.
Technical-Scientific Functions
The Secretary General of Defence:
- Manages the technical-scientific documentation of the Defence in coordination with the Chief of Defence Staff, maintains contacts with the various national and international documentation centres, and identifies the relevant technical-scientific documentation together with the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces;
- Manages, directs and controls activities of research and development, scientific and technological research and procurement aimed at implementing the approved programmes.
