Ukrainian government institutes position of Secretary of State for Defense

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine established the post of Secretary of State for Defense.

This is stated in the Government Decree No. 730 of Oct. 19, 2016, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainski Novyny.

Pursuant to the Law "On civil service", the Cabinet amended the Defense Ministry's statutes by instituting the post of the Secretary of State for Defense.

The decision was made to ensure stability and continuity of Defense Ministry' operation as well as manage the routine work related to the exercising the powers of the ministry.

According to the decree, the Secretary of State for Defense will be in charge of organizing operation of the ministry's secretariat, drafting proposals for the implementation of the tasks imposed on the ministry and submitting them for the minister's consideration, drafting the Defense Ministry's action plan and submitting it to the minister for approval as well as providing reports on its implementation.

The Secretary of State will also implement the national policy regarding state secrets, control of their preservation in the Defense Ministry Secretariat.

In addition, the Secretary of State will be able to appoint and dismiss Defense Ministry Secretariat employees, confer ranks of civil servants on them, make decisions on their promotion and bringing to disciplinary responsibility (except for heads of the Defense Ministry Secretariat's departments).

Besides, the Secretary of State for Defense will represent the Defense Ministry in civil law actions.

Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers instituted position of the Secretary of State in the Finance Ministry and Justice Ministry.