Superior Council of National Defence

The Superior Council of National Defence (Portuguese: Conselho Superior de Defesa Nacional, CSDN) is a body of the Portuguese Government specifically for consulting the President of Portugal on matters of national defence and the functioning and discipline of the Portuguese Armed Forces.^[1]

The CSDN is composed of a group of political and military leaders, among whom include:^[2][3]

• Prime Minister
• Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers of State
• Minister of National Defence
• Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Minister of Internal Administration
• Minister of Finance
• Ministers responsible for the areas of industry, energy, transport and communications;
• Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
• Representatives of the Republic for the Autonomous Regions
• Presidents of the governments of the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira
• President of the National Defense Committee of the Assembly of the Republic
• Chiefs of Staff of the Navy, Army, and Air Force
• Two Members of the Assembly of the Republic

The President of the Republic may, on his own initiative or at the request of the Prime Minister, invite other persons to participate, without the right to vote, in meetings of the Superior Council of National Defence. The Superior Council of National Defence meets ordinarily every three months and extraordinarily whenever convened by the President of the Republic, either on his own initiative or at the request of the Prime Minister.^[4]