The government approved two regulatory decrees in a Cabinet meeting held on Thursday, establishing the organizational structure of the General Directorate of Human Resources of National Defense and the General Directorate of Armament and Defense Heritage.
The PSD/CDS-PP executive emphasizes that these structures align with the XXV Government’s agenda, which prioritizes integrity, transparency, and the fight against corruption, ensuring traceability of the acts and procedures of the Public Administration and all State bodies.
In 2014, the Directorate-General of National Defense Resources (DGRDN) was created, incorporating the Directorate-General of Military Personnel and Recruitment and the Directorate-General of Armament and Defense Infrastructures at the time.
Now, there will once again be two directorates-general, a process initiated before the legislative elections in May.
In a decree-law published in the Official Gazette in April, the executive notes that nearly a decade of this model’s implementation has shown that the high demands placed on the DGRDN have proven inadequate for the national, European, and international defense context, which is currently very demanding.
The decree establishes that the General Directorate of Human Resources of National Defense (DGRHDN) is tasked with designing, developing, coordinating, harmonizing, and executing human resource policies necessary for national defense and the Armed Forces, including recruitment and support for veterans and disabled soldiers.
The General Directorate of Armament and Defense Heritage (DGAPDN) aims to design, develop, coordinate, and execute policies on armament, equipment, assets, and infrastructures needed for National Defense.
In 2023, the Judiciary Police and Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted searches at the Directorate-General of National Defense Resources as part of investigations into actions taken between 2018 and 2021.
In the operation dubbed “Perfect Storm,” 73 defendants were named—43 individuals and 30 companies—including the former director of the Directorate-General of National Defense Resources, Alberto Coelho, former financial director Paulo Morais Branco, and former infrastructure and heritage services director Francisco Marques.
The charges include active and passive corruption, money laundering, embezzlement, and document forgery or counterfeiting.
