Secretariat of National Defense (Mexico)

Mexico
Office for National Defense

Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional
Logo of the Mexican Office for National Defense
Flag of the Mexican Office for National Defense
Standard of the Mexican Office for National Defense
Agency overview
Jurisdiction	Mexico
Headquarters	Boulevard Manuel Ávila Camacho 172, Irrigación, Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, 11200 Mexico City 19°26′25″N 99°12′57″W
Agency executive	Luis Cresencio Sandoval Gonzalez, Director for National Defence

The Mexican Office for National Defence (SEDENA; Spanish language: Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional ) is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Director for National Defense who, like the co-equal Director of the Navy, is directly answerable to the President. Before 1937, the position was called the Director for War and of the Navy (Secretaría de Guerra y Marina). The agency has its headquarters in Lomas de Sotelo, Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City. Some key figures who answer directly to the Director are the Assistant Director, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and all military tribunals. Under the Federal Public Administration Act (Ley Orgánica de la Administración Pública Federal), the Secretary has the following duties:

• Organize, administer and prepare the Army and the Air Force.
• Organize and prepare the National Military Service.
• Management of the Army, Air Force, National Guard and armed contingents which don't belong to state's national guard.
• Plan, direct and handle mobilization of the country in the event of war; formulating and executing, in due case, plans and orders necessary to the country defense, as well as directing and advising civil defense.
• Construct and prepare the forts and all kind of military buildings for Army and Air Force use, as well as administration of barracks, hospitals and other military buildings.
• Administer military justice.
• Acquire and build armaments, ammunition, and all kinds of materials and elements for the use of Army and Air Force.
• Grant permission for an expedition force to enter another country or to allow another country to send their forces to Mexico.
• Manage the issuing of licenses to bear firearms with the aim of preventing the use of arms expressly banned in law and also those types of arms restricted by the state for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy and National Guard, with the exception of what is established by the 13th section of Article 30 of the Constitution, as well as the supervision and issuing of permits for the sale, transport and storage of firearms, chemical weapons, explosives and strategic weapons.

List of Directors

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	President
1	Escamilla, PabloGeneral de brigada Pablo Quiroga Escamilla (1875–1948)	1934	1935	0–1 years	del Río, LázaroLázaro Cárdenas del Río
2	Figueroa, AndrésAndrés Figueroa Figueroa (1884–1936)	1935	1936 †	0–1 years	del Río, LázaroLázaro Cárdenas del Río
3		Figueroa, AndrésManuel Ávila Camacho (1897–1955)	1936	1939	2–3 years	del Río, LázaroLázaro Cárdenas del Río
4	Castro, JesúsGeneral de División Jesús Agustín Castro (1887–1953)	1939	1940	0–1 years	del Río, LázaroLázaro Cárdenas del Río
5		Castro, JesúsJesús Agustín Castro (1891–1975)	1940	1942	1–2 years	Camacho, ManuelManuel Ávila Camacho
6		Castro, JesúsGeneral de División Lázaro Cárdenas (1895–1970)	1942	1945	2–3 years	Camacho, ManuelManuel Ávila Camacho
7		Urquizo, FranciscoGeneral de División Francisco L. Urquizo (1891–1969)	1945	1946	0–1 years	Camacho, ManuelManuel Ávila Camacho
8	Urquizo, FranciscoGilberto R. Limón (1891–1988)	1946	1952	5–6 years	Alemán, MiguelMiguel Alemán
9		Ramos, MatiasGeneral de División Matías Ramos (1891–1962)	1952	1958	5–6 years	Cortines, AdolfoAdolfo Ruiz Cortines
10	Olachea, AgustínGeneral de División Agustín Olachea (1890–1974)	1958	1964	5–6 years	Mateos, AdolfoAdolfo López Mateos
11	Barragan, MarcelinoGeneral de División Marcelino García Barragan (1895–1979)	1964	1970	5–6 years	Ordaz, GustavoGustavo Díaz Ordaz
12	Díaz, HermenegildoHermenegildo Cuenca Díaz (1902–1977)	1970	1976	5–6 years	Álvarez, LuisLuis Echeverría Álvarez
13	López, FélixGeneral de División Félix Galván López (1913–1988)	1976	30 November 1982	5–6 years	Portillo, JoséJosé López Portillo
14	Gardoqui, JuanGeneral de División Juan Arévalo Gardoqui (1921–2000)	1982	30 November 1988	5–6 years	Hurtado, MiguelMiguel de la Madrid Hurtado
15	Gardoqui, JuanGeneral de División Antonio Riviello Bazán (1926–2017)	1 December 1988	30 November 1994	6 years	Gortari, CarlosCarlos Salinas de Gortari
16		Aguirre, EnriqueGeneral de División Enrique Cervantes Aguirre (born 1935)	1 December 1994	30 November 2000	6 years	Zedillo, ErnestoErnesto Zedillo
17		Vega, GerardoGeneral de División Gerardo Clemente Vega (born 1940)	1 December 2000	30 November 2006	6 years	Fox, VicenteVicente Fox
18		Galván, GuillermoGeneral de División Guillermo Galván Galván (born 1943)	1 December 2006	30 November 2012	6 years	Calderón, FelipeFelipe Calderón
19		Zepeda, Salvador Cienfuegos'General Secretario Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda (born 1948)	1 December 2012	30 November 2018	6 years	Nieto, Enrique PeñaEnrique Peña Nieto
20	Sandoval González, Luis CresencioGeneral de División Luis Cresencio Sandoval (born 1960)	1 December 2018	30 November 2024	6 years	López Obrador, Andrés ManuelAndrés Manuel López Obrador

See also

• Museo del Enervante - a Sedena museum dedicated to those who have fought drug trafficking in Mexico.
• Zuyaqui - a famous dog who worked for the agency.

External links

• Official site of the Secretariat of National Defense (Spanish)
• Official site of the Secretariat of National Defense, English version
• Citizens' Portal, Official Site of the Mexican Government (Spanish)
• Basic Law of Federal Public Administration (Spanish)

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