President of the Republic of Belarus - Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces

In accordance with Article 84 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the President:

  • is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces;
  • appoints and dismisses the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces;
  • appoints members and oversees the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus;
  • appoints and dismisses the State Secretary of the Security Council;
  • imposes martial law in the territory of the Republic of Belarus in the event of a military threat or attack, declares full or partial mobilization, with the decision to be approved by the Council of the Republic within three days.

After Aleksandr Lukashenko was elected President of the Republic of Belarus, he conceptualized the approaches to the country’s defense capacity building.

As soon as the President assumed office, he set the task to boost the country’s defense capacity and to build and transform the army of sovereign and independent Belarus. The Commander-in-Chief also came up with a strategy to reform the Armed Forces. As early as 1 November 1994, the Defense Ministry’s staff numbers were revised.

In 1996 Belarus passed a plan to implement a military reform with a view to building and strengthening the Armed Forces. The reform spanned till 2000 and focused on streamlining and improving the managerial structure of the Army.

In 2001, upon the completion of the first stage of the reform in the Armed Forces, the Head of State approved the Concept for the Construction of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus through 2010, the Armed Forces Reform Program for 2001-2005, and the action plan for the development of the Armed Forces through 2006.

In 2007-2011, the main focus was placed on introducing innovative solutions in the Armed Forces, preventing a military danger from escalating into a military threat, and ensuring reliable protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state in the event of such a threat or attack on Belarus.

Following the instruction of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 22 February 2011 “On the optimization of combat strength and personnel numbers in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus in 2011-2015”, the Belarusian army was streamlined taking into consideration the sources of military threats and economic capacities of the state specified in the National Security Concept of the Republic of Belarus.

In 2015, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces updated the key goals and priorities of building the Belarusian army in modern conditions. The main objective was to maximize the efficiency of the Armed Forces’ response to possible challenges and threats, to build the combat personnel capacity of the permanent-readiness forces and to develop mobile units of the Armed Forces.

In December 2019, the President of the Republic of Belarus – the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces approved the defense plan for the next five-year period and the concept for building and developing the Armed Forces for the period till 2030.

The documents specify the system of government in wartime, describes the areas for improvement of the whole military system, highlights the importance of strategic deterrence and avoiding aggression.