The Minister of National Defence (French: Ministre de la Défense nationale) is a Minister of the Crown and is the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the management and direction of all matters relating to the national defence of Canada. The Department of National Defence is headed by the Deputy Minister of National Defence, the Department’s senior civil servant, while the Canadian Armed Forces are headed by the Chief of the Defence Staff, Canada’s senior serving military officer. Both are responsible to the Minister. The Queen of Canada (represented by the Governor General of Canada) is the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces and has final authority on all orders and laws for the "defence of the realm" (see Queen-in-Council). The minister is respon