The Chief of Staff of the Army (JEME) is a military office held by a

four-star general A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

in the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

. Because of this, the JEME is the principal advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff (JEMAD) on

ground warfare Land warfare or ground warfare is the process of military operations eventuating in combat that takes place predominantly on the battlespace land surface of the planet. Land warfare is categorized by the use of large numbers of combat personne ...

and it is also an advisor to the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

(SEDEF) and the Under-Secretary of Defence (SUBDEF). Under the authority of the defence minister, the Chief of Staff of the Army exercises command over the land branch of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. The JEME has two main roles: the support role by which advices the Minister of Defence about the land military policy, the JEMAD about how to use the personnel and their operative status, the

SEDEF The Secretary of State for Defence (SEDEF) is the second-highest-ranking official in the Ministry of Defence of Spain. The SEDEF is a civilian which is appointed by the King with the advice of the Defence Minister. In spite of being the second ...

about the economic, armamentistic and infraestructure policies and the Under Secretary about the personnel and teaching policy, and the operative role by which prepare the force for combat, instructs the military personnel, establishes the organization of its military branch and watches over the welfare of the personnel under his command and evaluates the needs of the Army. The Chief of the Staff of the Army convenes the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Army Staff (EME), the main support body to the JEME responsible for providing the necessary elements of judgment to base its decisions, translate these into orders and ensure their fulfillment. The EME has a whole body of military officers at its service, and among the main officers include the Second Chief of Staff of the Army, the General Chief of the Terrestrial Headquarters of High Availability, the Chief of the Land Force and the General Chief of the Command of Personnel of the Army, among others. The position is currently held by

Army General Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...

Francisco Javier Varela Salas.

History

The creation of an Army Staff (''Estado Mayor Central del Ejército'') (EMCE) was planned on the Law of 17 July 1904 by which the Ministry of War was authorized to modify its structure. On December 13, 1904, the Minister of War approved a Regulation developing that structure and creating the Army Staff and in front of it a chief of staff. The JEME needed to be a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

and at the same time was created the office of the Second Chief of Staff of the Army with the rank of

divisional general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

. On May 30, 1907, the National Defence Board and the JEME was part of it. The EMCE was suppressed on December 29, 1912 and it was replaced by a section called Section of Army Staff and Campaign and the powers of the JEME were assumed by the Under Secretary of War. The need to recover the Army Staff did not take long to appear and in November 1915 the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...

approved the draft bill of the Army Staff that was approved by the

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies m ...

and on January 26, 1916 the EMCE was re-created with mere technical functions, because it had no executive functions and was only granted such in times of war. In this new law the position was reserved to

captain general Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

or lieutenant general officers and in times of war it was granted to the JEME total command of the Army unless the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

put himself in charge of it. The JEME was indistinctly titled Chief of the Army Staff or General Chief of the Army Staff. In 1925, the EMCE was once again suppressed and the functions of the JEME were assumed directly by the Minister of War, and the Directorate-General of Campaign Preparation, which served as the Army Staff, was created. It was recovered by the provisional government of the second republic in July 1931. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, as with the rest of the military branches, each side created its own General Staff. With the end of the civil war, the Francoist government maintained the structure of the Army Staff that existed previously, and did not change until the arrival of democracy, which changed the name of Chief of the Central Staff of the Army to Chief of Staff of the Army in 1977.

List of Chiefs of Staff of the Army

, -style="text-align:center;" ! colspan=6, Office suppressed between 1912 and 1916 , -style="text-align:center;" ! colspan=6, Office suppressed between 1925 and 1931 , -style="text-align:center;" ! colspan=6, Civil War , -style="text-align:center;" ! colspan=6, End of the Civil War

Notes

References

{{Chief of the army by country Military of Spain

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

History

List of Chiefs of Staff of the Army

See also

Notes

References