Admiral () is theoretically the highest possible

military rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, Intelligence agency, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military organisation , military lines, such ...

in the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

, although no longer awarded. The admiral carries marshal bars as a distinguishing mark above the gold gallon and is therefore equivalent to the

five-star rank A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries.Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;" The rank is th ...

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

in other navies like the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The rank of admiral is still described in the military flag protocols of the Dutch navy. However, the rank is no longer mentioned in the Government gazette of the Netherlands describing the ranks for army, naval and air force officers (Royal Decree of 20 June 1956 no. 35, Gazette no. 361), and also no longer appears in the

Standardization Agreement In NATO, a standardization agreement (STANAG, redundant acronym, redundantly: STANAG agreement) defines processes, procedures, terms, and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between the member countries of the alli ...

s of NATO (STANAG 2116).- NATO Codes of Ranks
- website van de Ludovika - National University of Public Service Nowadays, the rank of Lieutenant Admiral is in practice the ''de facto'' highest rank in the Dutch navy and armed forces (conferred to a naval officer who is the

Chief of Defence A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national ...

of the

Netherlands Armed Forces The Netherlands Armed Forces () are the military, military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (mainland Netherlands in Europe and islands of the Dutch Caribbean). The armed forces consist of four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Nav ...

History

The rank can be held by either a naval officer appointed by the

Council of Ministers of the Netherlands The Council of Ministers () is the executive council of Dutch Government, formed by all the ministers including the deputy prime ministers. This executive council initiates laws and policy. The Council of Ministers is distinct from the cabinet ...

or a member of the Dutch royal family. The royal connection to the rank of admiral possibly originated in 1830, when King William I promoted his son Prince Frederick (who was already the Secretary of State for War and Navy) to the rank of admiral and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The next and till today last person promoted to the rank of admiral was Prince Hendrik, the youngest brother of

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

, who made his brother admiral in 1879 to honor him for his long and exceptional career in the navy. The seniority of all Netherlands admiral ranks is as follows: # (

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

) # ( Lieutenant Admiral) # (

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

) # (

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

) # ( Commodore)

List of ''Admiraal''s

* Prince Frederick: 1830 * Prince Hendrik: 1879

References

Military ranks of the Netherlands

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

{{navy-stub nl:Admiraal#Nederlandse admiraal