The Armed Forces General Staff (), or EMGFA, is the supreme military body of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. It is responsible for the planning, command and control of the

Portuguese Armed Forces The Portuguese Armed Forces () are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air Force. The Presi ...

. EMGFA is headed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces () or CEMGFA, the highest rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the Portuguese Armed Forces.

History

In 1950, as part of the Portuguese military reforms related with the lessons learned following World War II, the start of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and the foundation of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, the roles of minister of National Defence and of Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (CEMGFA) were created. The creation of these roles was a major step in the planned integration of the several military service branches and so the establishment of the Armed Forces of Portugal as a single organization. The CEMGFA assumed most of the responsibilities until then assigned to the military heads of the Navy and of the Army, the then existing service branches, as the Air Force would only be created in 1952. At the same time and as a forerunner of a future General Staff, the Secretariat-General of National Defence () or SGDN was established. The SGDN was the central planning organization of the Defence, being headed by the CEMGFA. In 1969, it was decreed that SGDN should be remodelled in order to be transformed into the Armed Forces General Staff (EMGFA), as the organization for the joint administration of the Armed Forces. However, transformation of the SGDN into the EMGFA occurred only in 1974.

Organization

The Armed Forces General Staff is integrated into the Portuguese Ministry of National Defence and includes: * The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA) * The Joint Staff (EMC, ''Estado-Maior Conjunto'') * The Joint Operational Command (COC, ''Comando Operacional Conjunto'') * The operational commands of the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

and

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

* The commanders-in-chief that can be created under the CEMGFA, in times of war * The Military Security and Information Center (CISMIL, ''Centro de Informações e Segurança Militares'') * The general support organizations Under the dependency of the CEMGFA are also: * The Portuguese Joint Command and Staff College (IESM, ''Instituto de Estudos Superiores Militares'') * The Hospital of the Armed Forces (HFAR, ''Hospital das Forças Armadas'')

Chief of the General Staff

The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces is the operational commander of the Portuguese Armed Forces in times of peace. In times of war, he assumes the complete command of the Armed Forces. The CEMGFA is a general officer of one of the three branches of the Armed Forces (

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

), appointed by the

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic (, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister ...

, by proposal of the

Government of Portugal A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

List of chiefs of the General Staff

Notes

References

* RIBEIRO, António S., ''Organização Superior da Defesa Nacional'', Prefácio, 2004

External links

Armed Forces General Staff – Official Site
{{Authority control Staff (military)

1950 establishments in Portugal Military of Portugal