The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent conte ...

of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

as a generic term for the highest national military position within the NATO and EU member states, rather than the actual term used for individual positions. Thus, irrespective of the formal national designation of that position is some variation on '' Commander-in-Chief'', '' Chief of Staff'', ''Supreme Commander'' or something else, they can all be referred to unambiguously as CHODs in NATO and EU terminology, although other terms are sometimes also seen within NATO. Thus, the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: a ...

is the CHOD of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, the Chief of the Defence Staff is the CHOD of

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the n ...

is the CHOD of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and the Chief of Defence (''Forsvarssjefen'') is the CHOD of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Both NATO and EU occasionally hold CHODs meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the European Union Military Committee respectively.

Chief of defence positions by NATO country

Within

member states of NATO NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an international military alliance that consists of 30 member states from Europe and North America. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. Article 5 of t ...

, the following national positions are the CHOD positions. Sometimes more than one form of translation into English is encountered. } , - , , , , , , , Montenegrin: ''Начелник Генералштаба'' / ''Načelnik Generalštaba'' , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , Chief of the General Staff , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , Commander of the Armed Forces , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , In 2018

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

appointed the first woman

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Alenka Ermenc to hold such a position in the history of

and Slovenia.

CHOD positions by non-NATO EU country

Within the EU member states that are not members of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions.

Other Chief of Defence positions by (non-NATO and non-EU) country

Note that in many countries outside of NATO and EU, the concept of civilian control of the military is inapplicable. In some countries the minister of defence is often a senior military officer. However, the list below only lists CHOD equivalents and ''not'' defense ministers. } , - , , , , , Chief of General Staff
Commanding General of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department , , , - , , , , , , , es, Comandante General de las Fuerzas Militares de Colombia , - , , , , , , , es, Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas del Ecuador , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , ka, საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის უფროსი , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , es, Jefe del Estado Mayor , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , ja, 統合幕僚長 , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , es, Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas del Perú , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , russian: Начальник Генерального штаба , - , , , , , , , sr, Начелник Генералштаба , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , so, Taliyaha Xooga Qalabka Soomaaliyeed , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , ko, 합동참모의장 , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , french: Chef de l'Armée
german: Chef der Armee
it, Capo dell'Esercito
rm, Schef da l'Armada , - , , , , , , , ar, رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة , - , , , , , , , , - , , , , , Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters , , th, ผู้บัญชาการทหารสูงสุด , - , , , , , , , uk, Головнокомандувач Збройних сил України , - , , , , , , , es, Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa de Uruguay , - , , , , , Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam , , vi, Tổng Tham mưu trưởng Quân đội Nhân dân Việt Nam

Notes

References

External links

NATO Chiefs of Defence
{{Chief of military by country * Military ranks of NATO