The Chief of Defence (; , abbreviated as CHOD), is the professional head and commander of the

Belgian Armed Forces The Belgian Armed Forces (; , ) are the combined national military forces of Belgium. The Monarchy of Belgium, King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium Belgian Rev ...

. He is the highest official within the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and the Chief of the Defence Staff. He reports directly to the Minister of Defence and is responsible for advising the Minister, for the implementation of defence policy and for the administration of the department. The current Chief of Defence is

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 ...

Frederik Vansina, since July 2024.

Chiefs of Staff (1958−present)

References

Military appointments of Belgium

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

{{Belgium-mil-stub