Commandant-general is a military rank in several countries and is generally equivalent to that of major-general.

Argentina

Commandant general is the highest rank in the

Argentine National Gendarmerie The Argentine National Gendarmerie ( es, Gendarmería Nacional Argentina, GNA) is the national gendarmerie force and corps of border guards of the Argentine Republic. It has a strength of 70,000. The gendarmerie is primarily a frontier guard forc ...

, and is held by the national director of the gendarmerie and his senior deputies. Depending on the appointment, it may be equal to any Argentine army rank from

brigade general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

to the highest Argentine army rank, lieutenant general.

Ireland

During the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

of 1922–23, the Irregulars, or anti-Treaty IRA, applied this term to the leaders of their various brigades throughout the country. The term was acquired from the Boer ranks, through veterans of the

Irish Transvaal Brigade Two Irish Commandos, volunteer military units of guerrilla militia, fought alongside the Boers against the British forces during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). Background Irish support for the Boers can be traced back to 1877 when severa ...

Italy

The ''comandante generale'' (commandant general) in

Fascist Italy Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

's Blackshirts was the title of their head and was held by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

from 1922 to 1943. The title is now held by the commander of the '' Carabinieri''.

Portugal and Brazil

Historically, commandant-general ( pt, comandante-geral) has been the traditional title of the appointment of commanding officer in several security forces in Portugal and Brazil. Presently, in Portugal is the title of the general officer commanding the National Republican Guard (GNR). In the past, it was also the title of the commanding officers of the Public Security Police, the former

Fiscal Guard , mottotranslated = For the Motherland and for the Law , formedyear = 1885 , formedmonthday = September 17 , preceding1 = Barrier guards ({{italic correction, {{lang, pt, Guardas barreiras ) , dissolved = 1993 , superseding ...

and the former Portuguese Legion. In Brazil, it is the title of the commanding officers of the state military police and military fire departments.

South Africa

Commandant-general was a military rank in South African Republic and the

Orange Free State Republic The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeate ...

as well as in the Union of South Africa and the

Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The commandant-general of one of the Boer republics was the head of its armed forces. The rank of full general in the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

was renamed "commandant-general" in 1956 and was in use until 1967 when it reverted simply to "general" Commandant-general was, at times, also a post designation, rather than a rank. Brigadier-General CF Beyers was the first Commandant-General of the Active Citizen Force{{cite journal, last=Jooste, first=L, title=DIE POLITIEKE KOERSWENDING VAN 1948 BESORG 'N NUWE IDENTITEIT AAN DIE UNIEVERDEDIGINGSMAG, journal=Militaria, year=1996, volume=26, series=2, url=http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/246, accessdate=14 September 2012 until he resigned in 1914. He was succeeded as Commandant-General by Major-General J C Smuts with effect from 16 September 1914.National Archives, Pretoria: GG Box 683, File No. 9/104/1

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, commandant-general is a military appointment, not a rank. See the following for more details: * Commandant General Royal Marines * Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment

References

Military ranks Military ranks of South Africa