Senior lieutenant is a military grade between a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
and a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, often used by countries from the former
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. It is comparable to
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...
.
Finland
( sv, premiärlöjtnant) is a
Finnish military rank above ( sv,
löjtnant) and below ( sv,
kapten
''Kapten'' ( en, Captain in the Swedish Army/ Air Force, ''Lieutenant'' in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above lieutenant and below major. In the navy, it ranks above sub-lieutenant and below lieuten ...
). It is used in the
Finnish Defence Forces (army, navy and air force) and the
Finnish Border Guard
The Finnish Border Guard (; ) is the agency responsible for enforcing the security of Finland's borders. It is a military organisation, subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior in administrative issues and to the President of Finland in iss ...
.
The prescribed duty is a company vice-commander. Officers who have graduated as Bachelors of Military Science from the
National Defence College with the rank of usually re-enter the college after four years' tour of duty. After a study of two additional years, they are promoted and return to more challenging duties. is also the highest rank available to those educated in the now-decommissioned school (comparable to a
military junior college).
History and related ranks
The Army of the Finnish Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire had a rank of , similar in use as Prussian and Russian . The rank of came to Finland from Germany with
Finnish Jäger troops in 1918, but
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim considered it too German and encouraged holders of the rank to use more the general rank of lieutenant instead. In some regiments officers with rank of were considered to have been promoted to captain, and the rank fell in disuse until 1952 when it was taken into regular use, and ever since it has been in use in all three branches;
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 ar ...
,
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...
and the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
.
Prior to the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, graduates of the Defence College served with the rank of . The rank of was established in 1952, when it was felt that cadets graduating from the Defence College would be denied promotion avenues due to the large number of field-promoted company-grade officers in active service. As most of such officers held the rank of or , and were unlikely to advance to field grade (due to their background as NCOs and lack of academic studies), the rank of circumvented the seniority issue. Due to this revision, reservists who held the wartime rank of did not receive a promotion to captain, as would have been expected, but rather to ; promotions were not
grandfathered.
Germany, Austria & Switzerland
Within
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...
countries (
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
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
Switzerland), the rank of () is used.
Russia
Senior lieutenant (russian: старший лейтенант, starshy leytenant) is used in the army, air force or navy of Russia and the former USSR.
Russian Empire and Soviet Union
In the Russian Empire senior lieutenant first appeared in the
Table of Ranks (1909–1911) exclusively as naval rank IX class, and from 1912 as VIII class. Corresponding ranks were captain in the
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...
, ''rotmister'' (derived from the German ''
Rittmeister'') in the
cavalry, and ''
yesaul'' in the Cossacks corps. In the civil administration it was almost equivalent to the "council assessor" (Russian коллежский асессор; ''kollezhsky assessor'').
As result of the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...
this rank was abolished along with all other Russian ranks and rank insignia. It was reintroduced to the armed forces of the Soviet Union by disposal of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars in 1935.
[Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars, from September 22, 1935, on introduction of individual military rank designation to commanding personnel of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.] A senior lieutenant was junior to a captain or captain-lieutenant and senior to a lieutenant.
Russian Federation
The Russian Federation inherited the rank structure of the armed forces of the Soviet Union.
If military personnel serve in a guards formation, or on a guards warship, the word "guards" is placed before the rank (e.g. "guards senior lieutenant"). For civilian or military personnel with a specific level of expertise or knowledge in the medical or judicial professions, the words "medical" or "legal" are placed before the rank (e.g. "legal senior lieutenant"). The word "retired" is added after the rank for retired officers. Police, internal troops and tax office personnel have their branch added after the rank (e.g. "senior lieutenant of police")
Senior lieutenant's insignia
Post-Soviet-Army-OF-1c.svg,
( Armenian Ground Forces)
( Azerbaijani Land Forces)
( Belarusian Ground Forces)
( Bulgarian Land Forces)
( Croatian Army)
( Czech Land Forces)
(Finnish Army
The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircra ...
)
( Georgian Land Forces)
( Hungarian Ground Forces)
( Kazakh Ground Forces)
( Kyrgyz Army)
( Latvian Land Forces)
( Lithuanian Land Forces)
( Mongolian Ground Force)
(Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...
)
( Slovak Ground Forces)
( Slovenian Ground Force)
( Tajik National Army)
( Turkmen Ground Forces)
( Ukrainian Ground Forces)
( Uzbek Ground Forces)
References
{{Military ranks by country
Military officer ranks
Military ranks of Finland
Military ranks of Germany
Military ranks of Russia