A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union 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 is the CHOD of the United States, the Chief of the Defence Staff is the CHOD of the United Kingdom, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr is the CHOD of Germany, and the Chief of Defence (Forsvarssjefen) is the CHOD of Norway.
Both NATO and the EU occasionally hold CHODs meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the European Union Military Committee respectively.
Chief of defence positions in NATO member countries
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Within member states of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions. Sometimes more than one form of translation into English is encountered.
| Country | Position | Alternative translations[a] | Term in national language |
|---|---|---|---|
 Albania |
Albanian: Shefi i shtabit të përgjithshëm | ||
 Belgium |
Chief of the General Staff[1] | Dutch: Chef Defensie French: Chef de la Défense | |
 Bulgaria |
Bulgarian: Началник на отбраната | ||
 Canada |
French: Chef d'État-Major de la défense | ||
 Croatia |
Croatian: Načelnik Glavnog stožera | ||
 Czech Republic |
Czech: Náčelník Generálního štábu | ||
 Denmark |
Danish: Forsvarschefen | ||
 Estonia |
Estonian: Kaitseväe juhataja | ||
 Finland |
Finnish: Puolustusvoimain komentaja Swedish: Kommendören för Försvarsmakten | ||
 France |
French: Chef d'État-Major des armées | ||
 Germany |
Chief of Defence[5][6] | German: Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr | |
 Greece |
Greek: Αρχηγός του Γενικού Επιτελείου Εθνικής Άμυνας | ||
 Hungary |
Hungarian: Vezérkari főnök | ||
 Iceland |
Icelandic: Deildarstjóri öryggis- og varnarmálaskrifstofu | ||
 Italy |
Italian: Capo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa | ||
 Latvia |
Latvian: Bruņoto spēku komandieris | ||
 Lithuania |
Lithuanian: Kariuomenės vadas | ||
 Luxembourg |
Chief of Defence | French: Chef d'état-major German: Chef des Generalstabs | |
 Montenegro |
Montenegrin: Начелник Генералштаба / Načelnik Generalštaba | ||
 Netherlands |
Dutch: Commandant der Strijdkrachten | ||
 North Macedonia |
Macedonian: Началник на Генералштабот | ||
 Norway |
Norwegian: Forsvarssjefen | ||
 Poland |
Polish: Szef Sztabu Generalnego | ||
 Portugal |
Portuguese: Chefe do Estado-Maior-General das Forças Armadas | ||
 Romania |
Chief of the General Staff | Romanian: Șeful Statului Major General | |
 Slovakia |
Slovak: Náčelník generálneho štábu | ||
 Slovenia |
Slovene: Načelnik Generalštaba | ||
 Spain |
Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa | ||
 Sweden |
Swedish: Överbefälhavaren | ||
 Turkey |
Commander of the Armed Forces[22] | Turkish: Genelkurmay Başkanı | |
 United Kingdom |
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 United States |
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In 2018 Slovenia appointed the first female Major General Alenka Ermenc to hold such a position in the history of NATO and Slovenia.[23][24][25]
CHOD positions by non-NATO EU country
editWithin the EU member states that are not members of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions.
| Country | Position | Alternative translations | Term in national language used for the position |
|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
German: Chef des Generalstabes | ||
 Cyprus |
Greek: Αρχηγοί Εθνικής Φρουράς | ||
 Ireland |
Irish: Ceann Foirne na bhFórsaí Cosanta | ||
 Malta |
Maltese: Kmandant tal-Forzi Armati ta’ Malta |
Other Chief of Defence positions by (non-NATO and non-EU) country
editNote 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.
| Country | Position | Alternative translations | Term in national language used for the position |
|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria |
Chief of the Defence Staff | Arabic: رئيس أركان الجيش الوطني الشعبي | |
 Argentina |
Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto | ||
 Armenia |
Armenian: Գլխավոր շտաբի պետ | ||
 Australia |
|||
 Azerbaijan |
Azerbaijani: Silahlı Qüvvələri Baş Qərargah rəisi | ||
 Belarus |
Belarusian: Начальнік Генеральнага штаба Узброеных Сіл Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба Вооружённых Сил | ||
 Botswana |
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 Brazil |
Portuguese: Chefe do Estado Maior Conjunto das Forças Armadas | ||
 Chile |
Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto de la Defensa | ||
 China |
Chief of General Staff Commanding General of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department |
Chinese: 中央军事委员会联合参谋部参谋长 | |
 Colombia |
Spanish: Comandante General de las Fuerzas Militares | ||
 Ecuador |
Spanish: Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas | ||
 Ethiopia |
Amharic: ጦር ኃይሎች ጠቅላይ ሹም | ||
 Gambia |
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 Georgia |
Georgian: თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის უფროსი | ||
 Ghana |
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 Guatemala |
Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor | ||
 India |
Hindi: रक्षा प्रमुख | ||
 Indonesia |
Indonesian: Panglima Tentara Nasional Indonesia | ||
 Iran |
Persian: ستاد کل نیروهای مسلح | ||
 Iraq
|
Arabic: رئاسة اركان الجيش | ||
 Israel |
Hebrew: ראש המטה הכללי | ||
 Jamaica |
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 Japan |
Japanese: 統合幕僚長 | ||
 Kazakhstan |
Kazakh: Бас штабының бастығы / Bas ştabynyñ bastyğy Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба | ||
 Kyrgyzstan |
Kyrgyz: Башкы штабынын башчысы Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба | ||
 Malaysia |
Malay: Panglima Angkatan Tentera | ||
 Moldova |
Romanian: Șef al Marelui Stat Major | ||
 Monaco |
Superior Commander of the Public Services |
French: Le Commandant supérieur de la Force publique | |
 Myanmar |
Burmese: တပ်မတော်ကာကွယ်ရေးဦးစီးချုပ် | ||
 New Zealand |
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 Nigeria |
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 Nepal |
Nepali: प्रधानसेनापति | ||
 North Korea |
Korean: 조선인민군 총참모장 | ||
 Pakistan |
Urdu: صدرنشین مجلسِ مشترکہَ رؤسائے افواجِ پاکستان | ||
 Peru |
Spanish: Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas | ||
 Philippines |
Tagalog: Hepe ng Sandatahang Lakas | ||
 Russia |
Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба | ||
 San Marino |
Superior Commander of the Militias |
Italian: Comandante Superiore delle Milizie | |
 Serbia |
Serbian: Начелник Генералштаба | ||
 Singapore |
Chinese: 三军总长 | ||
 Somalia |
Somali: Taliyaha Xooga Qalabka | ||
 South Africa |
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 South Korea |
Korean: 합동참모의장 | ||
 Sri Lanka |
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 Switzerland |
French: Chef de l'Armée German: Chef der Armee Italian: Capo dell'Esercito Romansh: Schef da l'Armada | ||
 Syria |
Arabic: رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة | ||
 Taiwan |
Chinese: 參謀總長 | ||
 Tajikistan |
Tajik: Сардори Ситоди генералӣ Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба | ||
 Thailand |
Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters | Thai: ผู้บัญชาการทหารสูงสุด | |
 Ukraine |
Ukrainian: Головнокомандувач Збройних сил України | ||
 Uruguay |
Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa | ||
 Vatican City |
German: Kommandant der Päpstlichen Schweizergarde French: Commandant de la Garde Suisse Pontificale Italian: Comandante della Guardia Svizzera Pontificia Latin: Praefecti Pontificalis Custodiae Helveticae | ||
 Vietnam |
Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam | Vietnamese: Tổng Tham mưu trưởng Quân đội Nhân dân |
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Notes
edit- ^ This is provided when the term given on NATO's homepage is different from the one used in the Wikipedia entry for the position.
References
edit- ^ NATO: Chief of the General Staff of Belgium, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of the General Staff Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ Estonian Defence Forces: Commander, accessed on November 12, 2014
- ^ "NATO: Chief of Defence – Germany". NATO. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- ^ "The Chief of Defence". bmvg.de. The German Government. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ NATO: Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of Defence Staff Hungarian Army, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Director General of the Directorate for Degfence, accessed on December 15, 2022
- ^ Iceland presents a special case since the country does not have its own armed forces as such. Thus, a civilian at the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs fulfills the role of CHOD in relation to NATO.
- ^ NATO: Chief of Defense Staff of Italy, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of Defence of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of Staff of the Luxembourg Army, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ "Chief of Defence | Ministry of Defence". Archived from the original on 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2012-11-21., accessed on November 20, 2012
- ^ NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of Defence of Portugal, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of Defence of Romania, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Chief of Defence Staff of Spain, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ NATO: Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- ^ "Nato state appoints first female head of armed forces". BBC News. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ "Slovenia Appoints First Female Army Chief". VOA news. Reuters. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- ^ "Slovenia Appoints First Female Head of Armed Forces". Sentinelassam.com. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- ^ "Website unavailable". www.afm.gov.mt. Retrieved February 16, 2014.