Chief of Defence (Netherlands)
| Chief of Defence
Commandant der Strijdkrachten | |
|---|---|
|
Flag of the Chief of Defence | |
| Armed forces of the Netherlands | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Abbreviation | CHOD |
| Member of | Central Staff |
| Reports to | Government of the Netherlands |
| Nominator | Minister of Defence |
| Precursor | Chief of the Defence Staff |
| Formation | 5 September 2005 |
| First holder | General Dick Berlijn |
| Deputy | Vice Chief of Defence |
| Website | (English) Chief of Defence |
The Chief of Defence (CHOD) (Dutch: Commandant der Strijdkrachten) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Armed forces of the Netherlands and is the principal military advisor to the Government of the Netherlands.
The main role of the Chief of Defence is as an intermediary between the Minister of Defence and the Central Staff of the Armed Forces of The Netherlands. He makes operational policy and is responsible to the minister for military-strategic planning, operations and deployment of the Armed Forces. The Chief of Defence is the direct commanding officer of the commanders of the branches of the Armed forces.
- The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army
- The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force
- The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy
The branch commanders are responsible for preparedness and actual deployment of their military personnel in the Netherlands and the rest of the world. Regarding operational planning and deployment, the branch commanders take their orders directly from the Chief of Defence.
There is a fourth branch of the military, the Royal Marechaussee (Gendarmerie). This branch does not answer to the Chief of Defence, since it is the police force for the entirety of the Armed Forces. This requires that the Marechaussee be independent, so this branch took its orders directly from the Undersecretary for the Ministry of Defence. Since 2010 there is no Undersecretary assigned to the Ministry of Defence.
In addition to his command tasks, the Chief of Defence is the senior military advisor to the Minister of Defence.
The current position of Chief of Defence (CHOD) is new since 5 September 2005, when it replaced the existing role of Chef-Defensiestaf (Chief of the Defence Staff) and was abbreviated as CDS). Just like its predecessor role the position of Chief of Defence will rotate between the branches of the military; the first Chief of Defence was General Dick Berlijn, of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The position of Chief of Defence is held by a Four-star officer (NATO OF-9, meaning a General or a Lieutenant admiral), which means that promotion to the position of Chief of Defence includes a promotion in rank as well as there is only one four-star officer in the current command structure.[1]
List of Chiefs of the Defence Staff / Chiefs of Defence
For full list, see List of Chiefs of the Defence Staff. (Dutch)
| Chairmen of the United Defence Staff | Military branch | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
General Henk Zielstra |
Royal Netherlands Air Force | 5 May 1965 – 30 December 1968 (3 years, 239 days) | |
| |
Lieutenant admiral Hugo van den Wall Bake (1913–1981) |
Royal Netherlands Navy | 5 January 1969 – 15 January 1972 (3 years, 10 days) | |
 |
General Willem van Rijn (1915–1997) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 15 January 1972 – 1 November 1973 (1 year, 290 days) | |
 |
General Robbie Wijting (1925–1986) |
Royal Netherlands Air Force | 1 November 1973 – 10 December 1976 (3 years, 39 days) | |
| Chiefs of the Defence Staff | Military branch | Term of office | ||
| |
General Robbie Wijting (1925–1986) |
Royal Netherlands Air Force | 10 December 1976 – 1 November 1980 (3 years, 327 days) | |
.jpg) |
General Cor de Jager (1925–2001) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 1 November 1980 – 5 July 1983 (2 years, 246 days) | |
 |
General Govert Huijser (1931–2014) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 5 July 1983 – 10 December 1988 (5 years, 158 days) | |
 |
General Peter Graaff (1936–2014) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 10 December 1988 – 10 May 1992 (3 years, 152 days) | |
 |
General Arie van der Vlis (born 1940) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 10 May 1992 – 15 August 1994 (2 years, 97 days) | |
 |
General Henk van den Breemen (born 1941) |
Royal Netherlands Marine Corps | 15 August 1994 – 5 June 1998 (3 years, 294 days) | |
 |
Lieutenant admiral Luuk Kroon (1942–2012) |
Royal Netherlands Navy | 5 June 1998 – 5 June 2004 (6 years, 0 days) | |
 |
General Dick Berlijn (born 1950) |
Royal Netherlands Air Force | 5 June 2004 – 5 September 2005 (1 year, 92 days) | |
| Chief of Defence | Military branch | Term of office | ||
| |
General Dick Berlijn (born 1950) |
Royal Netherlands Air Force | 5 September 2005 – 17 April 2008 (2 years, 225 days) | |
 |
General Peter van Uhm (born 1955) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 17 April 2008 – 28 June 2012 (4 years, 72 days) | |
 |
General Tom Middendorp (born 1960) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 17 April 2008 – 28 June 2012 (3 years, 169 days) | |
References
- ↑ (Dutch) Generaal-majoor Middendorp nieuwe Commandant der Strijdkrachten, Rijksoverheid, 2 October 2011
External links
- Official
- (English) Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military officers of the Netherlands. |
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