| Chief of Defence | |
|---|---|
| Commandant der Strijdkrachten | |
 Flag of the Chief of Defence | |
| Armed forces of the Netherlands | |
| His Excellency | |
| Abbreviation | CHOD |
| Member of | Central Staff |
| Reports to | 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 (Dutch language: Commandant der Strijdkrachten ) (CHOD) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Armed forces of the Netherlands and is the principal military advisor to the Minister of Defence. On behalf of the Minister of Defence, he is responsible for operational policy, strategic planning and for preparing and executing military operations carried out by the Armed forces. The Chief of Defence is in charge of the Central Staff and is the direct commanding officer of all the commanders of the branches of the Armed forces. In this capacity the Chief of Defence directs all the activities of the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Navy and Royal Netherlands Air Force. He is also in charge of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, when it is operating under the responsibility of the Minister of Defence.
Responsibilities[]
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[]
| Commander-in-chief of the Armed forces | Military branch | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
General Cornelis Snijders (1852–1939) |
Royal Netherlands Army / Royal Netherlands East Indies Army |
31 July 1914 – 9 November 1918 (4 years, 101 days) | |
|
Lieutenant general Willem Frederik Pop (1852–1939) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 9 November 1918 – 20 November 1919 (1 year, 11 days) | |
| Vacant Interbellum | ||||
|
General Izaak Reijnders (1879–1966) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 28 August 1939 – 6 February 1940 (0 years, 162 days) | |
|
General Henri Winkelman (1876–1952) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 6 February 1940 – 15 May 1940 (0 years, 99 days) | |
| Vacant German occupation | ||||
|
General / Lieutenant admiral Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1911–2003) |
Royal Netherlands Army / Royal Netherlands East Indies Army / Royal Netherlands Navy |
3 September 1944 – 13 September 1945 (1 year, 10 days) | |
|
General Henk Kruls (1902–1975) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 13 September 1945 – 1 January 1949 (3 years, 110 days) | |
| Chairmen of the United Defence Staff | Military branch | Term of office | ||
|
|
General Henk Kruls (1902–1975) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 1 January 1949 – 5 January 1951 (2 years, 4 days) | |
|
Lieutenant admiral Ed van Holthe (1896–1967) |
Royal Netherlands Navy | 5 January 1951 – 10 January 1953 (2 years, 5 days) | |
|
Lieutenant general Fons Aler (1896–1981) |
Royal Netherlands Air Force | 10 January 1953 – 1 October 1953 (0 years, 264 days) | |
|
General Ben Hasselman (1898–1984) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 1 October 1953 – 1 November 1957 (4 years, 31 days) | |
|
Lieutenant general Heije Schaper (1906–1996) |
Royal Netherlands Air Force | 1 November 1957 – 10 May 1959 (1 year, 190 days) | |
|
Lieutenant admiral Henry Propper (1906–1995) |
Royal Netherlands Navy | 10 May 1959 – 10 May 1962 (3 years, 0 days) | |
|
General Gillis le Fèvre de Montigny (1901–1982) |
Royal Netherlands Army | 10 May 1962 – 5 May 1965 (2 years, 360 days) | |
|
General Hein Zielstra (1908–1985) |
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) | |
|
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) | |
| Chiefs 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 | 28 June 2012 – Incumbent (12 years, 298 days) | |
List of Vice Chiefs of Defence[]
| Vice Chiefs of Defence | Military branch | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Vice admiral Rob Bauer (born 1962) |
Royal Netherlands Navy | 1 September 2015 – Incumbent (9 years, 233 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 Category:Military officers of the Netherlands. |
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The original article can be found at Chief of Defence (Netherlands) and the edit history here.