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Chief of Defence Staff
Flag of the Guyana Defence Force
Flag of the Guyana Defence Force
Brig Omar Khan 2023 (cropped)
Incumbent
Brigadier Omar Khan
since 28 April 2023
Reports to President of Guyana
Formation May 1967
First holder Ronald Pope

The Chief of the Staff is the professional head of the Guyana Defence Force. He is responsible for the administration and the operational control of the Guyana military. The current Chief of Defence Staff is Brigadier Omar Khan.

List of officeholders[]

  •       Acting
No. Portrait Name
(birth–death)
Term of office Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Colonel
Ronald Pope
May 1967 March 1969 1 year, 10 months [1]
2 Brigadier
Clarence Price
(1922–?)
March 1969 12 July 1979 10 years, 4 months [2]
3 Major general
Norman Gordon Mc Lean
(born 1935)
12 July 1979 March 1990 10 years, 7 months [3]
4 Maj. Gen. Retd Joseph Singh (cropped) Major general
Joseph Singh
(born 1945)
March 1990 April 2000 10 years, 1 month [4]
5 Major general
Michael Atherly
(born 1949)
April 2000 31 May 2004 4 years, 1 month [5][6]
6 Major general
Edward Orin Collins
(born 1945)
31 May 2004 2007 2–3 years [7]
7 Rear Adm Gary Best (cropped) Rear admiral
Gary Best
(born 1959)
September 2007 16 September 2013 5–6 years [8]
8 Mark Phillips 2014 (cropped) Brigadier
Mark Phillips
(born 1961)
16 September 2013 3 October 2016 3 years, 1 month [9]
9 Brigadier
George Lewis
(born 1961)
3 October 2016 10 January 2017 99 days [10][11]
10 2017 Caribbean Nations Security Conference (171206-A-BQ509-008) (cropped) Brigadier
Patrick West
(born 1965)
10 January 2017 1 July 2020 3 years, 173 days [12][13]
11 Brig. Godfrey Bess (cropped) Brigadier
Godfrey Bess
(born 1968)
1 July 2020 4 March 2021 246 days [14][15]
4 March 2021 28 April 2023 2 years, 55 days
12 Brig Omar Khan 2023 (cropped) Brigadier
Omar Khan
28 April 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 180 days [16]

References[]

  1. "Colonel Ronald Pope". Guyana Defence Force. http://www.gdf.mil.gy/index.php/chief-of-staff/past-chiefs-of-staff/colonel-ronald-pope.html. 
  2. "Brigadier Clarence Price". Guyana Defence Force. http://www.gdf.mil.gy/index.php/chief-of-staff/past-chiefs-of-staff/brigadier-clarence-price.html. 
  3. "Major General Norman Gordon Mc Lean". Guyana Defence Force. http://www.gdf.mil.gy/index.php/chief-of-staff/past-chiefs-of-staff/major-general-norman-mc-lean.html. 
  4. "Major General Joseph Singh, MSS". Guyana Defence Force. http://www.gdf.mil.gy/index.php/chief-of-staff/past-chiefs-of-staff/major-general-joseph-singh.html. 
  5. "Major General Michael Atherly, MSS". Guyana Defence Force. http://www.gdf.mil.gy/index.php/chief-of-staff/past-chiefs-of-staff/major-general-michael-atherly.html. 
  6. "Former Chief-of-Staff honoured at special dinner" (in en-US). 2008-11-28. https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2008/11/28/former-chief-of-staff-honoured-at-special-dinner/. 
  7. Naipaul, Chamanlall (1 June 2004). "Former Chief of Staff calls for new national security strategy". landofsixpeoples.com. https://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news402/nc406012.htm. 
  8. "Promoted to Rear Admiral – Gary Best departing a military that is set for transformation". 23 June 2014. https://dpi.gov.gy/promoted-to-rear-admiral-gary-best-departing-a-military-that-is-set-for-transformation/. 
  9. "Brigadier Mark Phillips". Guyana Defence Force. http://www.gdf.mil.gy/index.php/chief-of-staff/past-chiefs-of-staff/brigadier-mark-phillips.html. 
  10. "George Lewis promoted to rank of Brigadier, sworn in as GDF Chief of Staff". Office of the President. 3 October 2016. https://op.gov.gy/index.php/2016/10/03/george-lewis-promoted-to-rank-of-brigadier-sworn-in-as-gdf-chief-of-staff/. 
  11. "I’m ready to lead" (in en-US). October 2, 2016. https://guyanachronicle.com/2016/10/02/im-ready-to-lead/. 
  12. "Brigadier Patrick West is new army Chief of Staff". stabroeknews.com. 11 January 2017. https://www.stabroeknews.com/2017/01/11/news/guyana/brigadier-patrick-west-new-army-chief-staff/. 
  13. "Brigadier Patrick West is new army Chief of Staff" (in en-us). 2017-01-11. https://www.stabroeknews.com/2017/01/11/news/guyana/brigadier-patrick-west-new-army-chief-staff/. 
  14. "Colonel Bess appointed Chief of Staff (ag)". 30 June 2020. https://dpi.gov.gy/colonel-bess-appointed-chief-of-staff-ag/. 
  15. "Bess takes charge of GDF". guyanachronicle.com. 5 March 2021. https://guyanachronicle.com/2021/03/05/bess-takes-charge-of-gdf/. 
  16. https://guyanachronicle.com/2023/04/28/colonel-khan-promoted-to-brigadier-appointed-new-army-chief-of-staff/


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Chief of Staff (Guyana) and the edit history here.
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