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The 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 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 EU occasionally hold CHODs meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the European Union Military Committee respectively.

Chief of defence positions by NATO country

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 used for the position
Albania	Chief of the General Staff		Albanian: Shefi i shtabit të përgjithshëm
Belgium	Chief of Defence	Chief of the General Staff^[1]	Dutch: Chef Defensie French: Chef de la Défense
Bulgaria	Chief of the Defence^[2]		Bulgarian: Началник на отбраната
Canada	Chief of the Defence Staff		French: Chef d'État-Major de la défense
Croatia	Chief of the General Staff		Croatian: Načelnik Glavnog stožera
Czech Republic	Chief of the General Staff^[3]		Czech: Náčelník Generálního štábu
Denmark	Chief of Defence		Danish: Forsvarschefen
Estonia	Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces^[4]		Estonian: Kaitseväe juhataja
France	Chief of the Defence Staff		French: Chef d'État-Major des armées
Germany	Inspector General of the Bundeswehr	Chief of Defence^[5]^[6]	German: Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr
Greece	Chief of the National Defence General Staff^[7]		Greek: Αρχηγός του Γενικού Επιτελείου Εθνικής Άμυνας
Hungary	Chief of the General Staff^[8]		Hungarian: Vezérkari főnök
Iceland	Director of the Security and Defence Department^[9]^[10]		Icelandic: Deildarstjóri öryggis- og varnarmálaskrifstofu
Italy	Chief of the Defence Staff^[11]		Italian: Capo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa
Latvia	Commander of the National Armed Forces^[12]		Latvian: Bruņoto spēku komandieris
Lithuania	Chief of Defence^[13]		Lithuanian: Kariuomenės vadas
Luxembourg	Chief of Staff^[14]	Chief of Defence	French: Chef d'état-major German: Chef des Generalstabs
Montenegro	Chief of the General Staff		Montenegrin: Начелник Генералштаба / Načelnik Generalštaba
Netherlands	Chief of Defence^[15]		Dutch: Commandant der Strijdkrachten
North Macedonia	Chief of the General Staff		Macedonian: Началник на Генералштабот
Norway	Chief of Defence		Norwegian: Forsvarssjefen
Poland	Chief of the General Staff^[16]		Polish: Szef Sztabu Generalnego
Portugal	Chief of the General Staff^[17]		Portuguese: Chefe do Estado-Maior-General das Forças Armadas
Romania	Chief of Defence^[18]	Chief of the General Staff	Romanian: Șeful Statului Major General
Slovakia	Chief of the General Staff^[19]		Slovak: Náčelník generálneho štábu
Slovenia	Chief of the General Staff^[20]		Slovene: Načelnik Generalštaba
Spain	Chief of the Defence Staff^[21]		Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa
Turkey	Chief of the General Staff	Commander of the Armed Forces^[22]	Turkish: Genelkurmay Başkanı
United Kingdom	Chief of the Defence Staff
United States	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

In 2018 Slovenia appointed the first woman 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

Within the EU member states that are not members of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions.

Country	Position	Term in national language used for the position
Austria	Chief of the General Staff	German: Chef des Generalstabes
Cyprus	Chief of the National Guard	Greek: Αρχηγοί Εθνικής Φρουράς
Finland	Chief of Defence	Finnish: Puolustusvoimain komentaja Swedish: Kommendören för Försvarsmakten
Ireland	Chief of Staff	Irish: Ceann Foirne na bhFórsaí Cosanta
Malta	Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta^[26]	Maltese: Kmandant tal-Forzi Armati ta’ Malta
Sweden	Supreme Commander	Swedish: Överbefälhavaren

Other Chief of Defence positions by (non-NATO and non-EU) country

Note 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 Staff of the People's National Army	Chief of the Defence Staff	Arabic: رئيس أركان الجيش الوطني الشعبي
Argentina	Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff		Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas
Australia	Chief of the Defence Force
Belarus	Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus		Belarusian: Начальнік Генеральнага штаба Узброеных Сіл Рэспублікі Беларусь Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба Вооружённых Сил Республики Беларусь
Botswana	Commander of the Defence Force
Brazil	Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces		Portuguese: Chefe do Estado Maior Conjunto das Forças Armadas
Chile	Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Defence		Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto de la Defensa
China	Joint Chief of Staff	Chief of General Staff Commanding General of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department	Chinese: 中央军委联合参谋部参谋长
Colombia	General Commander of the Military Forces		Spanish: Comandante General de las Fuerzas Militares de Colombia
Ecuador	Chief of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Ecuador		Spanish: Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas del Ecuador
Ethiopia	Chief of General Staff
Gambia	Chief of the Defence Staff
Georgia	Chief of General Staff		Georgian: საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის უფროსი
Ghana	Chief of the Defence Staff
Guatemala	Chief of the General Staff		Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor
India	Chief of Defence Staff
Indonesia	Commander of the National Armed Forces		Indonesian: Panglima Tentara Nasional Indonesia
Iran	Chief of General Staff		Persian: رئیس ستاد کل نیروهای مسلح جمهوری اسلامی ایران
Israel	Chief of General Staff		Hebrew: ראש המטה הכללי
Jamaica	Chief of Defence Staff
Japan	Chief of Staff, Joint Staff		Japanese: 統合幕僚長
Malaysia	Chief of Defence Forces		Malay: Panglima Angkatan Tentera
Myanmar	Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services		Burmese: တပ်မတော်ကာကွယ်ရေးဦးစီးချုပ်
New Zealand	Chief of Defence Force
Nigeria	Chief of the Defence Staff
Nepal	Chief of Army Staff		Nepali: नेपालका प्रधानसेनापति
North Korea	Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army		Korean: 조선인민군 총참모장
Peru	Head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces of Peru		Spanish: Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas del Perú
Philippines	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
Russia	Chief of the General Staff		Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба
Serbia	Chief of the General Staff		Serbian: Начелник Генералштаба
Singapore	Chief of Defence Force
Somalia	Chief of Armed Forces		Somali: Taliyaha Xooga Qalabka Soomaaliyeed
South Africa	Chief of the National Defence Force
South Korea	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff		Korean: 합동참모의장
Sri Lanka	Chief of the Defence Staff
Switzerland	Chief of the Armed Forces		French: Chef de l'Armée German: Chef der Armee Italian: Capo dell'Esercito Romansh: Schef da l'Armada
Syria	Chief of the General Staff		Arabic: رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة
Taiwan	Chief of the General Staff		Chinese: 國防部參謀本部參謀總長
Thailand	Chief of the Defence Forces	Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters	Thai: ผู้บัญชาการทหารสูงสุด
Ukraine	Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine		Ukrainian: Головнокомандувач Збройних сил України
Uruguay	Chief of the Defence Staff		Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa de Uruguay
Vietnam	Chief of the Staff	Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam	Vietnamese: Tổng Tham mưu trưởng Quân đội Nhân dân Việt Nam

Notes

^ 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

^ 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.

External links

NATO Chiefs of Defence

[1] This is provided when the term given on NATO's homepage is different from the one used in the Wikipedia entry for the position.

[2] NATO: Chief of the General Staff of Belgium, accessed on October 30, 2008

[3] NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008

[4] NATO: Chief of the General Staff Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, accessed on October 30, 2008

[5] Estonian Defence Forces: Commander, accessed on November 12, 2014

[6] "NATO: Chief of Defence – Germany". NATO. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.

[7] "The Chief of Defence". bmvg.de. The German Government. Retrieved 14 September 2017.

[8] NATO: Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, accessed on October 30, 2008

[9] NATO: Chief of Defence Staff Hungarian Army, accessed on October 30, 2008

[10] NATO: Director General of the Directorate for Degfence, accessed on December 15, 2022

[11] 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.

[12] NATO: Chief of Defense Staff of Italy, accessed on October 30, 2008

[13] NATO: Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008

[14] NATO: Chief of Defence of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008

[15] NATO: Chief of Staff of the Luxembourg Army, accessed on October 30, 2008

[16] "Chief of Defence | Ministry of Defence". Archived from the original on 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2012-11-21., accessed on November 20, 2012

[17] NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008

[18] NATO: Chief of Defence of Portugal, accessed on October 30, 2008

[19] NATO: Chief of Defence of Romania, accessed on October 30, 2008

[20] NATO: Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, accessed on October 30, 2008

[21] NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008

[22] NATO: Chief of Defence Staff of Spain, accessed on October 30, 2008

[23] NATO: Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008

[24] "Nato state appoints first female head of armed forces". BBC News. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.

[VOA-25] "Slovenia Appoints First Female Army Chief". VOA news. Reuters. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.

[26] "Slovenia Appoints First Female Head of Armed Forces". Sentinelassam.com. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-29.

[27] "Website unavailable". www.afm.gov.mt. Retrieved February 16, 2014.

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@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 |{{flagcountry|Hungary}} || {{center|[[File:Insignia_Hungary_Army_HVK.svg|50px]]<br />[[General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Hungary#Chief of General Staff|Chief of the General Staff]]<ref>[http://www.nato.int/cv/chod/hu/havril.htm NATO: Chief of Defence Staff Hungarian Army], accessed on October 30, 2008</ref>}} || || {{Lang-hu|Vezérkari főnök}}
 |-
-|{{flagcountry|Iceland}} ||{{center|Director of the Defence and Security Department<ref>[https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/who_is_who_208009.htm NATO: Director General of the Directorate for Degfence], accessed on December 15, 2022</ref><ref>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.</ref>}} || || {{Lang-is|Deildarstjóri öryggis- og varnarmálaskrifstofu}}
+|{{flagcountry|Iceland}} ||{{center|Director of the Security  and Defence Department<ref>[https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/who_is_who_208009.htm NATO: Director General of the Directorate for Degfence], accessed on December 15, 2022</ref><ref>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.</ref>}} || || {{Lang-is|Deildarstjóri öryggis- og varnarmálaskrifstofu}}
 |-
 |{{flagcountry|Italy}} || {{center|[[File:Flag of the chief of staff of defence of Italy.svg|50px]]<br />[[Chief of the Defence Staff (Italy)|Chief of the Defence Staff]]<ref>[http://www.nato.int/cv/chod/it/camporini.htm NATO: Chief of Defense Staff of Italy], accessed on October 30, 2008</ref>}} || || {{Lang-it|Capo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa}}