The Chief of Defence of Denmark (), acting under the statutory responsibility of the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

, is the

chief of defence 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 withi ...

and commander of the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

, the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Isla ...

and the

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...

. The Chief of Defence is the principal military adviser to the Minister of Defence and the head of the Defence Command. The Chief of Defence is the highest-ranking military officer on active duty in the

Danish Armed Forces Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defe ...

and has the rank of four-star

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

(or

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

if from the Navy) (OF-9), and supervises roughly 93% of all military spending in Denmark. The

Danish Home Guard The Danish Home Guard ( da, Hjemmeværnet) (HJV) is the fourth service of the Danish military. It was formerly concerned only with the defence of Danish territory, but since 2008, it has also supported the Danish military efforts in Afghanistan a ...

and

Defence intelligence Defence Intelligence (DI) is an organisation within the United Kingdom intelligence community which focuses on gathering and analysing military intelligence. It differs from the UK's intelligence agencies (MI6, GCHQ and MI5) in that it is an ...

is directly under the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

, only in times of war will the Home Guard Command be transferred to the Defence Command, and thus come under the authority of the Chief of Defence. The job was traditionally rotated evenly between the army, navy and air force. This tradition was abandoned in 2009. There is no fixed length of time associated with the position, the contract however currently has to be renewed every 5 years.

List of Chiefs of Defence

Timeline

Notes

References

;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chief Of Defence (Denmark) Military of Denmark

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Chiefs of Staff (Denmark)