The Chief of Defence ( nl, Commandant der Strijdkrachten, CDS) is the highest-ranking

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

in the Armed forces of the Netherlands and is the principal military advisor to 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 ...

. On behalf of the

, 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 Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

, the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

and

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. He is also in charge of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, when it is operating under the responsibility of the

Responsibilities

The main role of the Chief of Defence is as an intermediary between the

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 Army (C-LAS, Dutch: ''Commandant Landstrijdkrachten'') is the executive commander of the Royal Netherlands Army and reports directly to the Chief of Defence. The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army is stat ...

* The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force * The

Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Commandant Zeestrijdkrachten) (CZsk) is the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The CZsk reports directly to the Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff. The position of CZs ...

The branch commanders are responsible for preparedness and actual deployment of their military personnel in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

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 The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee ( nl, Koninklijke Marechaussee, abbreviated to KMar) is the national gendarmerie force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, performing military and civilian police duties. It is also one of the two national pol ...

(

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

). 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

Secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

for 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 ...

. The current

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

is Wim Geerts. 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 , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. The position of Chief of Defence is held by a Four-star officer (NATO OF-9, meaning a

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 a

Lieutenant admiral Lieutenant admiral () is a senior naval military rank in the Royal Netherlands Navy. The rank is a four-star rank, senior to a vice-admiral () and equivalent to admiral in most foreign navies. It is used whenever the Dutch Chief of Defence is fro ...

), 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. On 24 February 2017 the Ministry of Defence announced that Vice-admiral

Rob Bauer Robert Peter Bauer (born 11 November 1962) is an Lieutenant admiral in the Royal Netherlands Navy, currently serving as the Chair of the NATO Military Committee since June 2021. He previously served as Chief of Defence (Dutch: ''Commandant der S ...

will be the next Chief of Defence On 3 October 2017 the chief of defence

Tom Middendorp Thomas Antonius Middendorp (born 6 September 1960) is a retired general of the Royal Netherlands Army. He served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 28 June 2012 until 3 October 2017. He previously served as the C ...

resigned after severe problems with the Dutch defence, on 5 October 2017 he is succeeded by

/ref>

List of Chiefs of the Defence Staff / Chiefs of Defence

Commander-in-chief of the Armed forces (1914–1949)

, -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=7, ''Vacant''
Interwar period, Interbellum , - , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=7, ''Vacant''

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

, -

Chairman of the United Defence Staff (1949–1976)

Chiefs of the Defence Staff (1976–2005)

Chiefs of the Defence (2005–present)

List of Vice Chiefs of Defence

References

External links

;Official *
Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence {{Chief of military by country