The Chief of the Defence Staff ( es, link=no, Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa, JEMAD) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Spanish Armed Forces and is the principal military advisor to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a 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 country to country; in som ...

, the National Defence Council and the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

. It is the fourth military authority of the country after the

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence because the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

and the Under Secretary of Defence do not have military authority. The JEMAD has three different roles: the support role, assisting and advising the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence in military affairs and supports the Under Secretary of Defence in its duties over the military personnel; the strategic role, being the official in charge of design the military strategy, directs the

military operations A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...

and the actions to guarantee cyberspace freedom (with the supervision of the Minister), assign the

military forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

for the missions and give orders to the other Chiefs of Staff to appoint new commanders; and the preparatory role, coordinating the Chiefs of Staff and giving orders to them to prepare the troops, oversees the internal organization of the different branches, establish the common rules and regulations of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, ensures compliance with military discipline, staff motivation and their well-being and establish the organization of the Armed Forces (in coordination with the others Chiefs of Staff). The Chief of the Defence Staff convenes the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Defence Staff (EMAD), an auxiliary body of command and support to the Chief of Defence Staff comprising the Chief of the Defence Staff, the

Chief of the Joint Defence Staff The Chief of the Joint Defence Staff (JEMACON) is a high-ranking military officer. The JEMACON is the closest assistant and advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff and it is appointed by the Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II ...

, the Commander of the Operations Command, the Deputy Commander of the Operations Command, the Director of the Armed Forces Intelligence Center, the Chief Commander of the Joint Cyber-Defence Command, the Director of the Higher Center for National Defence Studies, the Admiral of the Fleet, the Chief General of the Air Combat Command of the Air Force and the Chief of the

Military Emergencies Unit The Emergency Military Unit ( es, Unidad Militar de Emergencias, UME; ) is a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for providing disaster relief throughout Spain mainly, and abroad if required. It is the newest branch of the Spanish A ...

. Although in some legally established situations the Chiefs of Staff of the Army,

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

advise the Chief of the Defence Staff, they do not directly depend from the JEMAD but from the Minister of Defence.

Organization and assistants

The Chief of the Defence Staff has not a Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, and when its unable to fulfill his functions, it is replaced by the most senior Chief of Staff of the Army, Navy or Air Force. The JEMAD is assisted by the Joint Defence Staff, the main auxiliary body of the Defence Staff directed by the Chief of the Joint Defence Staff, which at the same times is assisted by the Secretary General of the Joint Defence Staff. The JEMAD it is also assisted by a personal secretary and by the Chief of Economic Affairs, the Chief of Human Resources and the Chief of Security and Services. In matters of military strategy is advised by the Commander of the Operations Command and in cyberdefence by the Chief Commander of the

Joint Cyber-Defence Command The Joint Cyberspace Command (MCCE), known until 2020 as Joint Cyber-Defence Command (MCCD), is a Spanish cyberspace service of the Defence Staff responsible for planning and carrying out he actions related to cyber defence in networks and inform ...

. Directly from the JEMAD depends the

Spanish Armed Forces Intelligence Center The Armed Forces Intelligence Center (, CIFAS) is a Spanish intelligence agency dependent of the Defense Staff (EMAD). It has the function of providing JEMAD, the Ministry of Defense and the Prime Minister with information on risk situations an ...

in charge of recollecting military information and advise the JEMAD, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Staff of the Navy and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force) in

counter-intelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...

and security. Other bodies that also depend from the JEMAD are the

, the Command of Maritime Security and Surveillance and the Command of Defence and Air Operations.

History

The creation of the first Military Staff in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

dates back to 1801 when on the occasion of the War of Spain and France against Portugal, an army was created under the command of Godoy, which included a special structure called the General Staff, also called the General Staff of the Armies in Operations. On June 9, 1810 is constituted for the first time in Spain the Body of General Staff, separated completely from the other Armies branches, following their top officials different military careers. General Blake was its first Chief. Once the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

was over, by Royal Order of June 27, 1814,

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

suppressed the General Staff Body. In 1820 it was created for the second time, but its existence was short, and in 1823 it disappeared again. In 1837, experience had shown the ineffectiveness of all the decisions that had been taken to replace the Body of General Staff and the General Staff was again established for the proper functioning of the Army. Its new organization was approved on January 1, 1838 and in front of it was a Director-General. In 1904, the Central Staff of the Army (EMCE) appeared, which was suppressed in 1912 and returned to the previous organization, the General Staff Body; the EMCE was re-created in 1916 and abolished in 1925. During the Second Republic the Body of General Staff was finally suppressed and the EMCE was re-created. After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, on August 31, 1939, the High Command was created, the true predecessor of the current Defence Staff, with

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Juan Vigón in front as Chief of the General Staff. The High Command was active throughout

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

and part of the Spanish transition to democracy, disappearing on June 13, 1980. Three years earlier, in 1977, the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

had been created as the principal body of the General Staff to advise the

and the

and whose chairman was also the Chief of the General Staff. This body assumed all the functions of the EMP when it was suppressed. In 1984, the Joint Chiefs of Staff was institutionalized and the position of Chief of the Defence Staff (JEMAD) was created, replacing the Chairman of the Board of Chiefs of Staff. At the same time, the Defence Staff was created to support the JEMAD. The Joint Chiefs of Staff was in force until 2005, when the new National Defence Organic Act created the National Defence Council as an advisory body to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence.

List of chiefs of the Defence Staff

To see previous Chiefs of Staff, go to Defence High Command and Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff. † denotes people who died in office.

Timeline

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Defence Staff, Chief Of The Military of Spain

1984 establishments in Spain Secretaries of State of Spain