# Chief of General Staff (Georgia)

The Chief of General Staff of Georgian Defence Forces (Georgian: საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის უფროსი, romanized: sakartvelos tavdatsvis dzalebis generaluri sht'abis uprosi) is a high-ranking officer in the military of Georgia, who heads the General Staff of the Defence Forces of Georgia and is an ex officio Deputy Chief of the Defence Forces. The Chief is appointed by the Minister of Defence and reports to the Minister and Chief of Defence Forces.

## Overview

The Chief of General Staff exercises overall leadership of the General Staff and directs its day-to-day activities. The Chief is responsible for the proper execution of the tasks saddled on the General Staff, supervises planning of military operations, oversees coordination among the staffs of various units of the Defence Forces, and performs other functions as defined by the military law.
The Chief of General Staff is also a Deputy Chief of Defence Forces. They are appointed, with no term length, and released of the position by the Minister of Defence of Georgia.

## History

The office of the Chief of General Staff was introduced in Georgia following its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It has undergone several name changes since then. Prior to the 2018 reforms, the Chief was appointed by the President of Georgia on the advice of the Minister of Defence for a three-year term, with the possibility of extension for one year. The Chief was the highest-ranking military officer in the Georgian military, chief military adviser to the President, and wartime commander of the Armed Forces of Georgia.

## List
### Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces (1991–2008)

For period from 1921 to 1991, see Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Union.
| No. | Chief of General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | Kutateladze, JemalJemal Kutateladze | August 1991 | December 1991 | 4 months |
| 2 | Tskitishvili, AvtandilMajor general Avtandil Tskitishvili (1950–2013) | January 1992 | December 1993 | 1 year, 11 months |
| 3 | Nikolaishvili, GuramMajor general Guram Nikolaishvili (born 1952) | December 1993 | June 1994 | 6 months |
| 4 | Tatarashvili, NodarMajor general Nodar Tatarashvili (born 1941) | June 1994 | June 1996 | 2 years |
| 5 | Meparishvili, ZurabMajor general Zurab Meparishvili (born 1934) | June 1996 | May 1998 | 1 year, 11 months |
| 6 | Pirtskhalaishvili, JoniLieutenant general Joni Pirtskhalaishvili (born 1947) | May 1998 | September 2003 | 5 years, 4 months |
| 7 | Iukuridze, GiviGivi Iukuridze (born 1956) | February 2004 | 25 August 2004 | 6 months |
| 8 | Kapanadze, VakhtangMajor general Vakhtang Kapanadze (born 1960) | 25 August 2004 | 18 February 2005 | 5 months |
| 9 | Nikoleishvili, LevanMajor general Levan Nikoleishvili | 18 February 2005 | 2 November 2006 | 1 year, 8 months |
| 10 | Gogava, ZazaMajor general Zaza Gogava (born 1971) | 2 November 2006 | 4 November 2008 | 2 years |

### Chief of Joint Staff of Georgian Armed Forces (2008–2013)

| No. | Chief of Joint Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | Chachibaia, VladimerMajor general Vladimer Chachibaia (born 1971) | 4 November 2008 | 5 March 2009 | 121 days |
| 2 | Chankotadze, DeviMajor general Devi Chankotadze (born 1961) | 5 March 2009 | 8 October 2012 | 3 years, 217 days |
| 3 | Kalandadze, GiorgiBrigadier general Giorgi Kalandadze (born 1980) | 8 October 2012 | 11 November 2012 | 34 days |
| – | Kapanadze, VakhtangMajor general Vakhtang Kapanadze (born 1960) Acting | 11 November 2012 | 4 December 2012 | 23 days |
| 4 | Dzneladze, IrakliColonel Irakli Dzneladze (born 1968) | 4 December 2012 | 22 November 2013 | 353 days |

### Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces (2013–2018)

| No. | Portrait | Chief of General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
| 1 | | Kapanadze, VakhtangMajor general Vakhtang Kapanadze (born 1960) | 22 November 2013 | 22 November 2016 | 3 years, 0 days | — |
| 2 | | Chachibaia, VladimerMajor general Vladimer Chachibaia (born 1971) | 22 November 2016 | 20 December 2018 | 2 years, 28 days | |

### Chief of General Staff of Georgian Defence Forces (2018–present)

| No. | Chief of General Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
| 1 | Chkhaidze, ZazaMajor General Zaza Chkhaidze (born 1974) | 20 December 2018 | 27 December 2019 | 1 year, 7 days | - |
| 2 | Matiashvili, GiorgiBrigadier General Giorgi Matiashvili (born 1977) | 27 December 2019 | 1 July 2020 | 187 days | |
| 3 | Tatunashvili, JoniBrigadier General Joni Tatunashvili (born 1976) | 9 July 2020 | Incumbent | 4 years, 90 days | - |