# Deputy Chief of General Staff (IDF)

The Deputy Chief of General Staff is the second to the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. The Deputy chief of Staff is an officer with the rank of Major General (Aluf). The current Deputy Chief of Staff is Major General (Aluf) Tamir Yadai.

## History

The position of Deputy Chief of Staff was not continuously filled. Until 1999, Deputy Chiefs of Staff served as the Commanders of the General Staff Directorate simultaneously, With the exception of Haim Bar-Lev who held office on the eve of and during the Six Day War and Israel Tal who held office after the Yom Kippur War. In 1999, the Operations Directorate was established and the positions were officially separated, Since then, it is common to see the Deputy Chief of Staff as the person in charge of the IDF force building, Procurement, development, equipping and maintenance of weapons, Planning, recruitment and training of personnel and maintaining their fitness and more. Despite legislative proposals on the matter, the Deputy Chief of Staff is not defined by law as acting in place of the Chief of Staff.
Since 2005 The Control and Surveillance Department in the IDF is subordinate to the Deputy Chief of Staff. In 2016-2017, the Computer Service Directorate was also subordinate to the Deputy Chief of Staff.
The acting Deputy Chief of Staff is usually one of the natural candidates to replace the outgoing Chief of Staff. And it is accepted to see the fulfillment of the position as an "apprenticeship" before taking command of the IDF. 19 of the 22 Chiefs of Staff who have headed the IDF to date, previously served in the position of Deputy Chief of Staff, usually close to their appointment as Chief of the General Staff.

## List of Deputy Chiefs of Staff

| Name | Period of serving | Chief of Staff | Remarks |
| Tzvi Ayalon | January 1948 | Yaakov Dori | |
| Mordechai Maklef | 9 November 1949 - 7 December 1952 | Yigael Yadin | 3rd Chief of Staff |
| Moshe Dayan | 7 December 1952 - December 1953 | Mordechai Maklef | 4th Chief of Staff |
| Haim Laskov | 20 August 1955 - 23 July 1956 | Moshe Dayan | 5th Chief of Staff |
| Tzvi Tzur | 1958 – 1958 | Haim Laskov | 6th Chief of Staff |
| Yitzhak Rabin | 23 January 1961 - 30 December 1963 | Tzvi Tzur | 7th Chief of Staff |
| Haim Bar-Lev | May 1967 - January 1968 | Yitzhak Rabin | 8th Chief of Staff |
| David Elazar | 1969 - January 1972 | Haim Bar-Lev | 9th Chief of Staff |
| Israel Tal | 1972 – 1973 | David Elazar | |
| Herzl Shafir | April 1974 - March 1976 | Mordechai Gur | 7th commissioner of the Israeli Police |
| Rafael Eitan | August 1977 - April 1978 | Mordechai Gur | 11th Chief of Staff |
| Yekutiel Adam | 1978 – 1982 | Rafael Eitan | killed in the 1982 Lebanon War before he could take up his post as Chief of Staff |
| Moshe Levi | 1982 – 1983 | Rafael Eitan | 12th Chief of Staff |
| David Ivry | 1983 – 1985 | Moshe Levi | |
| Dan Shomron | 17 January 1985 - 1 October 1986 | Moshe Levi | 13th Chief of Staff |
| Amir Drori | 1 October 1986 - 6 April 1987 | Dan Shomron | |
| Ehud Barak | 7 May 1987 - 13 March 1991 | Dan Shomron | 14th Chief of Staff |
| Amnon Lipkin-Shahak | 13 March 1991 - 29 November 1994 | Ehud Barak | 15th Chief of Staff |
| Matan Vilnai | 29 November 1994 - 15 September 1997 | Amnon Lipkin-Shahak | |
| Shaul Mofaz | 15 September 1997 - 11 June 1998 | Amnon Lipkin-Shahak | 16th Chief of Staff |
| Uzi Dayan | 11 June 1998 - 15 September 2000 | Shaul Mofaz | |
| Moshe Ya'alon | 15 September 2000 - 9 July 2002 | Shaul Mofaz | 17th Chief of Staff |
| Gabi Ashkenazi | 9 July 2002 - 15 July 2004 | Moshe Ya'alon | 19th Chief of Staff |
| Dan Halutz | 15 July 2004 - 17 March 2005 | Moshe Ya'alon | 18th Chief of Staff |
| Moshe Kaplinsky | 17 March 2005 - 1 October 2007 | Dan Halutz | |
| Dan Harel | 1 October 2007 - 1 October 2009 | Gabi Ashkenazi | Director-General of Defense Ministry |
| Benny Gantz | 1 October 2009 - 25 November 2010 | Gabi Ashkenazi | 20th Chief of Staff |
| Yair Naveh | 25 November 2010 - 14 January 2013 | Benny Gantz | |
| Gadi Eizenkot | 14 January 2013 - 15 December 2014 | Benny Gantz | 21st Chief of Staff |
| Yair Golan | 15 December 2014 - 11 May 2017 | Gadi Eizenkot | |
| Aviv Kochavi | 11 May 2017 - 13 December 2018 | Gadi Eizenkot | 22nd Chief of Staff |
| Eyal Zamir | 13 December 2018 - 11 July 2021 | Aviv Kochavi | 24th Chief of Staff |
| Herzi Halevi | 11 July 2021 - 31 October 2022 | Aviv Kochavi | 23rd Chief of Staff |
| Amir Baram | 31 October 2022 - Present | Herzi Halevi Eyal Zamir | |