# Chief of defence

A 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 within the NATO and EU member states, rather than the actual term used for individual positions. Thus, irrespective of the formal national designation of that position is some variation on Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff, Supreme Commander, or something else, they can all be referred to unambiguously as CHODs in NATO and EU terminology, although other terms are sometimes also seen within NATO. Thus, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the CHOD of the United States, the Chief of the Defence Staff is the CHOD of the United Kingdom, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr is the CHOD of Germany, and the Chief of Defence (Forsvarssjefen) is the CHOD of Norway.
Both NATO and the EU occasionally hold CHODs meetings of the NATO Military Committee and the European Union Military Committee respectively.

## Chief of defence positions in NATO member countries

Within member states of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions. Sometimes more than one form of translation into English is encountered.
| Country | Position | Alternative translations | Term in national language |
| Albania | Chief of the General Staff | | Albanian: Shefi i shtabit të përgjithshëm |
| Belgium | Chief of Defence | Chief of the General Staff | Dutch: Chef Defensie French: Chef de la Défense |
| Bulgaria | Chief of the Defence | | Bulgarian: Началник на отбраната |
| Canada | Chief of the Defence Staff | | French: Chef d'État-Major de la défense |
| Croatia | Chief of the General Staff | | Croatian: Načelnik Glavnog stožera |
| Czech Republic | Chief of the General Staff | | Czech: Náčelník Generálního štábu |
| Denmark | Chief of Defence | | Danish: Forsvarschefen |
| Estonia | Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces | | Estonian: Kaitseväe juhataja |
| Finland | Chief of Defence | | Finnish: Puolustusvoimain komentaja Swedish: Kommendören för Försvarsmakten |
| France | Chief of the Defence Staff | | French: Chef d'État-Major des armées |
| Germany | Inspector General of the Bundeswehr | Chief of Defence | German: Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr |
| Greece | Chief of the National Defence General Staff | | Greek: Αρχηγός του Γενικού Επιτελείου Εθνικής Άμυνας |
| Hungary | Chief of the General Staff | | Hungarian: Vezérkari főnök |
| Iceland | Director of the Security and Defence Department | | Icelandic: Deildarstjóri öryggis- og varnarmálaskrifstofu |
| Italy | Chief of the Defence Staff | | Italian: Capo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa |
| Latvia | Commander of the National Armed Forces | | Latvian: Bruņoto spēku komandieris |
| Lithuania | Chief of Defence | | Lithuanian: Kariuomenės vadas |
| Luxembourg | Chief of Staff | Chief of Defence | French: Chef d'état-major German: Chef des Generalstabs |
| Montenegro | Chief of the General Staff | | Montenegrin: Начелник Генералштаба / Načelnik Generalštaba |
| Netherlands | Chief of Defence | | Dutch: Commandant der Strijdkrachten |
| North Macedonia | Chief of the General Staff | | Macedonian: Началник на Генералштабот |
| Norway | Chief of Defence | | Norwegian: Forsvarssjefen |
| Poland | Chief of the General Staff | | Polish: Szef Sztabu Generalnego |
| Portugal | Chief of the General Staff | | Portuguese: Chefe do Estado-Maior-General das Forças Armadas |
| Romania | Chief of Defence | Chief of the General Staff | Romanian: Șeful Statului Major General |
| Slovakia | Chief of the General Staff | | Slovak: Náčelník generálneho štábu |
| Slovenia | Chief of the General Staff | | Slovene: Načelnik Generalštaba |
| Spain | Chief of the Defence Staff | | Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa |
| Sweden | Supreme Commander | | Swedish: Överbefälhavaren |
| Turkey | Chief of the General Staff | Commander of the Armed Forces | Turkish: Genelkurmay Başkanı |
| United Kingdom | Chief of the Defence Staff | | |
| United States | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | | |
In 2018 Slovenia appointed the first female Major General Alenka Ermenc to hold such a position in the history of NATO and Slovenia.

## CHOD positions by non-NATO EU country

Within the EU member states that are not members of NATO, the following national positions are the CHOD positions.
| Country | Position | Term in national language used for the position |
| Austria | Chief of the General Staff | German: Chef des Generalstabes |
| Cyprus | Chief of the National Guard | Greek: Αρχηγοί Εθνικής Φρουράς |
| Ireland | Chief of Staff | Irish: Ceann Foirne na bhFórsaí Cosanta |
| Malta | Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta | Maltese: Kmandant tal-Forzi Armati ta’ Malta |

## Other Chief of Defence positions by (non-NATO and non-EU) country

Note that in many countries outside of NATO and EU, the concept of civilian control of the military is inapplicable. In some countries the minister of defence is often a senior military officer. However, the list below only lists CHOD equivalents and not defense ministers.
| Country | Position | Alternative translations | Term in national language used for the position |
| Algeria | Chief of Staff of the People's National Army | Chief of the Defence Staff | Arabic: رئيس أركان الجيش الوطني الشعبي |
| Argentina | Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | | Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto |
| Armenia | Chief of the General Staff | | Armenian: Գլխավոր շտաբի պետ |
| Australia | Chief of the Defence Force | | |
| Azerbaijan | Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces | | Azerbaijani: Silahlı Qüvvələri Baş Qərargah rəisi |
| Belarus | Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces | | Belarusian: Начальнік Генеральнага штаба Узброеных Сіл Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба Вооружённых Сил |
| Botswana | Commander of the Defence Force | | |
| Brazil | Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces | | Portuguese: Chefe do Estado Maior Conjunto das Forças Armadas |
| Chile | Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Defence | | Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto de la Defensa |
| China | Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission | Chief of General Staff Commanding General of the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department | Chinese: 中央军事委员会联合参谋部参谋长 |
| Colombia | General Commander of the Military Forces | | Spanish: Comandante General de las Fuerzas Militares |
| Ecuador | Chief of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces | | Spanish: Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas |
| Ethiopia | Chief of General Staff | | Amharic: ጦር ኃይሎች ጠቅላይ ሹም |
| Gambia | Chief of the Defence Staff | | |
| Georgia | Chief of General Staff | | Georgian: თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის უფროსი |
| Ghana | Chief of the Defence Staff | | |
| Guatemala | Chief of the General Staff | | Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor |
| India | Chief of Defence Staff | | Hindi: रक्षा प्रमुख |
| Indonesia | Commander of the National Armed Forces | | Indonesian: Panglima Tentara Nasional Indonesia |
| Iran | Chief of General Staff | | Persian: ستاد کل نیروهای مسلح |
| Iraq | Chief of the General Staff | | Arabic: رئاسة اركان الجيش |
| Israel | Chief of General Staff | | Hebrew: ראש המטה הכללי |
| Jamaica | Chief of Defence Staff | | |
| Japan | Chief of Staff, Joint Staff | | Japanese: 統合幕僚長 |
| Kazakhstan | Chief of the General Staff | | Kazakh: Бас штабының бастығы / Bas ştabynyñ bastyğy Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба |
| Kyrgyzstan | Chief of the General Staff | | Kyrgyz: Башкы штабынын башчысы Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба |
| Malaysia | Chief of Defence Forces | | Malay: Panglima Angkatan Tentera |
| Moldova | Chief of the General Staff | | Romanian: Șef al Marelui Stat Major |
| Monaco | Superior Commander of the Public Services | | French: Le Commandant supérieur de la Force publique |
| Myanmar | Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services | | Burmese: တပ်မတော်ကာကွယ်ရေးဦးစီးချုပ် |
| New Zealand | Chief of Defence Force | | |
| Nigeria | Chief of the Defence Staff | | |
| Nepal | Chief of Army Staff | | Nepali: प्रधानसेनापति |
| North Korea | Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army | | Korean: 조선인민군 총참모장 |
| Pakistan | Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee | | Urdu: صدرنشین مجلسِ مشترکہَ رؤسائے افواجِ پاکستان |
| Peru | Head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces | | Spanish: Jefe del Comando Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas |
| Philippines | Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces | | Tagalog: Hepe ng Sandatahang Lakas |
| Russia | Chief of the General Staff | | Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба |
| San Marino | Superior Commander of the Militias | | Italian: Comandante Superiore delle Milizie |
| Serbia | Chief of the General Staff | | Serbian: Начелник Генералштаба |
| Singapore | Chief of Defence Force | | Chinese: 三军总长 |
| Somalia | Chief of Armed Forces | | Somali: Taliyaha Xooga Qalabka |
| South Africa | Chief of the National Defence Force | | |
| South Korea | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | | Korean: 합동참모의장 |
| Switzerland | Chief of the Armed Forces | | French: Chef de l'Armée German: Chef der Armee Italian: Capo dell'Esercito Romansh: Schef da l'Armada |
| Syria | Chief of the General Staff | | Arabic: رئيس هيئة الأركان العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة |
| Taiwan | Chief of the General Staff | | Chinese: 參謀總長 |
| Tajikistan | Chief of the General Staff | | Tajik: Сардори Ситоди генералӣ Russian: Начальник Генерального штаба |
| Thailand | Chief of the Defence Forces | Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters | Thai: ผู้บัญชาการทหารสูงสุด |
| Ukraine | Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine | | Ukrainian: Головнокомандувач Збройних сил України |
| Uruguay | Chief of the Defence Staff | | Spanish: Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa |
| Vatican City | Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard | | German: Kommandant der Päpstlichen Schweizergarde French: Commandant de la Garde Suisse Pontificale Italian: Comandante della Guardia Svizzera Pontificia Latin: Praefecti Pontificalis Custodiae Helveticae |
| Vietnam | Chief of the Staff | Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army of Vietnam | Vietnamese: Tổng Tham mưu trưởng Quân đội Nhân dân |