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 |
.svg) 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 |
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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 |
.svg) 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 | Alternative translations | 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.
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Notes
- This is provided when the term given on NATO's homepage is different from the one used in the Misplaced Pages entry for the position.
References
- NATO: Chief of the General Staff of Belgium, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of the General Staff Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, accessed on October 30, 2008
- Estonian Defence Forces: Commander, accessed on November 12, 2014
- "NATO: Chief of Defence – Germany". NATO. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- "The Chief of Defence". bmvg.de. The German Government. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- NATO: Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of Defence Staff Hungarian Army, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Director General of the Directorate for Degfence, accessed on December 15, 2022
- Iceland presents a special case since the country does not have its own armed forces as such. Thus, a civilian at the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs fulfills the role of CHOD in relation to NATO.
- NATO: Chief of Defense Staff of Italy, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of Defence of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of Staff of the Luxembourg Army, accessed on October 30, 2008
- "Chief of Defence | Ministry of Defence". Archived from the original on 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2012-11-21., accessed on November 20, 2012
- NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of Defence of Portugal, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of Defence of Romania, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Chief of Defence Staff of Spain, accessed on October 30, 2008
- NATO: Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, accessed on October 30, 2008
- "Nato state appoints first female head of armed forces". BBC News. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- "Slovenia Appoints First Female Army Chief". VOA news. Reuters. 27 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
- "Slovenia Appoints First Female Head of Armed Forces". Sentinelassam.com. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
- "Website unavailable". www.afm.gov.mt. Retrieved February 16, 2014.