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Chief of the Armed Forces (Switzerland)

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Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces
Chef der Armee (German)
Chef de l'armée (French)
Capo dell’esercito (Italian)
Incumbent
Lt Gen Thomas Süssli
since 1 January 2020
Federal Department of Defence
AbbreviationCdA
Reports toHead of the Department of Defence
PrecursorGeneral Staff
Formation1 January 2004
First holderLt Gen Christophe Keckeis
WebsiteOfficial website

The Chief of the Armed Forces (German: Chef der Armee (CdA); French: Chef de l'armée; Italian: Capo dell’esercito) commands the Swiss Armed Forces in time of peace and reports directly to the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports and to the Swiss Federal Council. The position was established in 2004.

History

Until the end of 2003, the highest level of command in the Swiss Armed forces was held by the General Staff, led by the Chief of the General Staff as primus inter pares. Together with other reforms of the Armed Forces (German: Armee XXI), the position of Chief of the Armed Forces was introduced. Christophe Keckeis became the first Chief of the Armed Forces, having already served as Chief of the General Staff since January 2003.

General information

The Chief of the Armed Forces is elected by the Federal Council and holds the rank of Korpskommandant (three-star rank, equivalent to Lieutenant General). He leads the Swiss Armed Forces only in time of peace. Only in time of war, a commander-in-chief of the rank of General (four-star rank) is elected by the Federal Assembly.

List of Chiefs of the Armed Forces

No. Portrait Chief of Defence Took office Left office Time in office Defence branch Ref.
1
Christophe Keckeis
Keckeis, ChristopheLt Gen.
Christophe Keckeis
(1945–2020)		1 January 200431 December 20073 years, 364 daysArmy–
2
Roland Nef
Nef, RolandLt Gen.
Roland Nef
(born 1959)		1 January 200821 July 2008202 daysArmy[1]
–
André Blattmann
Blattmann, AndréLt Gen.
André Blattmann
(born 1956)
Acting		21 July 200828 February 2009222 daysAir Force–
3
André Blattmann
Blattmann, AndréLt Gen.
André Blattmann
(born 1956)		1 March 200931 December 20167 years, 305 daysAir Force–
4
Philippe Rebord
Rebord, PhilippeLt Gen.
Philippe Rebord
(born 1957)		1 January 201731 December 20192 years, 364 daysArmy[2]
[3][4]
5
Thomas Süssli
Suessli, ThomasLt Gen.
Thomas Süssli
(born 1966)		1 January 2020Incumbent4 years, 322 daysArmy[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Government accepts army chief's notice". Swissinfo. August 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  2. ^ "Switzerland Appoints New Head of Armed Forces". Swissinfo. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Head of Swiss army quits for health reasons". Swissinfo. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  4. ^ Neuhaus, Christina (4 April 2019). "Der Chef der Schweizer Armee, Philippe Rebord, tritt zurück – VBS-Chefin betont Einvernehmlichkeit". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Switzerland: The new head of the army has been inducted – Switzerland". En24 News. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Armée: le chef de l'armée Philippe Rebord passe le relais à son successeur Thomas Süssli au Château de Chillon". Le Nouvelliste. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
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