Inspector General of the Bundeswehr
The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (German: Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr, GenInspBw), is the highest-ranking military position held by a commissioned officer on active duty in the Bundeswehr, the present-day armed forces of Germany.
| Inspector General of the Bundeswehr | |
|---|---|
| Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr | |
 Flag of the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr | |
 General Carsten Breuer since 17 March 2023 | |
| Federal Ministry of Defence | |
| Status | Active |
| Abbreviation | IGBW |
| Member of | Ministry of Defence Executive Group |
| Reports to | Federal Minister of Defence |
| Precursor | Oberkommando der Wehrmacht |
| Formation | 1 June 1957 |
| First holder | General Adolf Heusinger |
| Deputy |  Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr |
| Website | Official Website |
All Inspectors General have been of the rank of a (four-star) general or admiral, and they head the Führungsstab der Streitkräfte, the German Defence Staff within the Federal Ministry of Defence, and is the direct military advisor to the Federal Minister of Defence who, in peacetime according to the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, is the default holder of the supreme command authority (German: Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt) to ensure civilian control of the military.
The Inspector General is responsible for the overall military defense concept of the Bundeswehr, including the overall planning, preparation, as well as assessment of the whole Bundeswehr operations. [1] Subordinate to the Inspector General are the commanders of the branches of the Bundeswehr, the Inspector of the Army, Inspector of the Air Force, and Inspector of the Navy, and the commanders of the Joint Support Service and Joint Medical Service.
Title and translations
While official translations of the position is "Chief of Defence",[2] the German term "Generalinspekteur" – "Inspector General" – was specifically created to avoid the term of "Generalstabschef" ("Chief of General Staff") deemed historically compromised. When the Bundeswehr was created in 1955, many traditional military terms were considered inappropriate after the German Wehrmacht's conduct in World War II. Therefore, the Bundeswehr has no "General Staff", but the "Army Command" ("Kommando Heer").
List of officeholders
| No. | Portrait | Inspector General | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Federal Minister of Defence | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982) | 1 June 1957 | 31 March 1961 | 3 years, 303 days |  Land Force | Franz Josef Strauß | – | |
| 2 | General Friedrich Foertsch (1900–1976) | 1 April 1961 | 31 December 1963 | 2 years, 274 days | Land Force | Franz Josef Strauß Kai-Uwe von Hassel | – | |
| 3 | General Heinz Trettner (1907–2006) | 1 January 1964 | 25 August 1966 | 2 years, 236 days | Land Force | Kai-Uwe von Hassel | – | |
| 4 | General Ulrich de Maizière (1912–2006) | 25 August 1966 | 31 March 1972 | 5 years, 219 days | Land Force | Kai-Uwe von Hassel Gerhard Schröder Helmut Schmidt | – | |
| 5 | Admiral Armin Zimmermann (1917–1976) | 1 April 1972 | 30 November 1976 | 4 years, 243 days |  Navy | Georg Leber | – | |
| 6 | General Harald Wust (1921–2010) | 21 December 1976 | 11 December 1978 | 1 year, 355 days |  Air Force | Georg Leber | – | |
| 7 | General Jürgen Brandt (1922–2003) | 12 December 1978 | 31 March 1983 | 4 years, 109 days | Land Force | Hans Apel Manfred Wörner | – | |
| 8 | General Wolfgang Altenburg (1928–2023) | 1 April 1983 | 30 September 1986 | 3 years, 182 days | Land Force | Manfred Wörner | – | |
| 9 | Admiral Dieter Wellershoff (1933–2005) | 1 October 1986 | 30 September 1991 | 4 years, 364 days | Navy | Manfred Wörner Rupert Scholz Gerhard Stoltenberg | – | |
| 10 | General Klaus Naumann (born 1939) | 1 October 1991 | 8 February 1996 | 4 years, 130 days | Land Force | Gerhard Stoltenberg Volker Rühe | – | |
| 11 | General Hartmut Bagger (born 1938) | 8 February 1996 | 31 March 1999 | 3 years, 51 days | Land Force | Volker Rühe Rudolf Scharping | – | |
| 12 | General Hans-Peter von Kirchbach (born 1941) | 1 April 1999 | 30 June 2000 | 1 year, 90 days | Land Force | Rudolf Scharping | – | |
| 13 | General Harald Kujat (born 1942) | 1 July 2000 | 30 June 2002 | 1 year, 364 days | Air Force | Rudolf Scharping | – | |
| 14 | General Wolfgang Schneiderhan (born 1946) | 1 July 2002 | 26 November 2009 | 7 years, 148 days | Land Force | Rudolf Scharping Peter Struck Franz Josef Jung Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg | – | |
| – | Lieutenant General Johann-Georg Dora (born 1948) Acting | 27 November 2009 | 21 January 2010 | 55 days | Air Force | Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg | – | |
| 15 | General Volker Wieker (born 1954) | 21 January 2010 | 19 April 2018 | 8 years, 88 days | Land Force | Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Thomas de Maizière Ursula von der Leyen | – | |
| 16 | General Eberhard Zorn (born 1960) | 19 April 2018 | 17 March 2023 | 4 years, 332 days | Land Force | Ursula von der Leyen Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Christine Lambrecht Boris Pistorius | – | |
| 17 | General Carsten Breuer (born 1964) | 17 March 2023 | Incumbent | 222 days | Land Force | Boris Pistorius | – |
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References
- "The Chief of Defence". bmvg.de. Federal Ministry of Defence. 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
The Chief of Defence is the administrative superior of all the soldiers in the armed forces under his command. As both the military advisor to the Federal Government and the senior military representative of the Bundeswehr, he is a member of the Ministry of Defence Executive Group.
- "The Chief of Defence". bmvg.de. The German Government. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
External links
- List of Chiefs of Staff, Bundeswehr with personal data and photo (Official website of the Bundeswehr)
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