Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier. This position is not to be confused with Captain General Royal Marines, the ceremonial head. The Commandant General Royal Marines is the counterpart to the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
General John Nicholas Reynolds Houghton, Baron Houghton of Richmond, is a retired senior British Army officer and former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) of the British Armed Forces. He was appointed CDS in July 2013, following the retirement of General Sir David Richards. He served as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, the Green Howards in Northern Ireland during The Troubles and later became Commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland. He deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq during the Iraq War. Later, he became Chief of Joint Operations at Permanent Joint Headquarters and served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff until assuming the position of CDS. Houghton retired from the British Army in July 2016, and was succeeded as CDS by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach.
Major General Garry Stuart Robison, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant-General Royal Marines and Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces from 2006 to 2009.
General Sir Gordon Kenneth Messenger, is a retired senior Royal Marines officer who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff from May 2016 to May 2019. As a colonel he commanded 40 Commando during the Iraq War, and led the Commando in the assault on the Al-Faw Peninsula. He served as British Commander of Task Force Helmand, during the 3 Commando Brigade deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Operation Herrick IX from 2008 to 2009. After his retirement, Messenger has held ceremonial positions, including Lord High Steward at the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.
General Sir Richard Lawson Barrons, is a retired British Army officer. He was Commander Joint Forces Command from April 2013 until his retirement in April 2016.
Lieutenant General Sir James Benjamin "Jim" Dutton, is a retired Royal Marines officer and former Governor of Gibraltar. He held various staff positions in his early career, before commanding 40 Commando. As a brigadier, he held two high-level staff posts—the first at the Ministry of Defence in London, as Director of NATO policy, and the second as a British liaison to The Pentagon shortly after the September 11 attacks, where he was involved in the planning for the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan.
Lieutenant General Sir George Pemberton Ross Norton, is a retired British Army officer. He was the UK Military Representative to NATO from 2016 to 2020, and has served as the Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies since 2020.
Lieutenant General Timothy Paul Evans, is a retired British Army officer, who served as Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 2012 to 2013 and then commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps from 2013 to 2016.
Major General Francis Hedley Roberton "Buster" Howes, is a former Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from February 2010 to December 2011.
Lieutenant General Edward Grant Martin Davis, is a former senior Royal Marines officer. He was Commandant General Royal Marines from December 2011 to June 2014, and the Deputy Commander of NATO's Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey, from 2014 to 2015. He was Governor of Gibraltar from 2016 to 2020.
Lieutenant General Sir David Andrew Capewell, is a retired Royal Marines officer who served as Chief of Joint Operations from 2011 to 2015.
Vice Admiral Sir Simon Jonathan Woodcock, is a retired Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord from 2015 to 2018.
Major General Martin Linn Smith, is a former senior Royal Marines officer who served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2014 to 2016. He was previously commander of 3 Commando Brigade, and before that Commanding Officer of 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group and Deputy Commander of 3 Commando Brigade. Smith is currently a non-executive adviser of Texo Group.
Major General Julian Richard Free is a retired British Army officer who served as commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College.
General Sir Patrick Nicholas Yardley Monrad Sanders, is a senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the General Staff from 13 June 2022 until 15 June 2024.
Lieutenant General Sir Robert Andrew Magowan, is a senior Royal Marines officer who serves as the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since May 2022. He previously served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2016 to 2017 and again from 2021 to 2022.
Lieutenant General Douglas McKenzie Chalmers, is a former British Army officer who served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff from 2018 to 2021. He is currently Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
General Gwyn Jenkins, is a senior Royal Marines officer, who served as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff from August 2022 to June 2024. He was concurrently appointed Commandant General Royal Marines in November 2022.
Major General Matthew John Holmes, was a British senior Royal Marines officer who served for more than three decades in the armed forces. After studying economics at the University of Exeter, he joined the Royal Marines and undertook early tours of duty to Norway, the Far East, Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe. After being deployed to Kosovo and Afghanistan, he commanded 42 Commando Royal Marines from 2006 to 2008 and was awarded a Distinguished Service Order for his leadership in Afghanistan, as well as the United States Legion of Merit for his exceptionally meritorious service. Holmes served as Commandant General Royal Marines from 2019 to 2021.
Major-General Richard John Cantrill, is a senior Royal Marines officer. In 2024 he became Commander Operations, the first Royal Marine to hold the post.
