The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army (C-LAS,Dutch:Commandant Landstrijdkrachten) is the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Netherlands Army and reports directly to the Chief of Defence. The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army is statutorily a three-star general. The current C-LAS is Lieutenant General Jan Swillens.
The position of C-LAS was created on 5 September 2005 as part of a thorough reorganization within the Dutch Ministry of Defence in which the staffs (military and civilian) were reduced in size and an entire organizational layer was dropped. prior to the reorganization the commanding officer of the Army was the "Bevelhebber der Landstrijdkrachten" (abbreviated BLS;the term also translates into English as Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army).
No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | Term of office | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
1 | ![]() | Lieutenant general Peter van Uhm (born 1955) | 5 September 2005 | 13 March 2008 | 2 years,190 days | |
2 | ![]() | Lieutenant general Rob Bertholee (born 1955) | 13 March 2008 | 25 October 2011 | 3 years,226 days | |
3 | ![]() | Lieutenant general Mart de Kruif (born 1958) | 25 October 2011 | 24 March 2016 | 4 years,151 days | |
4 | ![]() | Lieutenant general Leo Beulen (born 1960) | 24 March 2016 | 28 August 2019 | 3 years,157 days | [1] [2] |
5 | ![]() | Lieutenant general Martin Wijnen (born 1966) | 28 August 2019 | 8 march 2024 | 4 years,193 days | |
6 | ![]() | Lieutenant general Jan Swillens (born 1967) | 8 march 2024 | [3] |
The Netherlands Armed Forces are the military forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The armed forces consist of four service branches:the Royal Netherlands Navy,the Royal Netherlands Army,the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. The service branches are supplemented by various joint support organizations. In addition,local conscript forces exist on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao. These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps. The armed forces are part of the Ministry of Defence.
Petrus Jozef Sietse "Piet" de Jong was a Dutch politician and naval officer who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1967 to 1971. He was a member of the now-defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP),later merged into the current-day Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).
The Royal Netherlands Army is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814,its origins date back to 1572,when the Staatse Leger was raised making the Dutch standing army one of the oldest in the world. It fought in the Napoleonic Wars,World War II,the Indonesian War of Independence and the Korean War,as well as served with NATO on the Cold War frontiers in West Germany from the 1950s to the 1990s.
The Den Uyl cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch Government from 11 May 1973 until 19 December 1977. The cabinet was formed by the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA),the christian-democratic Catholic People's Party (KVP) and Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP),the progressive Political Party of Radicals (PPR) and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D'66) after the election of 1972. The cabinet was a Centre-left grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Labour Leader Joop den Uyl serving as Prime Minister. Prominent Catholic politician Dries van Agt,the Minister of Justice from the previous cabinet,served as Deputy Prime Minister until his resignation. Prominent Protestant politician Gaius de Gaay Fortman the Minister of the Interior assumed the office of Deputy Prime Minister on 8 September 1977.
Willem Johan Cornelis,Ridder Huijssen van Kattendijke was a career officer of the Royal Dutch Navy and a politician. As an officer,he reached the rank of Commander. He was Dutch Naval Minister from 1861 to 1866,and interim Dutch Foreign Minister in 1864.
The Military ranks of the Netherlands Armed Forces are the military insignia used by the Netherlands Armed Forces.
Korps Speciale Troepen was a Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) special forces unit that was established for deployment against the Indonesian revolutionaries during the Indonesian National Revolution. It was formed in 1948 with the Depot Speciale Troepen at its core and disbanded alongside the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in 1950,by which time it had been renamed to the Regiment Speciale Troepen. The DST consisted of about 570 men at its establishment in 1945 and had a precursor in the Korps Insulinde that conducted clandestine operations during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. In June 1949,250 men of the 1st Parachute Company were integrated into the Corps. The KST,which would reach a maximum strength of 1250 men,was composed of Dutch war volunteers (OVWs),Eurasians and native soldiers,including Moluccans. The present day Korps Commandotroepen of the Royal Netherlands Army is considered a continuation of the RST.
The Ministry of Defence is the Dutch ministry responsible for the armed forces of the Netherlands and veterans' affairs. The ministry was created in 1813 as the Ministry of War and in 1928 was combined with the Ministry of the Navy. After World War II in the ministries were separated again,in this period the Minister of War and Minister of the Navy were often the same person and the state secretary for the Navy was responsible for daily affairs of the Royal Netherlands Navy. In 1959 the ministries were merged once again. The ministry is headed by the Minister of Defence,currently Kajsa Ollongren,assisted by the Chief of the Defence,Onno Eichelsheim since April 2021.
Ton van Loon is a commander from the Netherlands. He is a Lieutenant General employed by NATO who took control of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),Regional Command South (RC-S) on November 1,2006,until May 1,2007. From April 13,2010,until September 25,2013,he commanded I. German/Dutch Corps. He is married and has two children.
Petrus Johannes Mathias "Peter" van Uhm is a retired Royal Netherlands Army general. He served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 17 April 2008 until 28 June 2012. He previously served as the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army from 5 September 2005 until 13 March 2008.
Mart de Kruif MSM is a retired Dutch Lieutenant-general in the Royal Netherlands Army who served as the 3rd Royal Netherlands Army untill his retirement in 2016. he was succeeded by Lieutenant general Leo Beulen
The Chief of Defence is the highest-ranking officer in the Netherlands Armed Forces and is the principal military advisor to the minister of defence. On behalf of the minister of defence,he is responsible for operational policy,strategic planning and for preparing and executing military operations carried out by the armed forces. The chief of defence is in charge of the central staff and is the direct commanding officer of all the commanders of the branches of the armed forces. In this capacity,the chief of defence directs all the activities of the Royal Netherlands Army,the Royal Netherlands Navy and Royal Netherlands Air Force. He is also in charge of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee,when it is operating under the guise of the minister of defence.
The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy (CZsk) is the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The CZsk reports directly to the Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff.
The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (C-LSK) is the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. He reports directly to the Chief of the Defence (CDS).
Vice admiral Matthieu Borsboom is a retired Royal Netherlands Navy officer whos served as the 3rd Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Admiral Benelux,and has served with the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Thomas Antonius Middendorp is a retired general of the Royal Netherlands Army. He served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 28 June 2012 until 3 October 2017. He previously served as the commander of Task Force Uruzgan part of the International Security Assistance Force from 2 February 2009 until 3 August 2009.
Oud Eik en Duinen is a cemetery in The Hague,the Netherlands,formerly called Eik en Duinen and also nicknamed "the Dutch Père-Lachaise". The cemetery is built around a chapel constructed around 1247 by William II of Holland in honor of his father,Floris IV,Count of Holland. This chapel was partially demolished in 1581,and in the 17th century the area was again used as a cemetery. When Eik en Duinen was full,a new cemetery,Nieuw Eykenduynen,was constructed in 1891 across the road,and since then the old cemetery is known as "Old" Eik en Duinen.
Martin Wijnen is a retired Dutch Lieutenant-general,who served as the 5th Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army before stepping down in 2024. before this Wijnen served as the Commander of 43 Mechanized Brigade
Onno Eichelsheim is a general in the Royal Netherlands Air Force serving as Chief of Defence of the Netherlands Armed Forces since 15 April 2021. Prior to his post,he served as the Vice Chief of Defence from 1 July 2019 to 8 March 2021.
Lieutenant general Jan Renger (Jan) Swillens is a Royal Netherlands Army officer and Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army since 2024.