| Defence Staff | |
|---|---|
| Forsvarsstaben | |
| Founded | 1 October 1950 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Denmark |
| Part of | Defence Command |
| Headquarters | Holmen Naval Base |
| Website | Official website |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of the Defence Staff | Lieutenant general Kenneth Pedersen |
The Danish Defence Staff (Danish : Forsvarsstaben) is a senior command authority within the Danish Defence, responsible for leadership, administration, and staff support.
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The Defense Staff is part of the Defense Command and supports the Chief of Defence with operational management and administration of the defense. There are four department within the Defense Staff: [1]
The Chief of the Defense Staff reports directly to the Chief of Defense and serves as his deputy. The person in question is also responsible for ensuring that the Armed Forces 'resources are utilized optimally, so that the Armed Forces' tasks are solved in the best possible way. The Chief of the Defense Staff, together with the Chief of Defense, constitutes the top management of the Defense.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Defence branch | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | Major general Einar M. Nordentoft (1896–1968) | 1 October 1950 | 30 September 1956 | 5 years, 365 days | Army | [2] | |
| 2 | Major general Poul Vilhelm Hammershøy (1905–1961) | 1 October 1956 | 30 September 1959 | 2 years, 364 days | Army | [3] | |
| 3 | Major general Erik Rasmussen (1903–1972) | 1 October 1959 | 30 September 1962 | 2 years, 364 days | Air force | [4] | |
| 4 | Major general Svend Børge Reimert Helsø (1910–1975) | 1 October 1962 | 1970 | 7–8 years | Army | [5] | |
| 5 | Major general Eigil Wolff (1914–1983) | 1970 | 30 November 1972 | 2–3 years | Army | ||
| 6 |  | Major general Knud Jørgensen (1919–1990) | 1 December 1972 | 30 April 1977 | 4 years, 150 days | Air force | [6] |
| 7 | Lieutenant general Gunnar Kjær Kristensen (1928–2001) | 1 May 1977 | 30 April 1983 | 5 years, 364 days | Army | [7] | |
| 8 |  | Vice admiral Sven Egil Thiede (1924–2005) | 1 May 1983 | 30 November 1985 | 2 years, 213 days | Navy | [8] |
| 9 |  | Lieutenant general Jørgen Lyng (born 1934) | 1 December 1985 | 31 October 1989 | 3 years, 334 days | Army | [9] |
| 10 |  | Vice admiral Jørgen Garde (1939–1996) | 1 November 1989 | 31 March 1996 | 6 years, 151 days | Navy | [10] |
| 11 |  | Lieutenant general Christian Hvidt (born 1942) | 1 April 1996 | 20 August 1996 | 141 days | Air force | [11] |
| 12 | Lieutenant general Ove Høegh-Guldberg Hoff (born 1942) | 20 August 1996 | 2000 | 3–4 years | Army | [11] | |
| 13 |  | Lieutenant general Hans Jesper Helsø (born 1942) | 27 September 2000 | 1 October 2002 | 2 years, 4 days | Army | |
| 14 |  | Vice admiral Tim Sloth Jørgensen (born 1951) | 1 October 2002 | 31 July 2008 | 5 years, 304 days | Navy | [12] |
| 15 |  | Lieutenant general Bjørn Bisserup (born 1960) | 31 July 2008 | 1 October 2014 | 6 years, 62 days | Army | [13] |
| 16 |  | Lieutenant general Per Ludvigsen (born 1957) | 1 October 2014 | 1 November 2017 | 3 years, 31 days | Army | [13] |
| 17 |  | Lieutenant general Max A.L.T. Nielsen (born 1963) | 1 November 2017 | 1 September 2019 | 1 year, 304 days | Air force | [14] [15] |
| – |  | Rear admiral Frank Trojahn (born 1963) Acting | 1 September 2019 | 15 November 2019 | 75 days | Navy | [15] |
| 18 |  | Lieutenant general Kenneth Pedersen (born 1968) | 15 November 2019 | Incumbent | 4 years, 343 days | Army | [15] |
Olaf II of Denmark was King of Denmark as Olaf II from 1376 and King of Norway as Olav IV from 1380 until his death. Olaf was the son of Queen Margaret I of Denmark and King Haakon VI of Norway, and grandson of kings Magnus IV of Sweden and Valdemar IV of Denmark.
Brigadegeneral is the Germanic variant of Brigadier general.
The Chief of Defence of Denmark, acting under the statutory responsibility of the Minister of Defence, is the chief of defence and commander of the Royal Danish Army, the Royal Danish Navy and the Royal Danish Air Force. The Chief of Defence is the principal military adviser to the Minister of Defence and the head of the Defence Command.
The following table lists the ranks and insignia of officers in NATO air forces.
The Admiral Danish Fleet (ADMDANFLT) was the operationally supreme organisation of the Royal Danish Navy between 1 January 1991 and 30 September 2014.
A Senior sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many nations. It is usually placed above sergeant.
Admiral Erhard Jørgen Carl Qvistgaard (1898–1980) was a Danish admiral who was the first Danish Chief of Defence, from 1950 to 1962, and also Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1953 to 1954.
Christian Conrad Sophus, Count Danneskiold-Samsøe, normally referred to as Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe, was member of the Danish comital family Danneskiold-Samsøe, landowner and administrative leader of the Royal Danish Theatre.
Operation Safari was a German military operation during World War II aimed at disarming the Danish military. It led to the scuttling of the Royal Danish Navy and the internment of all Danish soldiers. Danish forces suffered 23–26 dead, around 40–50 injured, and 4,600 captured. Of the roughly 9,000 Germans involved, one was killed and eight wounded, although the number may have been 11 killed and 59 wounded.
The Chief of the Royal Danish Navy is the professional head of the Royal Danish Navy.
The Chief of the Army Command is the service chief of the Royal Danish Army. The current chief is Major general Peter Harling Boysen.
The Chief of the Air Command is the topmost authority in the Royal Danish Air Force. It can trace its history back to the creation of the Chief for the Naval Air Service, in 1913. The current chief of the Air Force is Major general Jan Dam.
The Army Staff is the name of various military staffs in the Royal Danish Army. At multiple times it was the highest authority within the Army.
Trine Bramsen is a Danish politician of the Social Democrats, who has been a member of the Folketing since 2011. She served as minister of transport from February to December 2022 and minister of defence from 2019 until February 2022.
Major General Hans-Christian Mathiesen is a former Chief of the Royal Danish Army, who was removed from his post following accusations of nepotism. In May 2020 he was found guilty of negligence, abuse of office, and passing on confidential information.
The Eastern Regional Command was the overall command of all Royal Danish Army units on Zealand. It was split into four military regions and was responsible for regional defence. In 1990, the Regional Commands were disbanded and control was collected at the newly created Army Operational Command.
The General Staff of Denmark was a top authority in the Royal Danish Army and was responsible for war preparations, studies and planning.
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