| 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, 193 days | Army | [15] |
The foreign policy of Denmark is based on its identity as a sovereign state in Europe, the Arctic and the North Atlantic. As such its primary foreign policy focus is on its relations with other nations as a sovereign state compromising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Denmark has long had good relations with other nations. It has been involved in coordinating Western assistance to the Baltic states.
The Admiral Danish Fleet (ADMDANFLT) was the operationally supreme organisation of the Royal Danish Navy between 1 January 1991 and 30 September 2014.
Events from the year 1886 in Denmark.
A Senior sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. 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.
The Royal Danish Navy ranks follows the NATO system of ranks and insignia, as does the rest of the Danish Defence. Outside this ranking system there are physicians, nurses and veterinarians, while priests and judicial personnel wear completely different insignia and are without rank.
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.
General elections were held in the Kingdom of Denmark on 1 November 2022, except in the Faroe Islands, where they were held on 31 October as 1 November was a national day of mourning for victims at sea. Of the 179 members of the Folketing, 175 were elected in Denmark proper, two in the Faroes and two in Greenland. The elections were called on 5 October following an ultimatum to the government by the Social Liberals due to the outcome of a report on the 2020 Danish mink cull by the Mink Commission, which was critical of the government. Voter turnout was 84% in Denmark, 48% in Greenland, and 71% in the Faroes, with a combined turnout of 84% for the realm as a whole.
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.
Jakob Ellemann-Jensen is a Danish former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark and Minister of Defence under Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen from 2022 to 2023. He led the Venstre party from 2019 to 2023.
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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