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Professional head of the British Armed Forces From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The chief of the defence staff is based at the Ministry of Defence and works alongside the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the ministry's senior civil servant. The Chief of Defence is the highest ranking officer to currently serve in the armed forces.
Chief of the Defence Staff | |
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![]() Badge of the Ministry of Defence | |
![]() Flag of the Chief of the Defence Staff | |
Ministry of Defence British Armed Forces | |
Abbreviation | CDS |
Member of | Defence Council Chiefs of Staff Committee |
Reports to | The Prime Minister Secretary of State for Defence |
Nominator | Secretary of State for Defence |
Appointer | The Monarch[1] on advice of the Prime Minister |
Formation | 1 January 1959 |
First holder | Marshal of the RAF Sir William Dickson |
Deputy | Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff |
Website | Official Website |
Constitutionally, the sovereign is the de jure commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. However, in practice, the Government of the United Kingdom de facto exercises the royal prerogative and provides direction of the Armed Forces through the Ministry of Defence's Defence Council, of which the chief of the defence staff is a member.
The current chief of the defence staff is Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, who succeeded General Sir Nick Carter in November 2021. Chiefs of the defence staff are appointed on the recommendation of the secretary of state for defence to the prime minister, before being approved by the monarch.[1][2]
The Chief of the Defence Staff's responsibilities include:
The CDS is supported by a deputy, the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, who since 1997 (when the CDS post was downgraded) has been of equivalent rank but is ordinarily from a different service to the CDS. There are also several Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (DCDS) posts who support the VCDS. As of 2015 these are:[4]
The CDS maintains a close working relationship with the Ministry of Defence's Permanent Under Secretary, who is the Ministry's senior civil servant, and they both report directly to the Secretary of State for Defence. The CDS focuses on military operations and strategy while the Permanent Under Secretary's remit concerns administrative and financial policy.
Additionally, the CDS is supported by a Strategic Advisory Panel.[5]
The post was created in 1959 to reflect the new concept of joint operations that had come to the fore in the Second World War. The first incumbent was Marshal of the RAF Sir William Dickson. Prior to the creation of the post, he had served as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, from 1956 onwards. Before 1956, although no permanent post of chairman existed, the three service chiefs took it in turn to act as chairman at meetings. From the post's inception until the mid-to-late 1970s, CDS appointments were granted on a strict rotational basis between the three services. The first break in rotational order was precipitated by the death of Marshal of the RAF Sir Andrew Humphrey.
From the creation of the post until 1997, the Chief of the Defence Staff was appointed to the highest rank in the respective branch of the British armed forces to which he belonged, being an admiral of the Fleet, a field marshal or marshal of the Royal Air Force, (NATO rank grade OF-10). However, with the post-Cold War reduction in the manpower strength of the British Armed Forces and the additional reasoning that no new "Five-star" appointments are to be made in peacetime, since 1997 the Chief of the Defence Staff has kept the rank of admiral, general or air chief marshal, (NATO OF-9), which he invariably already holds. However, during the 2010s Guthrie, Boyce, Walker and Stirrup were honorarily promoted to their respective services' senior ranks, sometime after they had each stepped down as CDS. Although there is no policy against a Royal Marines officer being appointed, few officers in the Corps attain a high enough rank to be considered for the post. However, in 2016, a Royal Marine officer Gordon Messenger was promoted to the rank of general and appointed as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff.
Royal Navy | British Army | Royal Air Force | Combined | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1645 | N/A | Commander-in-Chief of the Forces (1645/60–1904, intermittently) | The RAF was formed in 1918 | |
1689 | Senior Naval Lord (1689–1771) | |||
1771 | First Naval Lord (1771–1904) | |||
1904 | First Sea Lord (1904–1917) | Chief of the General Staff (1904–1909) | Inter-service co-ordination was carried out from 1904 by the Committee of Imperial Defence under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister | |
1909 | Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1909–1964) | |||
1917 | First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1917–present) | |||
1918 | Chief of the Air Staff (1918–present) | |||
1923 | Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (1923–1959, held by one of the service heads until 1956) | |||
1959 | Chief of the Defence Staff (1959–present) | |||
1964 | Chief of the General Staff (1964–present) |
No. | Picture | Chief of the Defence Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Life peerage | Ref. |
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1 | Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Dickson GCB, KBE, DSO, AFC (1898–1987) Previously served as the Chief of the Air Staff | 1 January 1959 | 12 July 1959 | 192 days | ![]() | None | [6] | |
2 | Admiral of the Fleet The Earl Mountbatten of Burma KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, ADC (1900–1979) Previously served as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff | 13 July 1959 | 15 July 1965 | 6 years, 2 days | ![]() | Hereditary peerage, Earl Mountbatten of Burma | [7] | |
3 | Field Marshal Sir Richard Hull GCB, DSO (1907–1989) Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff | 16 July 1965 | 4 August 1967 | 2 years, 19 days | ![]() | None | [8] | |
4 | Sir Charles Elworthy GCB, CBE, DSO, LVO, DFC, AFC (1911–1993) Previously served as the Chief of the Air Staff | Marshal of the Royal Air Force4 August 1967 | 8 April 1971 | 3 years, 247 days | ![]() | Baron Elworthy | [9][10] | |
5 | Sir Peter Hill-Norton GCB (1915–2004) Previously served as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff | Admiral of the Fleet9 April 1971 | 21 October 1973 | 2 years, 195 days | ![]() | Baron Hill-Norton | [11] | |
6 | Sir Michael Carver GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC (1915–2001) Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff | Field Marshal21 October 1973 | 24 October 1976 | 3 years, 3 days | ![]() | Baron Carver | [12][13] | |
7 | Sir Andrew Humphrey GCB, OBE, DFC, AFC & Two Bars (1921–1977) Previously served as the Chief of the Air Staff | Marshal of the Royal Air Force24 October 1976 | 24 January 1977 † | 92 days | ![]() | None | [14] | |
- | Sir Edward Ashmore GCB, DSC (1919–2016) Acting Previously served as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff | Admiral of the Fleet9 February 1977 | 30 August 1977 | 202 days | ![]() | None | [15] | |
8 | Sir Neil Cameron GCB, CBE, DSO, DFC (1920–1985) Previously served as the Chief of the Air Staff | Marshal of the Royal Air Force31 August 1977 | 31 August 1979 | 2 years | ![]() | Baron Cameron of Balhousie | [16][17] | |
9 | Sir Terence Lewin GCB, LVO, DSC (1920–1999) Previously served as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff | Admiral of the Fleet1 September 1979 | 30 September 1982 | 3 years, 29 days | ![]() | Baron Lewin | [18] | |
10 | Sir Edwin Bramall GCB, OBE, MC (1923–2019) Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff [lower-alpha 1] | Field Marshal1 October 1982 | 31 October 1985 | 3 years, 30 days | ![]() | Baron Bramall | [19] | |
11 | Sir John Fieldhouse GCB, GBE (1928–1992) Previously served as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff | Admiral of the Fleet1 November 1985 | 9 December 1988 | 3 years, 38 days | ![]() | Baron Fieldhouse | [20] | |
12 | Sir David Craig GCB, OBE (born 1929) Previously served as the Chief of the Air Staff | Marshal of the Royal Air Force9 December 1988 | 1 April 1991 | 2 years, 113 days | ![]() | Baron Craig of Radley | [21] | |
13 | Sir Richard Vincent GBE, KCB, DSO (1931–2018) [lower-alpha 1] | Field Marshal2 April 1991 | 31 December 1992 | 1 year, 273 days | ![]() | Baron Vincent of Coleshill | [22] | |
14 | Sir Peter Harding GCB (1933–2021) Previously served as the Chief of the Air Staff [lower-alpha 1] | Marshal of the Royal Air Force31 December 1992 | 13 March 1994 | 1 year, 72 days | ![]() | None | [23] | |
15 | Sir Peter Inge GCB (1935–2022) Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff | Field Marshal15 March 1994 | 1 April 1997 | 3 years, 17 days | ![]() | Baron Inge | [24] | |
16 | General Sir Charles Guthrie GCB, LVO, OBE (born 1938) Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff | 2 April 1997 | 15 February 2001 | 3 years, 319 days | ![]() | Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank | [25] | |
17 | Admiral Sir Michael Boyce GCB, OBE (1943–2022) Previously served as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff | 16 February 2001 | 2 May 2003 | 2 years, 75 days | ![]() | Baron Boyce | [26] | |
18 | Sir Michael Walker GCB, CMG, CBE (born 1944) Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff | General2 May 2003 | 28 April 2006 | 2 years, 361 days | ![]() | Baron Walker of Aldringham | [27] | |
19 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Graham "Jock" Stirrup GCB, AFC (born 1949) Previously served as the Chief of the Air Staff | 28 April 2006 | 29 October 2010 | 4 years, 184 days | ![]() | Baron Stirrup of Marylebone | [28] | |
20 | Sir David Richards GCB, CBE, DSO (born 1952) Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff | General29 October 2010 | 18 July 2013 | 2 years, 271 days | ![]() | Baron Richards of Herstmonceux | [29][30] | |
21 | Sir Nicholas Houghton GCB, CBE, ADC (born 1954) [lower-alpha 1] | General18 July 2013 | 14 July 2016 | 2 years, 362 days | ![]() | Baron Houghton of Richmond | [31][32] | |
22 | Sir Stuart Peach GBE, KCB, ADC, DL (born 1956) [lower-alpha 1] | Air Chief Marshal14 July 2016 | 11 June 2018 | 1 year, 332 days | ![]() | Baron Peach | [33] | |
23 | Sir Nicholas Carter GCB, CBE, DSO (born 1959) Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff | General11 June 2018 | 30 November 2021 | 3 years, 172 days | ![]() | None | [34] | |
24 | Sir Tony Radakin KCB, ADC (born 1965) Previously served as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff | Admiral30 November 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 263 days | ![]() | Incumbent | [35] |
Customarily, former Chiefs of Defence Staff receive a life peerage on retirement,[lower-alpha 2] sitting in the House of Lords as non-political crossbench peers. Their appointment is recommended not via the House of Lords Appointments Commission as is normal procedure, but is instead nominated directly to The King by the Prime Minister, who elects to nominate "a limited number of distinguished public servants" on retirement for a peerage. Sir Jock Stirrup was introduced to the House of Lords on 1 February 2010 as Baron Stirrup of Marylebone in the City of Westminster.[29][36][37]