In English use, the term was first used during the
English Civil War.[2] A nation's
head of state (monarchical or republican) usually holds the position of commander-in-chief, even if effective executive power is held by a separate
head of government. In a
parliamentary system, the
executive branch is ultimately dependent upon the will of the
legislature; although the legislature does not issue orders directly to the armed forces and therefore does not control the military in any operational sense.
Governors-general and colonial governors are also often appointed commander-in-chief of the military forces within their territory.
A commander in chief is sometimes referred to as supreme commander, which is sometimes used as a specific term. The term is also used for military officers who hold such power and authority, not always through dictatorship, and as a subordinate (usually) to a head of state (see
Generalissimo). The term is also used for officers who hold authority over an individual
military branch,
special branch or within a
theatre of operations.[3]
Heads of state as commanders in chief
This includes heads of states who:
Are chief executives with the political mandate to undertake discretionary decision-making, including command of the armed forces.
Mostly ceremonial heads of state (constitutional monarchs, viceroys and presidents in parliamentary republics) with residual substantive reserve powers over the armed forces, acting under normal circumstances on the constitutional advice of chief executives with the political mandate to undertake discretionary decision-making.
Under part II, chapter III, article 99, subsections 12, 13, 14 and 15, the
Constitution of Argentina states that the
president of the Argentine Nation is the "Commander-in-chief of
all the armed forces of the Nation". It also states that the president is entitled to provide military posts in the granting of the jobs or grades of senior officers of the armed forces, and by itself on the battlefield; runs with its organization and distribution according to needs of the Nation and declares war and orders reprisals with the consent and approval of the
Argentine National Congress.[4]
The
Ministry of Defense is the government department that assists and serves the president in the management of the armed forces (
Army,
Navy and
Air Force).[5]
Australia
Under chapter II of section 68 titled Command of the naval and military forces, the
Constitution of Australia states that:
The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the
King's representative.[6]
The
Minister shall have the general control and administration of the Defence Force, and the powers vested in the
Chief of the Defence Force, the
Chief of Navy, the
Chief of Army and the
Chief of Air Force by virtue of section 9, and the powers vested jointly in the
Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force by virtue of section 9A, shall be exercised subject to and in accordance with any directions of the Minister.[7]
The commander-in-chief of
Bangladesh Armed Forces is the
president, although executive power and responsibility for national defense resides with the
prime minister. This is discharged through the
Ministry of Defence, headed by the minister of defence, which provides the policy framework and resources to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country.
The only exception was the first commander-in-chief, General
M. A. G. Osmani, during
Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, who was commander of all
Bangladesh Forces, reinstated to active duty by official BD government order, which after independence was gazetted in 1972. He retired on 7 April 1972 and relinquished all authority and duties to the president of Bangladesh.[8]
Belarus
The
president of Belarus is the Commander-in-Chief of the
Belarusian Armed Forces (
Belarusian: Галоўнакамандуючы Узброенымі Сіламі Рэспублікі Беларусь).[9] The Belarusian commander in chief has an official uniform befitting of the rank, which the president wears on official occasion and ceremonies in relation to the military. The role of commander in chief is laid out in Article 28 of the
Constitution of Belarus, which states that he/she has the authority to "appoint and dismiss the high command of the Armed Forces".[10]
Belgium
Article 167 of the
Constitution of Belgium designates the
king as the commander-in-chief. In practice, the
Chief of Defence is the head and commander of the
Belgian Armed Forces. He reports directly to the
Minister of Defence and is responsible for advising the Minister, for the implementation of defence policy and for the administration of the department.
The powers of command-in-chief over the
Canadian Armed Forces are vested in the
Canadian monarch,[12] and are delegated to the
governor general of Canada, who also uses the title Commander-in-Chief.[13] In this capacity, the governor general is entitled to the uniform of a general/flag officer, with the crest of the office and special cuff braid serving as rank insignia.
By constitutional convention, the Crown's prerogative powers over the armed forces and constitutional powers as commander-in-chief are exercised on the advice of the
prime minister and the rest of
Cabinet, the governing ministry that commands the confidence of the
House of Commons. According to the
National Defence Act, the
Minister of National Defence is responsible and accountable to the
Parliament of Canada for all matters related to national defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.[14]
Croatia
According to the
Croatian constitution, the
president of Croatia is the commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. There was originally a rank insignia and name for the position, known as "Vrhovnik". This was held by former President
Franjo Tudjman and was abolished after his death. In peace, the commander-in-chief exercises his command through the minister of defence. In war and in cases where the
minister of defence is not fulfilling orders, the commander-in-chief exercises his command directly through the chief of
General Staff.
Czechia
According to the
1992 constitution, the
president of the Czech Republic is the commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces according to Article 63(1)(c), and appoints and promotes generals under Article 63(1)(f). The president needs the
countersignature of the
prime minister for decisions concerning the above-mentioned provisions as per Articles 63(3–4), or otherwise, they are not valid. The prime minister may delegate to other ministers the right to countersign these decisions of the president. The political responsibility for the Armed Forces is borne by the
Government, which in Article 67 is defined as the "supreme body of executive power". According to Articles 39 & 43, the
Parliament must give consent to the dispatch of Czech military forces outside the territory of the Czech Republic.[15]
The
Ministry of Defence is the central authority of the state administration for the control of the Armed Forces.[16] The actual day-to-day management is vested in the chief of the general staff, the Czech
chief of defence equivalent.[17]
Denmark
The position of the
Danish monarch as the head of the military is deeply rooted in tradition. While the
1953 constitution does not explicitly designate the monarch as commander-in-chief; it is implicit, given the general provision in article 12 and the more specific wording of article 19 (2): "Except for purposes of defence against an armed attack upon the Realm or Danish forces, the King shall not use military force against any foreign state without the consent of the
Folketing. Any measure which the King may take in pursuance of this provision shall forthwith be submitted to the Folketing".[18]
However, when reading the Danish Constitution, it is important to bear in mind that the king in this context is understood by Danish jurists to be read as the government (consisting of the
prime minister and other ministers). This is a logical consequence of articles 12, 13 and 14, all of which in essence stipulates that the powers vested in the monarch can only be exercised through ministers, who are responsible for all acts. Thus, the Government, in effect, holds the supreme command authority implied in articles 12 and 19(2).[19]
According to the
Constitution, Article 128, Section II, Title IV, the
president is the head of foreign policy, the civil administration and the Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces, the
National Police and all other state's security agencies.[22]
Egypt
In
Egypt, the
president of the Republic holds the ceremonial title of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. A member of the government, usually defence minister, is commander-in-chief of the
Egyptian Armed Forces. The president is the only individual capable of declaring war. With the exception of
Mohamed Morsi, who briefly served as president from 2012 to 2013, all Egyptian presidents have been former military officers. During the
Yom Kippur War, the president played a major role at all levels of the planning of the war, and was, in a literal sense, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, giving direct orders to the commanders from the headquarters during the war as
field marshal of the
army,
marshal of the air force and air defence forces and admiral of the
navy.
main principles of the military defence of the realm
principles of the execution of the military defence
other military command matters with wide-ranging importance to the military activity or the military establishment
any other military command issue that he wishes to decide upon
Since the constitutional reform of 2000, the
minister of defence has the right to be present when the president uses his command powers, unless the matter is of immediate concern. In questions of strategic importance, the
prime minister has the same right.[23]: §32
The president commissions and promotes officers and decides on activating reservists for extraordinary service and on the mobilisation of the Defence Forces.[23]: §40 [24][25]: § 128.2 If
Parliament is not in session when a decision to mobilise is taken, it must be immediately convened.[25]: § 129 Declarations of a state of emergency (
Finnish: valmiustila, literally, "state of preparedness") and state of war (
Finnish: puolustustila, lit. "state of defence") are declared by a presidential decree, given after a motion by the government, which is then submitted to the Parliament for ratification.[26][27]
The president has, in a state of emergency, the right to transfer the position of the commander-in-chief to another Finnish citizen.[25]: § 129
In
France, the
President of the Republic is designated as "Chef des Armées" (literally "Chief of the Armies") under article 15 of the
Constitution; the officeholder is as such the supreme executive authority in military affairs. Article 16 provides the President with extensive
emergency powers.[28]
However, owing to the nature of the
semi-presidential system, the
Prime Minister also has key constitutional powers under article 21: "He shall be responsible for national defence" and has "power to make regulations and shall make appointments to civil and military posts".[28]
Since the reign of
Louis XIV, France has been strongly centralised. After crushing local nobles engaged in warlord-ism, the kings of France retained all authority with the help of able yet discreet Prime ministers (
Mazarin,
Richelieu).
The following
Third Republic was a parliamentary system, where the military authority was held by the
President of the Council of Ministers, head of government, although the President, head of state, retained ceremonial powers. During
World War I, the many visits to the trenches by the elder statesman
Georges Clemenceau impressed the soldiers and earned him the nickname Father of Victory (
French: Le Père de la Victoire).
The president exercises supreme command with accordance to the law. As commander in chief, the president has the power to declare war however they must subject to the approval of the
Parliament of India. The commander in chief also appoints the chiefs of each branch of the armed forces as well as the
Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee with the advice of the
Minister of Defence.
Whilst the constitution names the president as the de jure commander in chief, executive command authority is exercised de facto by the prime minister and their
Union Council of Ministers.
On 15 August 1947, each service was placed under its own commander-in-chief. In 1955, the three service chiefs were re-designated as the
chief of the Army staff (rank of
general), the
chief of the naval staff (rank of
vice admiral) and the
chief of the air staff (rank of
Air marshal) with the president as the supreme commander. The chief of the air staff was raised to the rank of
air chief marshal in 1965 and the chief of the naval staff raised to the rank of
admiral in 1968. Starting from 1 January 2020, all the three chiefs of staff report to the newly formed
chief of defence staff.
Indonesia
According to article 10 of the
Constitution of Indonesia, the
president of Indonesia holds the supreme command of the
Indonesian National Armed Forces. Day-to-day operations of the Armed Forces is handled by the
Commander of the Armed Forces (
Indonesian: Panglima TNI), a 4-star officer whom can be a general (
Army/
Marine), an admiral (
Navy), or an air chief marshal (
Air Force). The commander of the Armed Forces is appointed by the president from active chiefs of staff (
Army,
Navy, or
Air Force) and must get approval from the
House of Representatives. The chief of staff is also appointed by the president from senior military officers. The president as commander-in-chief also has authority in senior military officer mutation and promotion in tour of duty. The
minister of defense has responsibility to assist the president in defense issues and create policies about authorization use of military force, manage defense budget, etc. According to article 11 of the Constitution, For authorization use of military forces or declaration of war, the president must get approval from House of Representatives. The Commander of the Armed Forces gives recommendations to the minister of defense in creating national defense policies.
Iran
Before 1979, the
Shah was the commander-in-chief in Iran. After the inception of the Islamic Republic, the
president of Iran was initially appointed that task, with
Abolhassan Bani Sadr being the first commander-in-chief. However, Abolhassan Bani Sadr was impeached on 22 June 1981. It was after this event that the role of commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran was given to the
Supreme Leader of Iran.
The
Constitution of Italy, in article 87, states that the
President of the Republic:
"is the commander of the
armed forces and chairman of the supreme defense council constituted by law, although effective executive power and responsibility for national defence resides with the government headed by the
Prime Minister; the President declares war according to the decision of the
parliament".[34]
Kenya
Chapter 131 of the
Constitution of Kenya identifies the
president as the commander-in-chief of the
Kenya Defence Forces and the chairperson of the National Security Council.[35] There is a rank for the position. The president appoints a
chief of general staff, known as the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, who acts as the principal military adviser to the president and the National Security Council. The Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces is drawn from one of the branches of the Armed Forces, the
Kenya Army, the
Kenya Navy or the
Kenya Air Force.
The Federal Constitution establishes that the office of Supreme Commander is attached to the person of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Federation's head of state:
Federal Constitution, Article 41 - The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Federation.
The Federal Parliament passed the Federal Armed Forces Act to consolidate in one law all regulations that govern the three services ( Army, Navy, and Air Force ). It establishes the function and duties of the Federal Head of State in the capacity as Supreme Commander.
Both the Organic Law of the Mexican Army and Air Force and the Organic Law of the Mexican Navy clearly state the President of the Republic is "Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces". The President is ex officio the only five-star general of Mexico.[37][38]
The
governor-general of New Zealand serves as the commander-in-chief of New Zealand and is constitutionally the supreme authority in defence matters in New Zealand.[39] In practice however, the position of the commander-in-chief is ceremonial, with the governor-general primarily serving as a "patron of the New Zealand Defence Force".[40] The governor-general exercises their authority as commander-in-chief on the advice of the minister of defence or other ministers of the
New Zealand Government.[39][41]
The
Letter Patents 1983 consolidated the roles of governor-general and commander-in-chief into one office, with its compounded title being the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief.[42] The governor-general's is statutorily defined in the Defence Act 1990.[43] Sections five and six of the Defence Act 1990 outlines the governor-general's authority to raise and maintain armed forces.[41]
Harald V, King of
Norway, officially retains executive power. Article 25 of the constitution states: "The King is commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the realm"
However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the
Monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. Accordingly, the Monarch is commander-in-chief of the
Norwegian Armed Forces, and serves as chief diplomatic official abroad and as a symbol of unity.
In Poland, the
President is Commander-in-Chief of the
Polish Armed Forces. However, the art. 134 ust. 4 of the constitution states:
The President of the Republic, for a period of war, shall appoint the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on request of the Prime Minister. He may dismiss the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in accordance with the same procedure. The authority of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, as well as the principle of his subordination to the constitutional organs of the Republic of Poland, shall be specified by statute.
In the Portuguese military parlance, the term "Commander-in-Chief" (in Portuguese: comandante-em-chefe or simply comandante-chefe) refers to the unified military commander of all the land, naval and air forces in a theater of operations.
Article 60 of the
Basic Law of Saudi Arabia states: "The
King is the commander-in-chief of all the Military Forces. He appoints officers and puts an end to their duties in accordance with the law."
Article 61 further states: "The King declares a state of emergency, general mobilization and war, and the law defines the rules for this."
Lastly, Article 62 states: "If there is a danger threatening the safety of the Kingdom or its territorial integrity, or the security of its people and its interests, or which impedes the functioning of the state institutions, the King may take urgent measures in order to deal with this danger And if the King considers that these measures should continue, he may then implement the necessary regulations to this end."
Serbia
In accordance with the law, the
president of Serbia is the commander-in-chief of Armed Forces and in command of the military. He appoints, promotes and recalls officers of the
Army of Serbia.[50]
Slovenia
In Slovenia, the commander-in-chief is formally the
president of Slovenia. In peacetime, the role of commander in chief is usually assumed by the minister of defence.
In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, the Commander-in-Chief and the Supreme Authority on all military matters is the
President of South Korea.
Spain
As with most remaining European monarchies, the position of the Spanish monarch as the nominal head of the armed forces is deeply rooted in tradition.
The king regularly chairs sessions of the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of staff and the individual general staffs of each branch of the Armed Forces in his capacity as supreme commander.
All promotions to military rank and positions in the high command of the armed forces are made by Royal decree signed by the king and the minister of defense
However, article 64 require that all official acts of the King must be
countersigned, by the
President of the Government or other
competent minister, for them to become valid. This counter/signature is used to limit a possible abuse of power by any single individual.
This constitutional provision can and has been made the subject of an exception in crisis situations.
In 1981 the king as supreme commander of the armed forces assumed direct command in order to put down a
military coup attempt. All members of the government were at that time trapped/held hostage in Parliament and were unable to counter sign the kings orders. This did not however result in those orders being ruled unenforceable or unconstitutional. The coup collapsed after the king ordered all army units to leave the streets and return to their barracks. Furthermore, article 97 stipulates that;
The
Government shall conduct domestic and foreign policy, civil and military administration and the defence of the State[52]
No provision in the constitution requires the king/government to seek approval from the
Cortes Generales before sending the armed forces abroad.[52]
Since 1984, the
chief of the defence staff is the professional head of the armed forces and, under the authority of the
minister of defence, is responsible for military operations and military organisation.
Sri Lanka
As head of state, the
president of Sri Lanka, is nominally the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The
National Security Council, chaired by the president is the authority charged with formulating and executing defence policy for the nation. The highest level of military headquarters is the
Ministry of Defence, since 1978 except for a few rare occasions the president retained the portfolio defence, thus being the minister of defence. The ministry and the armed forces have been controlled by the during these periods by either a
minister of state,
deputy minister for defence, and of recently the
permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence. Prior to 1978 the
prime minister held the portfolio of minister of defence and external affairs, and was supported by a
parliamentary secretary for defence and external affairs.
The "Head of the Thai Armed Forces" (
Thai: จอมทัพไทย;
RTGS: Chom Thap Thai) is a position vested in the
Thai monarch,[a] who as sovereign and head of state is the commander-in-chief of the
Royal Thai Armed Forces.[54]
Turkey
The
President of Turkey has the constitutional right to represent the Supreme Military Command of the
Turkish Armed Forces, on behalf of the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and to decide on the mobilization of the Turkish Armed Forces, to appoint the chief of the general staff, to call the
National Security Council to meet, to preside over the National Security Council, to proclaim martial law or state of emergency, and to issue decrees having the force of law, upon a decision of the Council of Ministers meeting under his/her chairmanship. With all these issues above written in the
Constitution of Turkey, the executive rights are given to the president of the Republic of Turkey to be represented as the commander-in-chief of the nation.
The
British monarch is the "
Head of the British Armed Forces"[55] and has also been described as "Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces".[56] The
prime minister (acting with the support of the
Cabinet) makes the key decisions on the use of the armed forces.[57][58] The King, however, remains the ceremonial "ultimate authority" of the military, with officers and personnel swearing
allegiance only to the monarch.[59]
The term is also used for the military commander-in-chief of a command (a region of military authority, sometimes combined with the civil office of
Governor of a colony (now called a
British Overseas Territory)), and for the naval commander-in-chief of a station of the Royal Navy, such as the
North America and West Indies Station.
According to
Article II, Section 2, Clause I of the Constitution, the
president of the United States is "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the
militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States."[60] There have been 45
presidents of the United States, but there have been 47
commander-in-chiefs of the United States. This is because there have been 3
acting presidents (George H. W. Bush eventually became president), which, because of the
25th Amendment, gives the vice-president the powers of the president of the United States. Since the National Security Act of 1947, this has been understood to mean all
United States Armed Forces. U.S. ranks have their roots in British military traditions, with the president possessing ultimate authority, but no rank, maintaining a civilian status.[61]
The exact degree of authority that the Constitution grants to the president as commander-in-chief has been the subject of much debate throughout history, with Congress at various times granting the president wide authority and at others attempting to restrict that authority.[62]
The Governor shall be commander in chief of the Kentucky active militia, and the adjutant general shall be the executive officer and shall be responsible to the Governor for the proper functioning of the Kentucky active militia, and he is hereby authorized and empowered to take necessary action to perfect and maintain an efficient organization for the purposes herein set out. He shall have charge of all matters of administration and organization, which shall be in all respects, insofar as necessary and applicable, the same as that of the National Guard.
Similarly, Section 140 of Article 2 of the California Military and Veterans Code states:[64]
The Governor is commander in chief of a militia that shall be provided by statute. The Governor may call it forth to execute the law.
Uzbekistan
The
Uzbek president holds the constitutional position of Supreme Commander of the
Armed Forces of Uzbekistan, according to the
Constitution of Uzbekistan. In this capacity, the president give decisions on declaring war or martial law, the appointment of senior officials, and the development of the armed forces. In the event of an attack on the republic, the president announce a state of war and will submit within 72 hours a resolution for a plan of action to the
Oliy Majlis. When the country is in a wartime situation, the
minister of defense will serve in an official capacity as the deputy supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, essentially assisting the president in his day-to-day activities and decisions regarding national security.[65]
Venezuela
According to the Venezuelan constitution, the president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The office of the Venezuelan military supreme commander in chief has always been held by the president of Venezuela as per constitutional requirements. However, with a new law sanctioned in 2008, the "comandante en jefe" rank is not only a function attributed to the executive branch but a full military rank given to the president upon taking office. Upon assumption he receives a saber, epaulette, shoulder knot, shoulder board and sleeve insignia and full military uniform to be used in military events while performing the duties as president. The shoulder insignia mirrors Cuban practice but is derived from the German-styled officer rank insignia.
The
minister of Defence oversees operations of the Ministry of Defence, and the
Vietnam People's Army. He also oversees such agencies as the
General Staff and the General Logistics Department. However, military policy is ultimately directed by the Central Military Commission of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam.
Other officeholders as commanders-in-chief or other situations
Furthermore, Article 80 gives the
president of the People's Republic of China (in addition to ceremonial
head of state duties) the power to proclaim martial law, proclaim a state of war, and to issue mobilisation orders upon the decision of National People's Congress and its Standing Committee.[68]
The CMC Chairman and the president are distinctly separate state offices and they have not always been held by the same persons. However, beginning in 1993, during the tenure of
Jiang Zemin as CMC Chairman and
General Secretary of the Communist Party, it has been standard practice to have the president, the CMC chairman, and the CCP general secretary to be
normally held by the same person; although the slight differences in the start and end of terms for those respective offices means that there is some overlap between an occupant and his predecessor.
In peacetime, under Article 65a, the
federal minister of defence (
German: Bundesminister der Verteidigung) holds the supreme command authority (
German: Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt - IBuK) over the Bundeswehr.[70]
The
president of Germany has thus no role in the command of the forces, although he continues to receive the ceremonial honors due to his position as a
head of state.
Placing the command authority over the armed forces directly with the responsible minister in charge of the military establishment breaks with the longstanding German constitutional tradition in both earlier monarchical and republican systems of placing it with the
head of state. The rationale was that in a
democraticparliamentary system the command authority should directly reside where it would be exercised and where it is subject to the parliamentary control of the
Bundestag at all times. By assigning it directly to the responsible minister, instead of with the Federal Chancellor, this also meant that military affairs is but one of the many integrated responsibilities of the
government; in stark contrast of earlier times when the separate division of the military establishment from the civil administration allowed the former to act as a
state within a state (in contrast to the Federal Republic, the
Weimar Republic began with the
Ebert–Groener pact, which kept the military establishment as an autonomous force outside the control of politics; the
1925 election of
Paul von Hindenburg as Reichspräsident, surrounded by his
camarilla and the machinations of
Kurt von Schleicher, did little to reverse the trend).[71][72]
After Chancellor
Adolf Hitler assumed power as Führer[73] (after the death of President
Paul von Hindenburg), he would later grant his war minister, GeneralfeldmarschallWerner von Blomberg, the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in 1935, when conscription was reintroduced. However, in 1938 due to the
Blomberg–Fritsch Affair, Hitler withdrew the commander-in-chief title, abolished the war ministerial post and assumed personal command of the Armed Forces. The war ministerial post was de facto overtaken by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, which was headed by GeneralfeldmarschallWilhelm Keitel until the
German surrender.
In
Japan, prior to the
Meiji Restoration the role of the commander-in-chief was vested in the shōgun (the most militarily powerful
samuraidaimyō). After the dissolution of the
Tokugawa shogunate, the role of the commander-in-chief resided with the
Emperor of Japan. The present-day
constitutional role of the emperor is that of a ceremonial
figurehead (Japanese Constitution calls it symbol) without any military role.
The Malta Armed Forces Act does not directly establish the
president of Malta as the supreme commander of the Armed Forces. However, Maltese law allows the president to raise by voluntary enlistment and maintain an armed force. Likewise, the law allows the president to issue orders in order to the administrate the armed forces.
The Armed Forces do not swear allegiance to the president of Malta, but rather to the
Republic of Malta. On this basis, there is no direct link between the head of state and the armed forces. For this reason, this link is mediated by the minister responsible for defence.
Nonetheless, the Presidential Palaces are guarded by the Armed Forces as a symbolic gesture of social cohesion.
The
Constitution of the Netherlands states, in article 97, that "the Government shall have supreme authority over the
armed forces". Article 42 defines the
Government as the
Monarch and the ministers, and that only ministers are responsible for acts of government. Article 45 further defines the ministers as constituting the
Cabinet, chaired by the
prime minister, with "authority to decide upon overall government policy".[80][81]
Before the constitution change in 1983, the equivalent section stated that: "The King shall have supreme authority over the armed forces". Nevertheless, the role of the monarch as commander in chief was ceremonial as in most European constitutional monarchies.[81] As a consequence of being only part of the government, monarchs of the Netherlands do not hold a military rank. The current king of the Netherlands
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands resigned from his military ranks (equivalent to one-star general in all branches) upon becoming king in 2013. He has been provided with
royal insignia to show his lasting commitment to the armed forces, but these represent no formal rank whatsoever.
The
minister of defence has the primary ministerial responsibility for the armed forces, which are formally a part of the
Ministry of Defence.[81] The
chief of defence is the highest ranked professional military officer, and serves as an intermediary between the minister of defence and the Armed Forces, and is responsible to the minister for military-strategic planning, operations and deployment of the Armed Forces.[82]
At present, the
Government (
Swedish: Regeringen) as a collective body, chaired and formed by the
prime minister of Sweden, holds the highest
Executive Authority, subject to the will of the
Riksdag; and is thus the present day closest equivalent of a command-in-chief, although not explicitly designated as such.[85] The reason for this change was, apart from the fact that the king was since 1917 no longer expected to make political decisions without ministerial advice, that the new Instrument of Government was intended to be made as descriptive on the workings of the State as possible, and reflective on how decisions are actually made.
Minister of JusticeLennart Geijer further remarked in the government bill that any continued pretensions of royal involvement in government decisions would be of a "fictitious nature" and "highly unsatisfactory".[86]
Certain government decisions regarding the Armed Forces (
Swedish: Särskilda regeringsbeslut) may be delegated to the
minister for defence, under the supervision of the prime minister and to the extent laid down in ordinances.[87]
However, the Monarch (as of present
King Carl XVI Gustaf), is still a four-star general and admiral à la suite in the
Swedish Army,
Navy and
Air Force and is by unwritten convention regarded as the foremost head and representative of the Swedish Armed Forces.[89] The king has, as part of his
court, a
military staff. The military staff is headed by a senior officer (usually a general or admiral, retired from active service) and is composed of active duty military officers serving as
aides to the king and his family.[90]
Switzerland
Supreme authority over the military belongs to the
Federal Council, which is the Swiss collegial
head of state. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, under the
Constitution, the Federal Council can only, in the operational sense, command a maximum of 4,000 soldiers, with a time limit of three weeks of mobilisation.[91] For it to field more service personnel, the
Federal Assembly must elect a
General[91] who is given four stars.[92] Thus, the General is elected by the Federal Assembly to give him the same democratic legitimacy as the Federal Council.[91]
In a time of declared war or national emergency, however, the
Federal Assembly, assembled as the
United Federal Assembly, specifically for the purpose of taking on the
war-time responsibilities elect a
General as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces under Article 168 of the Constitution. Whilst the General acts as the highest military authority with a high degree of autonomy, he is still subordinate to the Federal Council (See Articles 58, 60, 174, 177, 180 & 185).[93] The Federal Assembly retains the sole power to dismiss the General, but the General remains subordinate to the Federal Council by the council's ability to demobilise, thereby making the position of General redundant.[91]
Four generals were appointed in Swiss history, General
Henri Dufour during the
Swiss Civil War, General
Hans Herzog during the
Franco-Prussian War, General
Ulrich Wille during the
First World War, and General
Henri Guisan during the
Second World War ("la Mob", "the
Mobilisation"). Although Switzerland remained neutral during the latter three conflicts, the threat of having its territory used as a battlefield by the much bigger war parties of Germany and France required mobilization of the army.
See also
Within
NATO and the
European Union, the term
Chief of Defence (CHOD) is usually used as a generic term for the highest-ranked office held by a professional military officer on active duty, irrespective of their actual title or powers.[94]
^For example: "Ordered, That this House joins and agrees with the House of Commons in this Vote; and that the Lord Admiral is hereby desired, from both Houses of Parliament, that the Commander in Chief of this Summer's Fleet under his Lordship, may be the Earl of Warwicke.",
House of Lords Journal 15 March 1642
^Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson, and Grace P. Hayes. "Supreme Commander." Dictionary of Military Terms. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1986.
^"Statute Book - Defence Act, 1954". Retrieved 1 May 2015. Under the direction of the President, and subject to the provisions of this Act, the military command of, and all executive and administrative powers in relation to, the Defence Forces, including the power to delegate command and authority, shall be exercisable by the Government and, subject to such exceptions and limitations as the Government may from time to time determine, through and by the Minister.
^Bajwa, Kuldip Singh (2003).
"Kashmir Valley Saved"(google books). Jammu and Kashmir war, 1947-1948 : political and military perspective (1st ed.). New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications. p. 350.
ISBN9788124109236. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
^Singh, Ravi Shekhar Narain Singh (2008).
"Military and Politics"(googlebooks). The Military Factor in Pakistan (1st ed.). London, UK: Lancer Publishers. p. 550.
ISBN9780981537894. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
^Gesetz über das Staatsoberhaupt des Deutschen Reichs, 1 August 1934: "§ 1 The office of the Reichspräsident is merged with that of the Reichskanzler. Therefore, the previous rights of the Reichspräsident pass over to the Führer and Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler. He names his deputy."
^"職種 Branches of Service" (in Japanese). Tokyo: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
^自衛隊: 組織 [JSDF: Organization]. Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012.
OCLC153301537. Archived from
the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
^(in Swedish) Prop. 1973:90. Kungl. Maj:ts proposition med förslag till ny regeringsform och ny riksdagsordning m. m.; given Stockholms slott den 16 mars 1973. p. 172-175.
In English use, the term was first used during the
English Civil War.[2] A nation's
head of state (monarchical or republican) usually holds the position of commander-in-chief, even if effective executive power is held by a separate
head of government. In a
parliamentary system, the
executive branch is ultimately dependent upon the will of the
legislature; although the legislature does not issue orders directly to the armed forces and therefore does not control the military in any operational sense.
Governors-general and colonial governors are also often appointed commander-in-chief of the military forces within their territory.
A commander in chief is sometimes referred to as supreme commander, which is sometimes used as a specific term. The term is also used for military officers who hold such power and authority, not always through dictatorship, and as a subordinate (usually) to a head of state (see
Generalissimo). The term is also used for officers who hold authority over an individual
military branch,
special branch or within a
theatre of operations.[3]
Heads of state as commanders in chief
This includes heads of states who:
Are chief executives with the political mandate to undertake discretionary decision-making, including command of the armed forces.
Mostly ceremonial heads of state (constitutional monarchs, viceroys and presidents in parliamentary republics) with residual substantive reserve powers over the armed forces, acting under normal circumstances on the constitutional advice of chief executives with the political mandate to undertake discretionary decision-making.
Under part II, chapter III, article 99, subsections 12, 13, 14 and 15, the
Constitution of Argentina states that the
president of the Argentine Nation is the "Commander-in-chief of
all the armed forces of the Nation". It also states that the president is entitled to provide military posts in the granting of the jobs or grades of senior officers of the armed forces, and by itself on the battlefield; runs with its organization and distribution according to needs of the Nation and declares war and orders reprisals with the consent and approval of the
Argentine National Congress.[4]
The
Ministry of Defense is the government department that assists and serves the president in the management of the armed forces (
Army,
Navy and
Air Force).[5]
Australia
Under chapter II of section 68 titled Command of the naval and military forces, the
Constitution of Australia states that:
The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the
King's representative.[6]
The
Minister shall have the general control and administration of the Defence Force, and the powers vested in the
Chief of the Defence Force, the
Chief of Navy, the
Chief of Army and the
Chief of Air Force by virtue of section 9, and the powers vested jointly in the
Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force by virtue of section 9A, shall be exercised subject to and in accordance with any directions of the Minister.[7]
The commander-in-chief of
Bangladesh Armed Forces is the
president, although executive power and responsibility for national defense resides with the
prime minister. This is discharged through the
Ministry of Defence, headed by the minister of defence, which provides the policy framework and resources to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country.
The only exception was the first commander-in-chief, General
M. A. G. Osmani, during
Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, who was commander of all
Bangladesh Forces, reinstated to active duty by official BD government order, which after independence was gazetted in 1972. He retired on 7 April 1972 and relinquished all authority and duties to the president of Bangladesh.[8]
Belarus
The
president of Belarus is the Commander-in-Chief of the
Belarusian Armed Forces (
Belarusian: Галоўнакамандуючы Узброенымі Сіламі Рэспублікі Беларусь).[9] The Belarusian commander in chief has an official uniform befitting of the rank, which the president wears on official occasion and ceremonies in relation to the military. The role of commander in chief is laid out in Article 28 of the
Constitution of Belarus, which states that he/she has the authority to "appoint and dismiss the high command of the Armed Forces".[10]
Belgium
Article 167 of the
Constitution of Belgium designates the
king as the commander-in-chief. In practice, the
Chief of Defence is the head and commander of the
Belgian Armed Forces. He reports directly to the
Minister of Defence and is responsible for advising the Minister, for the implementation of defence policy and for the administration of the department.
The powers of command-in-chief over the
Canadian Armed Forces are vested in the
Canadian monarch,[12] and are delegated to the
governor general of Canada, who also uses the title Commander-in-Chief.[13] In this capacity, the governor general is entitled to the uniform of a general/flag officer, with the crest of the office and special cuff braid serving as rank insignia.
By constitutional convention, the Crown's prerogative powers over the armed forces and constitutional powers as commander-in-chief are exercised on the advice of the
prime minister and the rest of
Cabinet, the governing ministry that commands the confidence of the
House of Commons. According to the
National Defence Act, the
Minister of National Defence is responsible and accountable to the
Parliament of Canada for all matters related to national defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.[14]
Croatia
According to the
Croatian constitution, the
president of Croatia is the commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. There was originally a rank insignia and name for the position, known as "Vrhovnik". This was held by former President
Franjo Tudjman and was abolished after his death. In peace, the commander-in-chief exercises his command through the minister of defence. In war and in cases where the
minister of defence is not fulfilling orders, the commander-in-chief exercises his command directly through the chief of
General Staff.
Czechia
According to the
1992 constitution, the
president of the Czech Republic is the commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces according to Article 63(1)(c), and appoints and promotes generals under Article 63(1)(f). The president needs the
countersignature of the
prime minister for decisions concerning the above-mentioned provisions as per Articles 63(3–4), or otherwise, they are not valid. The prime minister may delegate to other ministers the right to countersign these decisions of the president. The political responsibility for the Armed Forces is borne by the
Government, which in Article 67 is defined as the "supreme body of executive power". According to Articles 39 & 43, the
Parliament must give consent to the dispatch of Czech military forces outside the territory of the Czech Republic.[15]
The
Ministry of Defence is the central authority of the state administration for the control of the Armed Forces.[16] The actual day-to-day management is vested in the chief of the general staff, the Czech
chief of defence equivalent.[17]
Denmark
The position of the
Danish monarch as the head of the military is deeply rooted in tradition. While the
1953 constitution does not explicitly designate the monarch as commander-in-chief; it is implicit, given the general provision in article 12 and the more specific wording of article 19 (2): "Except for purposes of defence against an armed attack upon the Realm or Danish forces, the King shall not use military force against any foreign state without the consent of the
Folketing. Any measure which the King may take in pursuance of this provision shall forthwith be submitted to the Folketing".[18]
However, when reading the Danish Constitution, it is important to bear in mind that the king in this context is understood by Danish jurists to be read as the government (consisting of the
prime minister and other ministers). This is a logical consequence of articles 12, 13 and 14, all of which in essence stipulates that the powers vested in the monarch can only be exercised through ministers, who are responsible for all acts. Thus, the Government, in effect, holds the supreme command authority implied in articles 12 and 19(2).[19]
According to the
Constitution, Article 128, Section II, Title IV, the
president is the head of foreign policy, the civil administration and the Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces, the
National Police and all other state's security agencies.[22]
Egypt
In
Egypt, the
president of the Republic holds the ceremonial title of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. A member of the government, usually defence minister, is commander-in-chief of the
Egyptian Armed Forces. The president is the only individual capable of declaring war. With the exception of
Mohamed Morsi, who briefly served as president from 2012 to 2013, all Egyptian presidents have been former military officers. During the
Yom Kippur War, the president played a major role at all levels of the planning of the war, and was, in a literal sense, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, giving direct orders to the commanders from the headquarters during the war as
field marshal of the
army,
marshal of the air force and air defence forces and admiral of the
navy.
main principles of the military defence of the realm
principles of the execution of the military defence
other military command matters with wide-ranging importance to the military activity or the military establishment
any other military command issue that he wishes to decide upon
Since the constitutional reform of 2000, the
minister of defence has the right to be present when the president uses his command powers, unless the matter is of immediate concern. In questions of strategic importance, the
prime minister has the same right.[23]: §32
The president commissions and promotes officers and decides on activating reservists for extraordinary service and on the mobilisation of the Defence Forces.[23]: §40 [24][25]: § 128.2 If
Parliament is not in session when a decision to mobilise is taken, it must be immediately convened.[25]: § 129 Declarations of a state of emergency (
Finnish: valmiustila, literally, "state of preparedness") and state of war (
Finnish: puolustustila, lit. "state of defence") are declared by a presidential decree, given after a motion by the government, which is then submitted to the Parliament for ratification.[26][27]
The president has, in a state of emergency, the right to transfer the position of the commander-in-chief to another Finnish citizen.[25]: § 129
In
France, the
President of the Republic is designated as "Chef des Armées" (literally "Chief of the Armies") under article 15 of the
Constitution; the officeholder is as such the supreme executive authority in military affairs. Article 16 provides the President with extensive
emergency powers.[28]
However, owing to the nature of the
semi-presidential system, the
Prime Minister also has key constitutional powers under article 21: "He shall be responsible for national defence" and has "power to make regulations and shall make appointments to civil and military posts".[28]
Since the reign of
Louis XIV, France has been strongly centralised. After crushing local nobles engaged in warlord-ism, the kings of France retained all authority with the help of able yet discreet Prime ministers (
Mazarin,
Richelieu).
The following
Third Republic was a parliamentary system, where the military authority was held by the
President of the Council of Ministers, head of government, although the President, head of state, retained ceremonial powers. During
World War I, the many visits to the trenches by the elder statesman
Georges Clemenceau impressed the soldiers and earned him the nickname Father of Victory (
French: Le Père de la Victoire).
The president exercises supreme command with accordance to the law. As commander in chief, the president has the power to declare war however they must subject to the approval of the
Parliament of India. The commander in chief also appoints the chiefs of each branch of the armed forces as well as the
Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee with the advice of the
Minister of Defence.
Whilst the constitution names the president as the de jure commander in chief, executive command authority is exercised de facto by the prime minister and their
Union Council of Ministers.
On 15 August 1947, each service was placed under its own commander-in-chief. In 1955, the three service chiefs were re-designated as the
chief of the Army staff (rank of
general), the
chief of the naval staff (rank of
vice admiral) and the
chief of the air staff (rank of
Air marshal) with the president as the supreme commander. The chief of the air staff was raised to the rank of
air chief marshal in 1965 and the chief of the naval staff raised to the rank of
admiral in 1968. Starting from 1 January 2020, all the three chiefs of staff report to the newly formed
chief of defence staff.
Indonesia
According to article 10 of the
Constitution of Indonesia, the
president of Indonesia holds the supreme command of the
Indonesian National Armed Forces. Day-to-day operations of the Armed Forces is handled by the
Commander of the Armed Forces (
Indonesian: Panglima TNI), a 4-star officer whom can be a general (
Army/
Marine), an admiral (
Navy), or an air chief marshal (
Air Force). The commander of the Armed Forces is appointed by the president from active chiefs of staff (
Army,
Navy, or
Air Force) and must get approval from the
House of Representatives. The chief of staff is also appointed by the president from senior military officers. The president as commander-in-chief also has authority in senior military officer mutation and promotion in tour of duty. The
minister of defense has responsibility to assist the president in defense issues and create policies about authorization use of military force, manage defense budget, etc. According to article 11 of the Constitution, For authorization use of military forces or declaration of war, the president must get approval from House of Representatives. The Commander of the Armed Forces gives recommendations to the minister of defense in creating national defense policies.
Iran
Before 1979, the
Shah was the commander-in-chief in Iran. After the inception of the Islamic Republic, the
president of Iran was initially appointed that task, with
Abolhassan Bani Sadr being the first commander-in-chief. However, Abolhassan Bani Sadr was impeached on 22 June 1981. It was after this event that the role of commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran was given to the
Supreme Leader of Iran.
The
Constitution of Italy, in article 87, states that the
President of the Republic:
"is the commander of the
armed forces and chairman of the supreme defense council constituted by law, although effective executive power and responsibility for national defence resides with the government headed by the
Prime Minister; the President declares war according to the decision of the
parliament".[34]
Kenya
Chapter 131 of the
Constitution of Kenya identifies the
president as the commander-in-chief of the
Kenya Defence Forces and the chairperson of the National Security Council.[35] There is a rank for the position. The president appoints a
chief of general staff, known as the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, who acts as the principal military adviser to the president and the National Security Council. The Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces is drawn from one of the branches of the Armed Forces, the
Kenya Army, the
Kenya Navy or the
Kenya Air Force.
The Federal Constitution establishes that the office of Supreme Commander is attached to the person of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Federation's head of state:
Federal Constitution, Article 41 - The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Federation.
The Federal Parliament passed the Federal Armed Forces Act to consolidate in one law all regulations that govern the three services ( Army, Navy, and Air Force ). It establishes the function and duties of the Federal Head of State in the capacity as Supreme Commander.
Both the Organic Law of the Mexican Army and Air Force and the Organic Law of the Mexican Navy clearly state the President of the Republic is "Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces". The President is ex officio the only five-star general of Mexico.[37][38]
The
governor-general of New Zealand serves as the commander-in-chief of New Zealand and is constitutionally the supreme authority in defence matters in New Zealand.[39] In practice however, the position of the commander-in-chief is ceremonial, with the governor-general primarily serving as a "patron of the New Zealand Defence Force".[40] The governor-general exercises their authority as commander-in-chief on the advice of the minister of defence or other ministers of the
New Zealand Government.[39][41]
The
Letter Patents 1983 consolidated the roles of governor-general and commander-in-chief into one office, with its compounded title being the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief.[42] The governor-general's is statutorily defined in the Defence Act 1990.[43] Sections five and six of the Defence Act 1990 outlines the governor-general's authority to raise and maintain armed forces.[41]
Harald V, King of
Norway, officially retains executive power. Article 25 of the constitution states: "The King is commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the realm"
However, following the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, the duties of the
Monarch have since become strictly representative and ceremonial, such as the formal appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers in the executive government. Accordingly, the Monarch is commander-in-chief of the
Norwegian Armed Forces, and serves as chief diplomatic official abroad and as a symbol of unity.
In Poland, the
President is Commander-in-Chief of the
Polish Armed Forces. However, the art. 134 ust. 4 of the constitution states:
The President of the Republic, for a period of war, shall appoint the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on request of the Prime Minister. He may dismiss the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in accordance with the same procedure. The authority of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, as well as the principle of his subordination to the constitutional organs of the Republic of Poland, shall be specified by statute.
In the Portuguese military parlance, the term "Commander-in-Chief" (in Portuguese: comandante-em-chefe or simply comandante-chefe) refers to the unified military commander of all the land, naval and air forces in a theater of operations.
Article 60 of the
Basic Law of Saudi Arabia states: "The
King is the commander-in-chief of all the Military Forces. He appoints officers and puts an end to their duties in accordance with the law."
Article 61 further states: "The King declares a state of emergency, general mobilization and war, and the law defines the rules for this."
Lastly, Article 62 states: "If there is a danger threatening the safety of the Kingdom or its territorial integrity, or the security of its people and its interests, or which impedes the functioning of the state institutions, the King may take urgent measures in order to deal with this danger And if the King considers that these measures should continue, he may then implement the necessary regulations to this end."
Serbia
In accordance with the law, the
president of Serbia is the commander-in-chief of Armed Forces and in command of the military. He appoints, promotes and recalls officers of the
Army of Serbia.[50]
Slovenia
In Slovenia, the commander-in-chief is formally the
president of Slovenia. In peacetime, the role of commander in chief is usually assumed by the minister of defence.
In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, the Commander-in-Chief and the Supreme Authority on all military matters is the
President of South Korea.
Spain
As with most remaining European monarchies, the position of the Spanish monarch as the nominal head of the armed forces is deeply rooted in tradition.
The king regularly chairs sessions of the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of staff and the individual general staffs of each branch of the Armed Forces in his capacity as supreme commander.
All promotions to military rank and positions in the high command of the armed forces are made by Royal decree signed by the king and the minister of defense
However, article 64 require that all official acts of the King must be
countersigned, by the
President of the Government or other
competent minister, for them to become valid. This counter/signature is used to limit a possible abuse of power by any single individual.
This constitutional provision can and has been made the subject of an exception in crisis situations.
In 1981 the king as supreme commander of the armed forces assumed direct command in order to put down a
military coup attempt. All members of the government were at that time trapped/held hostage in Parliament and were unable to counter sign the kings orders. This did not however result in those orders being ruled unenforceable or unconstitutional. The coup collapsed after the king ordered all army units to leave the streets and return to their barracks. Furthermore, article 97 stipulates that;
The
Government shall conduct domestic and foreign policy, civil and military administration and the defence of the State[52]
No provision in the constitution requires the king/government to seek approval from the
Cortes Generales before sending the armed forces abroad.[52]
Since 1984, the
chief of the defence staff is the professional head of the armed forces and, under the authority of the
minister of defence, is responsible for military operations and military organisation.
Sri Lanka
As head of state, the
president of Sri Lanka, is nominally the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The
National Security Council, chaired by the president is the authority charged with formulating and executing defence policy for the nation. The highest level of military headquarters is the
Ministry of Defence, since 1978 except for a few rare occasions the president retained the portfolio defence, thus being the minister of defence. The ministry and the armed forces have been controlled by the during these periods by either a
minister of state,
deputy minister for defence, and of recently the
permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence. Prior to 1978 the
prime minister held the portfolio of minister of defence and external affairs, and was supported by a
parliamentary secretary for defence and external affairs.
The "Head of the Thai Armed Forces" (
Thai: จอมทัพไทย;
RTGS: Chom Thap Thai) is a position vested in the
Thai monarch,[a] who as sovereign and head of state is the commander-in-chief of the
Royal Thai Armed Forces.[54]
Turkey
The
President of Turkey has the constitutional right to represent the Supreme Military Command of the
Turkish Armed Forces, on behalf of the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and to decide on the mobilization of the Turkish Armed Forces, to appoint the chief of the general staff, to call the
National Security Council to meet, to preside over the National Security Council, to proclaim martial law or state of emergency, and to issue decrees having the force of law, upon a decision of the Council of Ministers meeting under his/her chairmanship. With all these issues above written in the
Constitution of Turkey, the executive rights are given to the president of the Republic of Turkey to be represented as the commander-in-chief of the nation.
The
British monarch is the "
Head of the British Armed Forces"[55] and has also been described as "Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces".[56] The
prime minister (acting with the support of the
Cabinet) makes the key decisions on the use of the armed forces.[57][58] The King, however, remains the ceremonial "ultimate authority" of the military, with officers and personnel swearing
allegiance only to the monarch.[59]
The term is also used for the military commander-in-chief of a command (a region of military authority, sometimes combined with the civil office of
Governor of a colony (now called a
British Overseas Territory)), and for the naval commander-in-chief of a station of the Royal Navy, such as the
North America and West Indies Station.
According to
Article II, Section 2, Clause I of the Constitution, the
president of the United States is "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the
militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States."[60] There have been 45
presidents of the United States, but there have been 47
commander-in-chiefs of the United States. This is because there have been 3
acting presidents (George H. W. Bush eventually became president), which, because of the
25th Amendment, gives the vice-president the powers of the president of the United States. Since the National Security Act of 1947, this has been understood to mean all
United States Armed Forces. U.S. ranks have their roots in British military traditions, with the president possessing ultimate authority, but no rank, maintaining a civilian status.[61]
The exact degree of authority that the Constitution grants to the president as commander-in-chief has been the subject of much debate throughout history, with Congress at various times granting the president wide authority and at others attempting to restrict that authority.[62]
The Governor shall be commander in chief of the Kentucky active militia, and the adjutant general shall be the executive officer and shall be responsible to the Governor for the proper functioning of the Kentucky active militia, and he is hereby authorized and empowered to take necessary action to perfect and maintain an efficient organization for the purposes herein set out. He shall have charge of all matters of administration and organization, which shall be in all respects, insofar as necessary and applicable, the same as that of the National Guard.
Similarly, Section 140 of Article 2 of the California Military and Veterans Code states:[64]
The Governor is commander in chief of a militia that shall be provided by statute. The Governor may call it forth to execute the law.
Uzbekistan
The
Uzbek president holds the constitutional position of Supreme Commander of the
Armed Forces of Uzbekistan, according to the
Constitution of Uzbekistan. In this capacity, the president give decisions on declaring war or martial law, the appointment of senior officials, and the development of the armed forces. In the event of an attack on the republic, the president announce a state of war and will submit within 72 hours a resolution for a plan of action to the
Oliy Majlis. When the country is in a wartime situation, the
minister of defense will serve in an official capacity as the deputy supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, essentially assisting the president in his day-to-day activities and decisions regarding national security.[65]
Venezuela
According to the Venezuelan constitution, the president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The office of the Venezuelan military supreme commander in chief has always been held by the president of Venezuela as per constitutional requirements. However, with a new law sanctioned in 2008, the "comandante en jefe" rank is not only a function attributed to the executive branch but a full military rank given to the president upon taking office. Upon assumption he receives a saber, epaulette, shoulder knot, shoulder board and sleeve insignia and full military uniform to be used in military events while performing the duties as president. The shoulder insignia mirrors Cuban practice but is derived from the German-styled officer rank insignia.
The
minister of Defence oversees operations of the Ministry of Defence, and the
Vietnam People's Army. He also oversees such agencies as the
General Staff and the General Logistics Department. However, military policy is ultimately directed by the Central Military Commission of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam.
Other officeholders as commanders-in-chief or other situations
Furthermore, Article 80 gives the
president of the People's Republic of China (in addition to ceremonial
head of state duties) the power to proclaim martial law, proclaim a state of war, and to issue mobilisation orders upon the decision of National People's Congress and its Standing Committee.[68]
The CMC Chairman and the president are distinctly separate state offices and they have not always been held by the same persons. However, beginning in 1993, during the tenure of
Jiang Zemin as CMC Chairman and
General Secretary of the Communist Party, it has been standard practice to have the president, the CMC chairman, and the CCP general secretary to be
normally held by the same person; although the slight differences in the start and end of terms for those respective offices means that there is some overlap between an occupant and his predecessor.
In peacetime, under Article 65a, the
federal minister of defence (
German: Bundesminister der Verteidigung) holds the supreme command authority (
German: Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt - IBuK) over the Bundeswehr.[70]
The
president of Germany has thus no role in the command of the forces, although he continues to receive the ceremonial honors due to his position as a
head of state.
Placing the command authority over the armed forces directly with the responsible minister in charge of the military establishment breaks with the longstanding German constitutional tradition in both earlier monarchical and republican systems of placing it with the
head of state. The rationale was that in a
democraticparliamentary system the command authority should directly reside where it would be exercised and where it is subject to the parliamentary control of the
Bundestag at all times. By assigning it directly to the responsible minister, instead of with the Federal Chancellor, this also meant that military affairs is but one of the many integrated responsibilities of the
government; in stark contrast of earlier times when the separate division of the military establishment from the civil administration allowed the former to act as a
state within a state (in contrast to the Federal Republic, the
Weimar Republic began with the
Ebert–Groener pact, which kept the military establishment as an autonomous force outside the control of politics; the
1925 election of
Paul von Hindenburg as Reichspräsident, surrounded by his
camarilla and the machinations of
Kurt von Schleicher, did little to reverse the trend).[71][72]
After Chancellor
Adolf Hitler assumed power as Führer[73] (after the death of President
Paul von Hindenburg), he would later grant his war minister, GeneralfeldmarschallWerner von Blomberg, the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in 1935, when conscription was reintroduced. However, in 1938 due to the
Blomberg–Fritsch Affair, Hitler withdrew the commander-in-chief title, abolished the war ministerial post and assumed personal command of the Armed Forces. The war ministerial post was de facto overtaken by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, which was headed by GeneralfeldmarschallWilhelm Keitel until the
German surrender.
In
Japan, prior to the
Meiji Restoration the role of the commander-in-chief was vested in the shōgun (the most militarily powerful
samuraidaimyō). After the dissolution of the
Tokugawa shogunate, the role of the commander-in-chief resided with the
Emperor of Japan. The present-day
constitutional role of the emperor is that of a ceremonial
figurehead (Japanese Constitution calls it symbol) without any military role.
The Malta Armed Forces Act does not directly establish the
president of Malta as the supreme commander of the Armed Forces. However, Maltese law allows the president to raise by voluntary enlistment and maintain an armed force. Likewise, the law allows the president to issue orders in order to the administrate the armed forces.
The Armed Forces do not swear allegiance to the president of Malta, but rather to the
Republic of Malta. On this basis, there is no direct link between the head of state and the armed forces. For this reason, this link is mediated by the minister responsible for defence.
Nonetheless, the Presidential Palaces are guarded by the Armed Forces as a symbolic gesture of social cohesion.
The
Constitution of the Netherlands states, in article 97, that "the Government shall have supreme authority over the
armed forces". Article 42 defines the
Government as the
Monarch and the ministers, and that only ministers are responsible for acts of government. Article 45 further defines the ministers as constituting the
Cabinet, chaired by the
prime minister, with "authority to decide upon overall government policy".[80][81]
Before the constitution change in 1983, the equivalent section stated that: "The King shall have supreme authority over the armed forces". Nevertheless, the role of the monarch as commander in chief was ceremonial as in most European constitutional monarchies.[81] As a consequence of being only part of the government, monarchs of the Netherlands do not hold a military rank. The current king of the Netherlands
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands resigned from his military ranks (equivalent to one-star general in all branches) upon becoming king in 2013. He has been provided with
royal insignia to show his lasting commitment to the armed forces, but these represent no formal rank whatsoever.
The
minister of defence has the primary ministerial responsibility for the armed forces, which are formally a part of the
Ministry of Defence.[81] The
chief of defence is the highest ranked professional military officer, and serves as an intermediary between the minister of defence and the Armed Forces, and is responsible to the minister for military-strategic planning, operations and deployment of the Armed Forces.[82]
At present, the
Government (
Swedish: Regeringen) as a collective body, chaired and formed by the
prime minister of Sweden, holds the highest
Executive Authority, subject to the will of the
Riksdag; and is thus the present day closest equivalent of a command-in-chief, although not explicitly designated as such.[85] The reason for this change was, apart from the fact that the king was since 1917 no longer expected to make political decisions without ministerial advice, that the new Instrument of Government was intended to be made as descriptive on the workings of the State as possible, and reflective on how decisions are actually made.
Minister of JusticeLennart Geijer further remarked in the government bill that any continued pretensions of royal involvement in government decisions would be of a "fictitious nature" and "highly unsatisfactory".[86]
Certain government decisions regarding the Armed Forces (
Swedish: Särskilda regeringsbeslut) may be delegated to the
minister for defence, under the supervision of the prime minister and to the extent laid down in ordinances.[87]
However, the Monarch (as of present
King Carl XVI Gustaf), is still a four-star general and admiral à la suite in the
Swedish Army,
Navy and
Air Force and is by unwritten convention regarded as the foremost head and representative of the Swedish Armed Forces.[89] The king has, as part of his
court, a
military staff. The military staff is headed by a senior officer (usually a general or admiral, retired from active service) and is composed of active duty military officers serving as
aides to the king and his family.[90]
Switzerland
Supreme authority over the military belongs to the
Federal Council, which is the Swiss collegial
head of state. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, under the
Constitution, the Federal Council can only, in the operational sense, command a maximum of 4,000 soldiers, with a time limit of three weeks of mobilisation.[91] For it to field more service personnel, the
Federal Assembly must elect a
General[91] who is given four stars.[92] Thus, the General is elected by the Federal Assembly to give him the same democratic legitimacy as the Federal Council.[91]
In a time of declared war or national emergency, however, the
Federal Assembly, assembled as the
United Federal Assembly, specifically for the purpose of taking on the
war-time responsibilities elect a
General as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces under Article 168 of the Constitution. Whilst the General acts as the highest military authority with a high degree of autonomy, he is still subordinate to the Federal Council (See Articles 58, 60, 174, 177, 180 & 185).[93] The Federal Assembly retains the sole power to dismiss the General, but the General remains subordinate to the Federal Council by the council's ability to demobilise, thereby making the position of General redundant.[91]
Four generals were appointed in Swiss history, General
Henri Dufour during the
Swiss Civil War, General
Hans Herzog during the
Franco-Prussian War, General
Ulrich Wille during the
First World War, and General
Henri Guisan during the
Second World War ("la Mob", "the
Mobilisation"). Although Switzerland remained neutral during the latter three conflicts, the threat of having its territory used as a battlefield by the much bigger war parties of Germany and France required mobilization of the army.
See also
Within
NATO and the
European Union, the term
Chief of Defence (CHOD) is usually used as a generic term for the highest-ranked office held by a professional military officer on active duty, irrespective of their actual title or powers.[94]
^For example: "Ordered, That this House joins and agrees with the House of Commons in this Vote; and that the Lord Admiral is hereby desired, from both Houses of Parliament, that the Commander in Chief of this Summer's Fleet under his Lordship, may be the Earl of Warwicke.",
House of Lords Journal 15 March 1642
^Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson, and Grace P. Hayes. "Supreme Commander." Dictionary of Military Terms. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1986.
^"Statute Book - Defence Act, 1954". Retrieved 1 May 2015. Under the direction of the President, and subject to the provisions of this Act, the military command of, and all executive and administrative powers in relation to, the Defence Forces, including the power to delegate command and authority, shall be exercisable by the Government and, subject to such exceptions and limitations as the Government may from time to time determine, through and by the Minister.
^Bajwa, Kuldip Singh (2003).
"Kashmir Valley Saved"(google books). Jammu and Kashmir war, 1947-1948 : political and military perspective (1st ed.). New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications. p. 350.
ISBN9788124109236. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
^Singh, Ravi Shekhar Narain Singh (2008).
"Military and Politics"(googlebooks). The Military Factor in Pakistan (1st ed.). London, UK: Lancer Publishers. p. 550.
ISBN9780981537894. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
^Gesetz über das Staatsoberhaupt des Deutschen Reichs, 1 August 1934: "§ 1 The office of the Reichspräsident is merged with that of the Reichskanzler. Therefore, the previous rights of the Reichspräsident pass over to the Führer and Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler. He names his deputy."
^"職種 Branches of Service" (in Japanese). Tokyo: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
^自衛隊: 組織 [JSDF: Organization]. Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012.
OCLC153301537. Archived from
the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
^(in Swedish) Prop. 1973:90. Kungl. Maj:ts proposition med förslag till ny regeringsform och ny riksdagsordning m. m.; given Stockholms slott den 16 mars 1973. p. 172-175.