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| Commander of the Defence Forces | |
|---|---|
| Kaitseväe juhataja | |
 Standard of the Commander of the Defence Force | |
.jpg) | |
| Estonian Defence Forces | |
| Type | Chief of defence |
| Member of | Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces |
| Reports to | Minister of Defence |
| Seat | Tallinn,Estonia |
| Nominator | Minister of Defence |
| Appointer | Government of Estonia |
| Term length | Five years (with option for another two years) |
| Formation | 1918 |
| First holder | GeneralJohan Laidoner |
| Website | www.mil.ee |
TheCommander of the Defence Forces (Estonian:Kaitseväe juhataja) is theChief of theEstonian Defence Forces and the national defence organisations.
| No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Laidoner, JohanGeneral Johan Laidoner (1884–1953) [a] | 23 December 1918 1 December 1924 12 March 1934 | 26 March 1920 8 January 1925 22 June 1940 | 1 year, 94 days 38 days 6 years, 102 days Total: 7 years, 234 days |  Army | |
| 2 |  | Jonson, GustavMajor General Gustav Jonson (1880–1942) [b] | 22 June 1940 | 3 September 1940 | 73 days | Army Cavalry | |
| Vacant Soviet andGerman occupations | |||||||
| 3 |  | Maide, JaanMajor General Jaan Maide (1896–1945) [c] | 18 September 1944 | 24 October 1944 | 36 days | Army | |
| Vacant Soviet occupation | |||||||
| 4 |  | Einseln, AleksanderGeneral Aleksander Einseln (1931–2017) [d] | 1 May 1993 | 4 December 1995 | 2 years, 217 days | Army | [1][2] |
| 5 |  | Kert, JohannesLieutenant General Johannes Kert (1959–2021) [e] | 23 January 1996 | 30 June 2000 | 4 years, 159 days |  Defence League | [4] |
| – | | Ermus, AarneLieutenant colonel Aarne Ermus (born 1966) Acting | 30 June 2000 | 21 September 2000 | 83 days | Army | [5] |
| 6 |  | Kõuts, TarmoVice Admiral Tarmo Kõuts (born 1953) [f] | 21 September 2000 | 14 November 2006 | 6 years, 54 days |  Border Guard | |
| 7 |  | Laaneots, AntsGeneral Ants Laaneots (born 1948) | 5 December 2006 | 5 December 2011 | 5 years, 0 days | Army | |
| 8 |  | Terras, RihoGeneral Riho Terras (born 1967) | 5 December 2011 | 5 December 2018 | 7 years, 0 days | Army | [6] |
| 9 | _(cropped).jpg) | Herem, MartinGeneral Martin Herem (born 1973) | 5 December 2018 | 30 June 2024 | 5 years, 208 days | Army | [7] |
| 10 | | Merilo, AndrusLieutenant General Andrus Merilo (born 1973) | 1 July 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 150 days | Army | |