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| Inspector General of theBundeswehr | |
|---|---|
| Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr (German) | |
 Flag of the Inspector General | |
.jpg) | |
| Federal Ministry of Defence | |
| Abbreviation | IGBW |
| Member of | Ministry of Defence Executive Group |
| Reports to | Federal Minister of Defence |
| Precursor | Oberkommando der Wehrmacht |
| Formation | 1 June 1957 |
| First holder | GeneralAdolf Heusinger |
| Deputy | Deputy Inspector General of theBundeswehr |
| Website | Official Website |
TheInspector General of theBundeswehr (German:Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr, GenInspBw), is the highest-ranking military position held by acommissioned officer on active duty in theBundeswehr, the present-day armed forces ofGermany.
All Inspectors General have been of the rank of a (four-star)general oradmiral, and they head theFührungsstab der Streitkräfte, the German Defence Staff within theFederal Ministry of Defence, and is the direct military advisor to theFederal Minister of Defence who, in peacetime according to theBasic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, is thedefault holder of the supreme command authority (German:Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt) to ensurecivilian control of the military.
The Inspector General is responsible for the overall military defense concept of theBundeswehr, including the overall planning, preparation, as well as assessment of the wholeBundeswehr operations.[1] Subordinate to the Inspector General are the commanders of the branches of theBundeswehr, theInspector of the Army,Inspector of the Air Force, andInspector of the Navy, and the commanders of theJoint Support Service andJoint Medical Service.
While the official English translation of the position is "Chief of Defence",[2] the German term "Generalinspekteur" – "Inspector General" – was specifically created to avoid the title "Generalstabschef" ("Chief ofthe General Staff") deemed historically compromised.[citation needed] When theBundeswehr was created in 1955, many traditional military terms were considered inappropriate after the GermanWehrmacht's conduct inWorld War II. Therefore, theBundeswehr has no "General Staff" but rather a "Joint Force Command".[3]
| No. | Portrait | Inspector General | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Federal Minister of Defence | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Heusinger, AdolfGeneral Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982) | 1 June 1957 | 31 March 1961 | 3 years, 303 days |  Land Force | Strauß, Franz JosefFranz Josef Strauß | – |
| 2 |  | Foertsch, FriedrichGeneral Friedrich Foertsch (1900–1976) | 1 April 1961 | 31 December 1963 | 2 years, 274 days | Land Force | Strauß, Franz JosefFranz Josef Strauß Kai-Uwe von Hassel | – |
| 3 |  | Trettner, HeinrichGeneral Heinz Trettner (1907–2006) | 1 January 1964 | 25 August 1966 | 2 years, 236 days | Land Force | von Hassel, Kai-UweKai-Uwe von Hassel | – |
| 4 |  | de Maizière, UlrichGeneral Ulrich de Maizière (1912–2006) | 25 August 1966 | 31 March 1972 | 5 years, 219 days | Land Force | von Hassel, Kai-UweKai-Uwe von Hassel Gerhard Schröder Helmut Schmidt | – |
| 5 |  | Zimmermann, ArminAdmiral Armin Zimmermann (1917–1976) | 1 April 1972 | 30 November 1976 | 4 years, 243 days |  Navy | Leber, GeorgGeorg Leber | – |
| 6 |  | Wust, HaraldGeneral Harald Wust (1921–2010) | 21 December 1976 | 11 December 1978 | 1 year, 355 days |  Air Force | Leber, GeorgGeorg Leber | – |
| 7 | | Brandt, JürgenGeneral Jürgen Brandt (1922–2003) | 12 December 1978 | 31 March 1983 | 4 years, 109 days | Land Force | Apel, HansHans Apel Manfred Wörner | – |
| 8 |  | Altenburg, WolfgangGeneral Wolfgang Altenburg (1928–2023) | 1 April 1983 | 30 September 1986 | 3 years, 182 days | Land Force | Wörner, ManfredManfred Wörner | – |
| 9 |  | Wellershoff, DieterAdmiral Dieter Wellershoff (1933–2005) | 1 October 1986 | 30 September 1991 | 4 years, 364 days | Navy | Wörner, ManfredManfred Wörner Rupert Scholz Gerhard Stoltenberg | – |
| 10 |  | Naumann, KlausGeneral Klaus Naumann (born 1939) | 1 October 1991 | 8 February 1996 | 4 years, 130 days | Land Force | Stoltenberg, GerhardGerhard Stoltenberg Volker Rühe | – |
| 11 | .jpeg) | Bagger, HartmutGeneral Hartmut Bagger (1938–2024) | 8 February 1996 | 31 March 1999 | 3 years, 51 days | Land Force | Rühe, VolkerVolker Rühe Rudolf Scharping | – |
| 12 | | von Kirchbach, Hans-PeterGeneral Hans-Peter von Kirchbach (born 1941) | 1 April 1999 | 30 June 2000 | 1 year, 90 days | Land Force | Scharping, RudolfRudolf Scharping | – |
| 13 |  | Kujat, HaraldGeneral Harald Kujat (born 1942) | 1 July 2000 | 30 June 2002 | 1 year, 364 days | Air Force | Scharping, RudolfRudolf Scharping | – |
| 14 |  | Schneiderhan, WolfgangGeneral Wolfgang Schneiderhan (born 1946) | 1 July 2002 | 26 November 2009 | 7 years, 148 days | Land Force | Scharping, RudolfRudolf Scharping Peter Struck Franz Josef Jung Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg | – |
| – | | Dora, Johann-GeorgLieutenant General Johann-Georg Dora [de] (born 1948) Acting | 27 November 2009 | 21 January 2010 | 55 days | Air Force | zu Guttenberg, Karl-TheodorKarl-Theodor zu Guttenberg | – |
| 15 | .jpg) | Wieker, VolkerGeneral Volker Wieker (born 1954) | 21 January 2010 | 19 April 2018 | 8 years, 88 days | Land Force | zu Guttenberg, Karl-TheodorKarl-Theodor zu Guttenberg Thomas de Maizière Ursula von der Leyen | – |
| 16 | .jpg) | Zorn, EberhardGeneral Eberhard Zorn (born 1960) | 19 April 2018 | 17 March 2023 | 4 years, 332 days | Land Force | von der Leyen, UrsulaUrsula von der Leyen Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Christine Lambrecht Boris Pistorius | – |
| 17 | | Breuer, CarstenGeneral Carsten Breuer (born 1964) | 17 March 2023 | Incumbent | 2 years, 255 days | Land Force | Pistorius, BorisBoris Pistorius | – |
The Chief of Defence is the administrative superior of all the soldiers in the armed forces under his command. As both the military advisor to the Federal Government and the senior military representative of the Bundeswehr, he is a member of the Ministry of Defence Executive Group.
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