Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
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 |
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.
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]
Responsibilities
The Chief of the Defence Staff's responsibilities include:
- leading defence (with the Permanent Secretary (Perm Sec))
- setting strategy for defence, including the future development of the Armed Forces (subject to ministers’ direction, and together with Perm Sec)
- the conduct of current operations (as strategic commander)
- leading relationships with other countries’ Armed Forces[3]
Supporting and associated posts
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]
- Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy & Operations) (DCDS (MSO))
- Chief of Defence People (CDP)
- Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Military Capability (DCDS (Mil Cap))
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]
History of the post
The post was created in 1959 to reflect the new concept of
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
Royal Navy | British Army | Royal Air Force | Combined | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1645 | N/A | Commander-in-Chief of the Forces (1645/60–1904, intermittently) | N/A - No Air Force until 1918 | N/A - Inter-service co-ordination carried out from 1904 by the Committee of Imperial Defence under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister |
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) | ||
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) |
List of Chiefs of the Defence Staff (1959–present)
No. | Picture | Chief of the Defence Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Life Peerage | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 January 1959 | 12 July 1959 | 192 days | Royal Air Force | None | [6] | ||
2 | 13 July 1959 | 15 July 1965 | 6 years, 2 days | Royal Navy | Hereditary Peerage, Earl Mountbatten of Burma | [7] | ||
3 | 16 July 1965 | 4 August 1967 | 2 years, 19 days | British Army | None | [8] | ||
4 | [9][10] | |||||||
5 | [11] | |||||||
6 | [12][13] | |||||||
7 | 24 October 1976 | 24 January 1977 † | 92 days | Royal Air Force | None | [14] | ||
- | 9 February 1977 | 30 August 1977 | 202 days | Royal Navy | None | [15] | ||
8 | [16][17] | |||||||
9 | [18] | |||||||
10 | [19] | |||||||
11 | [20] | |||||||
12 | [21] | |||||||
13 | [22] | |||||||
14 | 31 December 1992 | 13 March 1994 | 1 year, 72 days | Royal Air Force | None | [23] | ||
15 | [24] | |||||||
16 | [25] | |||||||
17 | [26] | |||||||
18 | [27] | |||||||
19 | [28] | |||||||
20 | [29][30] | |||||||
21 | [31][32] | |||||||
22 | 14 July 2016 | 11 June 2018 | 1 year, 332 days | Royal Air Force | Baron Peach | [33] | ||
23 | 11 June 2018 | 30 November 2021 | 3 years, 172 days | British Army | None | [34] | ||
24 | 30 November 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 156 days | Royal Navy | Incumbent | [35] |
Timeline
Peerage
Customarily, former Chiefs of Defence Staff receive a
See also
- Head of the British Armed Forces
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Previously served as the Chief of the Air Staff.
- ^ a b c d e f g Previously served as the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Previously served as the Chief of the General Staff.
- ^ a b c d e Previously served as the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff.
- ^ Sir William Dickson, Sir Richard Hull and Sir Peter Harding never received a peerage.
References
- ^ a b Departmental Resource Accounts 2006-7 Ministry of Defence
- ^ "Admiral Sir Tony Radakin KCB ADC appointed new Chief of the Defence Staff". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ "Admiral Sir Tony Radakin KCB ADC". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "How Defence Works". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
- ^ "Professor Michael Clarke". King's College London. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ Barrass, Malcolm (25 September 2007). "Marshal of the RAF Sir William Dickson". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ^ Heathcote (2002), p. 189
- ^ "No. 43712". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 July 1965. p. 6717.
- ^ Barrass, Malcolm (16 June 2007). "Marshal of the RAF The Lord Elworthy of Timaru". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- ^ "No. 44376". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 July 1967. p. 8445.
- ^ "No. 45168". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 August 1970. p. 8853.
- ^ "No. 46109". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 October 1973. p. 12551.
- ^ "No. 47050". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 October 1976. p. 14418.
- ^ "No. 47050". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 October 1976. p. 14421.
- ^ Heathcote (2002), p. 16
- ^ Barrass, Malcolm (16 June 2007). "Marshal of the RAF Lord Cameron of Balhousie". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "No. 47311". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 August 1977. p. 11141.
- ^ Heathcote (2002), p. 159
- ^ "No. 49142". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 October 1982. p. 13571.
- ^ Heathcote (2002), p. 78
- ^ "No. 51550". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 December 1988. p. 13684.
- ^ "No. 52489". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 March 1991. p. 5083.
- ^ "No. 53184". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 January 1993. p. 1376.
- ^ "No. 53645". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 April 1994. p. 5799.
- ^ "No. 54726". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 April 1997. p. 4170.
- ^ MoD announces new Chief of Defence Staff Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 56992". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 July 2003. p. 8463.
- ^ SBAC[permanent dead link] RAF Chief becomes the new Chief of Defence Staff
- ^ a b "Outgoing CDS to receive peerage". Downing Street. 27 October 2010.
- ^ "No. 59593". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 November 2010. p. 21039.
- ^ "No. 60575". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 July 2013. p. 14487.
- ^ "Sir David Richards to become a lord – after overseeing the sacking of 20,000 troops". 13 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Stuart Peach GBE KCB DL". 14 July 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
- ^ "No. 62321". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2018. p. 10419.
- ^ "Admiral Sir Tony Radakin KCB ADC appointed new Chief of the Defence Staff". 7 October 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ House of Lords Business, February 1, 2011
- ^ "Gen Sir David Richards new head of British armed forces". BBC News. 14 July 2010.[permanent dead link]
Sources
- Carver, Michael (1989). Out of Step: The Memoirs of Field Marshal Lord Carver. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09173-985-3.
- Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734–1995. Havertown: Pen & Sword. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
- Richards, David (2014). Taking Command. London: Headline. ISBN 1-47222-084-6.