Chairman of the General Staff

The Chairman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (abbreviated COGS) also known as the "Chief of the General Staff" is the chief and highest ranking officer of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces.

Chairman of the General Staff
رئاسة هيئة الأركان العامة للقوات المسلحة
Incumbent Air Chief Marshal Fayyadh al-Ruwaili, RSAF since 26 February 2018
Ministry of Defense
Type	Chief of defence
Status	Highest-ranking (within MoD)
Abbreviation	COGS
Member of	General Staff Presidency Council of Military Service
Nominator	Minister of Defence
Appointer	King of Saudi Arabia
Term length	No fixed length
Precursor	Military Affairs Director
Formation	29 September 1939 (1939-09-29)
First holder	Mohammad Tarek Abdelkader [ar]

He usually holds the highest military rank within the Ministry of Defense. The current Chairman is Air Chief Marshal Fayyadh al-Ruwaili, who succeeded General Abdulrahman al-Bunian in February 2018.^[1]

List of chairmen

No.	Portrait	Chairman	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Abdelkader, Mohammed TarekMajor General Muhammad Tariq Abd al-Qadir al-Afriqi (c. 1886–1965)	1939	1941	1–2 years	Saudi Arabian Army
2		Al-Tayyar, Ja'farBrigadier general Ja'far Al Tayyar (18??–1944)	1941	1944	2–3 years	Saudi Arabian Army
3		Al-Sharif, Mohsen bin Al-HusseinBrigadier general Al-Sheriff Mohsen al-Hussein [ar] (1908–1968)	1944	1949	4 years	Saudi Arabian Army
4		Al-Kurdi, Said bin AbdullahBrigadier general Said al-Kurdi [ar] (1896–1964)	1949	1957	7 years	Saudi Arabian Army
5		Al-Issa, Abdullah bin SulaimanMajor General Abdullah al-Issa [ar] (1924–1975)	1957	1959	1–2 years	Saudi Arabian Army
6		Al-Tassan, Ibrahim bin SalehLieutenant General Ibrahim al-Tassan [ar] (1???–1963)	1959	1962	2–3 years	Saudi Arabian Army
7		Al-Mutlaq, Abdullah bin AliGeneral Abdullah al-Mutlaq [ar] (19??–2015)	1962	1971	8–9 years	Saudi Arabian Army
8		Shammemry, Hamad bin MohammedGeneral Hamad Shammemry [ar] (1919–2016)	1971	1975	3–4 years	Saudi Arabian Army
9		Al Hamid, Othman bin MohammedGeneral Othman Al Hamid [ar] (c. 1923–2004)	1975	1980	4–5 years	Saudi Arabian Army
10		Al-Hamad, Mohammed bin SalehGeneral Mohammed al-Hamad [ar] (19??–2010)	1980	1996	16–17 years	Saudi Arabian Army
11		Al-Muhaya, Saleh bin AliGeneral Saleh al-Mahaya (born 1939)	1996	2011	14–15 years	Saudi Arabian Army
12		Al-Qabil, Hussein bin AbdullahGeneral Hussein al-Qabil [ar] (born 1942)	2011	2014	2–3 years	Saudi Arabian Army
13		al-Bunyan, Abdul Rahman bin SalehGeneral Abdulrahman al-Bunyan [ar]	2014	2018	3–4 years	Saudi Arabian Army
14		Al-Ruwaili, FayyadhAir Chief Marshal Fayyadh al-Ruwaili (born 1958)	26 February 2018	Incumbent	7 years, 161 days	Royal Saudi Air Force

See also

• Saudi Arabia portal

• General Staff Presidency