Chief of Defence (Belgium)

The Chief of Defence (Dutch: Chef Defensie; French: Chef de la Défense, abbreviated as CHOD), is the professional head and commander of the Belgian Armed Forces. He is the highest official within the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff. 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 current Chief of Defence is General Frederik Vansina, since July 2024.

Chief of Defence
Chef Defensie (Dutch) Chef de la Défense (French)
Incumbent General Frederik Vansina since 4 July 2024
Ministry of Defence
Type	Chief of Defence
Member of	Belgian Armed Forces
Reports to	Minister of Defence
Formation	28 February 1958 (1958-02-28)
First holder	Lieutenant-General Jacques de Clarcq

Chiefs of Staff (1958−present)

No.	Portrait	Chief of Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
1		de Clarcq, JacquesLieutenant General Jacques de Clarcq	28 February 1958	30 November 1959	1 year, 275 days	Belgian Land Component	–
2		de Cumont, Charles PaulLieutenant General Baron Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990)	9 December 1959	30 June 1963	3 years, 203 days	Belgian Land Component	–
3		Wagner, G.Lieutenant General G. Wagner	1 July 1963	31 March 1965	1 year, 273 days	Belgian Land Component	–
4		Dessart, V.Lieutenant General V. Dessart	1 April 1965	31 March 1968	2 years, 365 days	Belgian Land Component	–
5		Dessart, GeorgesLieutenant General Baron Georges Vivario (1910–1990)	1 April 1968	14 March 1972	3 years, 348 days	Belgian Land Component	–
6		Crekillie, ArmandLieutenant General Armand Crekillie (1922–2006)	15 March 1972	31 October 1979	7 years, 230 days	Belgian Air Component	–
7		Gontier, WillyLieutenant General Willy Gontier	1 November 1979	30 September 1982	2 years, 334 days	Belgian Land Component	–
8		Gysemberg, MauriceLieutenant General Baron Maurice Gysemberg [fr] (1927–2001)	1 October 1982	21 July 1988	5 years, 265 days	Belgian Land Component	–
9		Charlier, JoséLieutenant General José Charlier (born 1934)	22 July 1988	30 September 1995	7 years, 71 days	Belgian Land Component	–
10		Herteleer, WillyAdmiral Willy Herteleer (born 1941)	1 November 1995	31 December 2002	7 years, 91 days	Belgian Navy	–
11		Van Daele, AugustGeneral August Van Daele [nl] (1944–2017)	1 January 2003	1 April 2009	6 years, 90 days	Belgian Air Component	–
12		Delcour, Charles-HenriGeneral Charles-Henri Delcour [nl] (born 1948)	2 April 2009	29 March 2012	2 years, 363 days	Belgian Land Component	–
13		van Caelenberge, GerardGeneral Gerard Van Caelenberge (born 1952)	13 July 2012	13 July 2016	4 years, 0 days	Belgian Air Component	–
14		Compernol, MarcGeneral Marc Compernol (born 1957)	13 July 2016	10 July 2020	3 years, 363 days	Belgian Land Component	–
15		Hofman, MichelAdmiral Michel Hofman (born 1961)	10 July 2020	4 July 2024	3 years, 360 days	Belgian Navy	[1]
16		Vansina, FrederikGeneral Frederik Vansina (born 1964)	4 July 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 32 days	Belgian Air Component	[1]