Chief of Defence (Lithuania)

Not to be confused with Chief of the Defence Staff (Lithuania).

Chief of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania is Chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the national defence organisations.

Chief of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania
Lietuvos kariuomenės vadas
Insignia of the Chief of Defence
Flag of the Chief of Defence
Incumbent General Raimundas Vaikšnoras since 24 July 2024
Lithuanian Armed Forces
Reports to	Minister of National Defence
Nominator	Minister of National Defence
Term length	5 years
Formation	7 May 1919 (Historic) 20 October 1993
First holder	Silvestras Žukauskas (Historic) Jonas Andriškevičius
Website	kariuomene.lt

List of Chiefs

Army Commanders (1919–1940)

No.	Portrait	Army Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		ZukauskasGeneral Silvestras Žukauskas (1860–1937)	7 May 1919	26 September 1919	142 days	[1]
-		SlaboseviciusGeneral Vladas Dionizas Slaboševičius (1861–1919) Acting	26 September 1919	28 September 1919	2 days	[1][2][3]
-		LiatukasLieutenant General Pranas Liatukas (1876–1945) Acting	7 October 1919	23 February 1920	139 days	[1]
(1)		ZukauskasGeneral Silvestras Žukauskas (1860–1937)	23 February 1920	14 June 1920	112 days	[1]
-		GalvydisGeneral Jonas Galvydis-Bykauskas (1864–1943) Acting	9 April 1920	7 July 1920	89 days	[1]
-		ZukasLieutenant General Konstantinas Žukas (1885–1962) Acting	7 July 1920	7 April 1921	274 days	[1]
-		KrauceviciusLieutenant General Juozas Kraucevičius (1879–1964) Acting	29 May 1921	11 February 1922	258 days	[1]
-		StanaitisLieutenant General Juozas Stanaitis (1865–1925) Acting	11 February 1922	5 June 1923	1 year, 114 days	[1]
(1)		ZukauskasGeneral Silvestras Žukauskas (1860–1937)	6 June 1923	26 January 1928	4 years, 234 days	[1]
2		RastikisDivisional general Stasys Raštikis (1896–1985)	1 January 1935	22 April 1940	5 years, 112 days	[1]
3		VitkauskasDivisional general Vincas Vitkauskas (1890–1965)	22 April 1940	12 July 1940	81 days	[1]

Chiefs of Defence (1993–present)

No.	Portrait	Chief of Defence	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Andriškevičius, JonasMajor general Jonas Andriškevičius (born 1944)	20 October 1993	1 July 1999	5 years, 254 days	[4]
2		Kert, JohannesMajor general Jonas Kronkaitis (born 1935)	1 July 1999	30 June 2004	4 years, 365 days	–
3		Tutkus, ValdasLieutenant general Valdas Tutkus (born 1960)	30 June 2004	3 July 2009	5 years, 3 days	[4]
4		Pocius, ArvydasLieutenant general Arvydas Pocius (born 1957)	24 July 2009	24 July 2014	5 years, 0 days	[5]
5		Žukas, JonasLieutenant general Jonas Vytautas Žukas [lt] (born 1962)	24 July 2014	25 July 2019	5 years, 1 day	[5]
6		Rupšys, ValdemarasGeneral Valdemaras Rupšys (born 1967)	25 July 2019	24 July 2024	4 years, 365 days	[6]
7		Vaikšnoras, RaimundasGeneral Raimundas Vaikšnoras (born 1970)	24 July 2024	Incumbent	347 days	[7]

See also

• Lithuanian Armed Forces