Defence Staff (Denmark)

The Danish Defence Staff (Danish: Forsvarsstaben) is a senior command authority within the Danish Defence, responsible for leadership, administration, and staff support.

Defence Staff
Forsvarsstaben
Founded	1 October 1950; 74 years ago (1950-10-01)
Country	Kingdom of Denmark
Part of	Defence Command
Headquarters	Holmen Naval Base
Website	Official website
Commanders
Chief of the Defence Staff	Lieutenant general Kenneth Pedersen

Role

The Defense Staff is part of the Defense Command and supports the Chief of Defence with operational management and administration of the defense. There are four department within the Defense Staff:^[1]

• The High-Command Staff Secretariat
• The Joint Operations Staff
• The Plans and Capability Staff
• The Finance Division

Chief of the Defense Staff

The Chief of the Defense Staff reports directly to the Chief of Defense and serves as his deputy. The person in question is also responsible for ensuring that the Armed Forces 'resources are utilized optimally, so that the Armed Forces' tasks are solved in the best possible way. The Chief of the Defense Staff, together with the Chief of Defense, constitutes the top management of the Defense.

List

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Defence branch	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Major general Einar M. Nordentoft (1896–1968)	1 October 1950	30 September 1956	5 years, 365 days	Army	[2]
2		Major general Poul Vilhelm Hammershøy (1905–1961)	1 October 1956	30 September 1959	2 years, 364 days	Army	[3]
3		Major general Erik Rasmussen (1903–1972)	1 October 1959	30 September 1962	2 years, 364 days	Air force	[4]
4		Major general Svend Børge Reimert Helsø (1910–1975)	1 October 1962	1970	7–8 years	Army	[5]
5		Major general Eigil Wolff [da] (1914–1983)	1970	30 November 1972	2–3 years	Army
6		Major general Knud Jørgensen [da] (1919–1990)	1 December 1972	30 April 1977	4 years, 150 days	Air force	[6]
7		Lieutenant general Gunnar Kjær Kristensen [da] (1928–2001)	1 May 1977	30 April 1983	5 years, 364 days	Army	[7]
8		Vice admiral Sven Egil Thiede [da] (1924–2005)	1 May 1983	30 November 1985	2 years, 213 days	Navy	[8]
9		Lieutenant general Jørgen Lyng (born 1934)	1 December 1985	31 October 1989	3 years, 334 days	Army	[9]
10		Vice admiral Jørgen Garde (1939–1996)	1 November 1989	31 March 1996	6 years, 151 days	Navy	[10]
11		Lieutenant general Christian Hvidt [da] (born 1942)	1 April 1996	20 August 1996	141 days	Air force	[11]
12		Lieutenant general Ove Høegh-Guldberg Hoff [da] (born 1942)	20 August 1996	2000	3–4 years	Army	[11]
13		Lieutenant general Hans Jesper Helsø (born 1942)	27 September 2000	1 October 2002	2 years, 4 days	Army
14		Vice admiral Tim Sloth Jørgensen (born 1951)	1 October 2002	31 July 2008	5 years, 304 days	Navy	[12]
15		Lieutenant general Bjørn Bisserup (born 1960)	31 July 2008	1 October 2014	6 years, 62 days	Army	[13]
16		Lieutenant general Per Ludvigsen [da] (born 1957)	1 October 2014	1 November 2017	3 years, 31 days	Army	[13]
17		Lieutenant general Max A.L.T. Nielsen [de] (born 1963)	1 November 2017	1 September 2019	1 year, 304 days	Air force	[14][15]
–		Rear admiral Frank Trojahn (born 1963) Acting	1 September 2019	15 November 2019	75 days	Navy	[15]
18		Lieutenant general Kenneth Pedersen [da] (born 1968)	15 November 2019	Incumbent	5 years, 186 days	Army	[15]