Hellenic National Defence General Staff

The Hellenic National Defence General Staff (Greek: Γενικό Επιτελείο Εθνικής Άμυνας, abbr. ΓΕΕΘΑ) is the senior staff of the Hellenic Armed Forces. It was established in 1950, when the separate armed services ministries were consolidated into the Ministry of National Defence. Its role in peacetime was as a coordinating and senior consultative body at the disposal of the Greek government, and in wartime as the overall headquarters of the Armed Forces. In recent years, through ongoing efforts at increased inter-services cooperation and integration, the HNDGS has assumed peacetime operational control over the separate branches. Between 19 December 1968 and 10 August 1977, the HNDGS was abolished, and the Armed Forces Headquarters (Greek: Αρχηγείο Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων, abbr. Greek: ΑΕΔ) established in its place.

Hellenic National Defence General Staff
Γενικό Επιτελείο Εθνικής Άμυνας
Emblem of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. The Corinthian helmet represents the Hellenic Army, the anchor the Hellenic Navy, and the wings the Hellenic Air Force
Founded	11 April 1950 (75 years, 4 months)
Country	Greece
Type	Military staff
Part of	Hellenic Armed Forces
Headquarters	Ministry of National Defence, Psychiko, Athens, Greece
Motto(s)	Ever to Excel Αἰὲν Ἀριστεύειν Een aristevin
Website	www.geetha.mil.gr
Commanders
Chief	General Dimitrios Houpis [el] [1][2]
Deputy Chief	Vice Admiral Theodoros Mikropoulos H.N. [3]
Chief of Staff	Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bouzos
Notable commanders	Field Marshal Alexandros Papagos
Insignia
Abbreviation	ΓΕΕΘΑ ("HNDGS")
Flag

The Chief of the HNDGS

The Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (Αρχηγός ΓΕΕΘΑ, Α/ΓΕΕΘΑ) conducts the HNDGS and is the main adviser to the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA) and to the Minister of Defence on military issues. Through the Chiefs of General Staffs, he carries out the operational commanding of the Joint Headquarters and the units that come under them, as well as the rest forces, when it comes to the issues of operation plans implementation and the Crises management System implementation, conduction of operations outside the national territory and participation of the Armed Forces in the confrontation of special situations during peace time.

He constructs the National Military Strategy after taking into consideration the suggestions of the General Staffs of the Armed Forces Services and according to the directions of the Ministry of Defence he manages and proposes the priority of the armament programs and suggests the general policy directions and priorities on every operational objective.

Traditionally, since c. 1970, the Chief of the HNDGS holds the rank of full general, admiral or air chief marshal, and is the only serving four-star officer of the Hellenic Armed Forces (as opposed to retired, since three-star ranks are often promoted one rank on retirement).

Since 12 January 2024, the incumbent Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, is General Dimitrios Houpis [el] ^[4][5]

• 
  Rank flag of the Chief of the HNDGS (Army variant)
• 
  Rank flag of the Chief of the HNDGS (Navy variant)
• 
  Rank flag of the Chief of the HNDGS (Air Force variant)

List of chiefs of the HNDGS

No.	Portrait	Chief of the HNDGS	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
1		Papagos, AlexandrosField Marshal Alexandros Papagos (1883–1955) [a]	1950	1951	0–1 years	Hellenic Army	–
2		Grigoropoulos, TheodotosLieutenant general Theodotos Grigoropoulos	1951	1952	0–1 years	Hellenic Army	–
3		Kitrilakis, StylianosLieutenant general Stylianos Kitrilakis [el] (1896–1964)	1952	1954	1–2 years	Hellenic Army	–
4		Dovas, KonstantinosLieutenant general Konstantinos Dovas (1898–1973)	1954	1959	4–5 years	Hellenic Army	–
5		Frontistis, AthanasiosLieutenant general Athanasios Frontistis (1900–1979)	1959	1962	2–3 years	Hellenic Army	–
6		Pipilis, IoannisLieutenant general Ioannis Pipilis [el] (1903–1992)	1962	1965	2–3 years	Hellenic Army	–
7		Tsolakas, KonstantinosLieutenant general Konstantinos Tsolakas	1965	1967	1–2 years	Hellenic Army	–
8		Avgeris, SpyridonVice admiral Spyridon Avgeris (1909–1972) [b]	30 March 1967	14 December 1967	259 days	Hellenic Navy	–
9		Angelis, OdysseasGeneral Odysseas Angelis (1912–1987) [c]	1967	16 August 1973	5–6 years	Hellenic Army	–
10		Zagorianakos, DimitriosGeneral Dimitrios Zagorianakos [el] (1918–1977) [d]	16 August 1973	25 November 1973	101 days	Hellenic Army	–
11		Bonanos, GrigoriosGeneral Grigorios Bonanos [e]	25 November 1973	1974	0–1 years	Hellenic Army	–
12		Arbouzis, DionysiosGeneral Dionysios Arbouzis (1913–1987) [f]	1974	1976	1–2 years	Hellenic Army	–
13		Davos, IoannisGeneral Ioannis Davos (1918–2008) [g]	14 September 1976	10 January 1980	3 years, 118 days	Hellenic Army	–
14		Gratzios, AgamemnonGeneral Agamemnon Gratzios (1922–1993)	11 January 1980	19 January 1982	2 years, 8 days	Hellenic Army	–
15		Degiannis, TheodorosAdmiral Theodoros Degiannis (1926–2006)	1982	1984	1–2 years	Hellenic Navy	–
16		Kouris, NikolaosAir Chief Marshal Nikolaos Kouris [el] (1930–2018)	1984	1989	4–5 years	Hellenic Air Force	–
17		Vellidis, StamatisGeneral Stamatis Vellidis (1928–2021)	1989	1990	0–1 years	Hellenic Army	–
18		Veryvakis, IoannisGeneral Ioannis Veryvakis (1930–2019)	1990	16 October 1993	2–3 years	Hellenic Army	–
19		Skarvelis, DimitriosGeneral Dimitrios Skarvelis [el] (born 1933)	16 October 1993	16 December 1993	61 days	Hellenic Army	–
20		Lymberis, ChristosAdmiral Christos Lymberis [el] (born 1935) [h]	16 December 1993	1996	2–3 years	Hellenic Navy	–
21		Tzoganis, AthanasiosAir Chief Marshal Athanasios Tzoganis (born 1939)	1996	1999	2–3 years	Hellenic Air Force	–
22		Paragioudakis, ManousosGeneral Manousos Paragioudakis [el] (born 1938)	1999	2002	2–3 years	Hellenic Army	–
23		Antonakopoulos, GeorgiosGeneral Georgios Antonakopoulos [el] (born 1943)	2002	16 February 2005	2–3 years	Hellenic Army	–
24		Chinofotis, PanagiotisAdmiral Panagiotis Chinofotis (born 1949)	16 February 2005	21 August 2007	2 years, 186 days	Hellenic Navy	–
25		Grapsas, DimitriosGeneral Dimitrios Grapsas (born 1948)	21 August 2007	6 August 2009	1 year, 350 days	Hellenic Army	–
26		Giangos, IoannisAir Chief Marshal Ioannis Giangos (born 1951)	6 August 2009	1 November 2011	2 years, 87 days	Hellenic Air Force	–
27		Kostarakos, MichailGeneral Michail Kostarakos (1956–2023)	1 November 2011	15 December 2015	4 years, 44 days	Hellenic Army	–
28		Apostolakis, EvangelosAdmiral Evangelos Apostolakis (born 1957)	15 December 2015	14 January 2019	3 years, 30 days	Hellenic Navy	–
–		Floros, KonstantinosLieutenant General Konstantinos Floros (born 1961) Acting	14 January 2019	25 January 2019	11 days	Hellenic Army	–
29		Christodoulou, ChristosAir Chief Marshal Christos Christodoulou [el] (born 1958)	25 January 2019	17 January 2020	357 days	Hellenic Air Force	–
30		Floros, KonstantinosGeneral Konstantinos Floros (born 1961)	17 January 2020	12 January 2024	3 years, 360 days	Hellenic Army	–
31		Choupis, DimitriosGeneral Dimitrios Choupis (born 1965)	12 January 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 232 days	Hellenic Army	[6]

Notes

1. Resigned to found Greek Rally party.
2. Held the post at the time of the coup d'état in April 1967 which established the military regime. Dismissed by the military regime following the failed counter-coup of King Constantine II in December 1967.
3. Installed by the military regime. "Chief of the Armed Forces" from December 1968.
4. Chief of the Armed Forces during the military regime. Held the post at the time of the Athens Polytechnic uprising in November 1973. Dismissed following the coup of Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis.
5. Chief of the Armed Forces during the military regime.
6. Chief of the Armed Forces following the fall of the military regime.
7. Chief of the Armed Forces, from August 1977 Chief of the re-formed HNDGS.
8. Dismissed following the Imia crisis.