Inspector of the Army

The Inspector of the Army (German: Inspekteur des Heeres or InspH) is the title held by the commander and highest ranking officer of the German Army (unless the Inspector General is an army officer) of the modern-day German Armed Forces or Bundeswehr. The Inspector is the most senior officer to serve in the German Army and is a military adviser to the Government of Germany as well as the Ministry of Defence.

Inspector of the German Army
Inspekteur des Heeres
Standard of the Inspector of the Army
Incumbent Generalleutnant Alfons Mais since 13 February 2020
Federal Minister of Defence
Abbreviation	InspH
Reports to	General Inspector of the Bundeswehr
Precursor	Oberkommando des Heeres

He is responsible for the readiness of personnel and materiel in the German Army, in that regard he reports directly to the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (and before 2012, directly to the Federal Minister of Defence). The Inspector commands the Army Command with its subordinate divisions (and division equivalents) and the Army Office with its subordinate training and support establishments. He is a member of the Defence Council for Bundeswehr-wide matters.

The Inspector and his deputy both hold the rank of lieutenant general (Generalleutnant).

The incumbent Inspector Alfons Mais.

List of Inspectors

The Inspectors of the Army, since 1956.^[1]

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Röttiger, HansHans Röttiger (1896–1960)	21 September 1956	15 April 1960 †	3 years, 116 days
2		Zerbel, AlfredAlfred Zerbel (1904–1987)	16 April 1960	30 September 1964	4 years, 258 days
3		Maizière, UlrichUlrich de Maizière (1912–2006) [a]	1 October 1964	24 August 1966	1 year, 327 days
4		Moll, JosefJosef Moll (1908–1998)	25 August 1966	30 September 1968	2 years, 36 days
5		Schnez, AlbertAlbert Schnez (1911–2007)	1 October 1968	30 September 1971	2 years, 364 days
6		Ferber, ErnstErnst Ferber [de] (1914–1998) [b]	1 October 1971	30 September 1973	1 year, 364 days
7		Hildebrandt, HorstHorst Hildebrandt [de] (1919–1989)	1 October 1973	30 March 1979	5 years, 181 days
8		Poeppel, JohannesJohannes Poeppel (1921–2007)	1 April 1979	30 September 1981	2 years, 182 days
9		Glanz, MeinhardMeinhard Glanz [de] (1924–2005)	1 October 1981	30 September 1984	4 years, 365 days
10		Sandrart, Hans-HenningHans-Henning von Sandrart [de] (1933–2013) [b]	1 October 1984	25 September 1987	2 years, 359 days
11		Ondarza, HenningHenning von Ondarza [de] (born 1933) [b]	26 October 1987	26 September 1991	3 years, 335 days
12		Schönbohm, JörgJörg Schönbohm (1937–2019) [c]	27 October 1991	18 February 1992	114 days
13		Hansen, HelgeHelge Hansen (born 1936) [b]	18 February 1992	21 March 1994	2 years, 31 days
14		Bagger, HartmutHartmut Bagger (1938–2024) [a]	21 March 1994	6 February 1996	1 year, 322 days
15		Willmann, HelmutHelmut Willmann [de] (born 1940)	6 February 1996	28 March 2001	5 years, 50 days
16		Gudera, GertGert Gudera [de] (born 1943)	28 March 2001	3 March 2004	2 years, 341 days
17		Budde, Hans-OttoHans-Otto Budde [de] (born 1948)	4 March 2004	24 March 2010	6 years, 19 days
18		Freers, WernerWerner Freers (born 1954)	24 March 2010	11 September 2012	2 years, 172 days
19		Kasdorf, BrunoBruno Kasdorf [de] (born 1952)	11 September 2012	16 July 2015	2 years, 308 days
20		Vollmer, JörgJörg Vollmer (born 1957)	16 July 2015	13 February 2020	4 years, 212 days
21		Mais, AlfonsAlfons Mais (born 1962)	13 February 2020	Incumbent	5 years, 180 days

Notes

1. Promoted to General Inspector of the Bundeswehr
2. Promoted to the Commander of the Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum
3. Became undersecretary for Security policy in the Federal Ministry of Defence