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The Chief of the Armed Forces (German: Chef der Armee (CdA); French: Chef de l'armée) commands the Swiss Armed Forces in time of peace and reports directly to the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports and to the Swiss Federal Council. The position was established in 2004.

History

Until the end of 2003, the highest level of command in the Swiss Armed forces was held by the General Staff (Switzerland) [de], led by the Chief of the General Staff as primus inter pares. Together with other reforms of the Armed Forces (Armee XXI), the position of Chief of the Armed Forces was introduced. Christophe Keckeis became the first Chief of the Armed Forces, having already served as Chief of the General Staff since January 2003.

General information

The Chief of the Armed Forces is elected by the Federal Council and holds the rank of Korpskommandant (Three-star rank, equivalent to Lieutenant general). He leads the Swiss Armed Forces in time of peace. Only in time of war, a commander-in-chief of the rank of General (four-star rank) is elected by the Federal Assembly.

List of Chiefs of the Armed Forces

№		Chief of Defence	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch
1		Keckeis, ChristopheLt Gen. Christophe Keckeis (born 1945)	1 January 2004	31 December 2007	7003146000000000000♠3 years, 364 days	Army
2		Nef, RolandLt Gen. Roland Nef (born 1959)	1 January 2008	21 July 2008	7002202000000000000♠202 days	Army
-		Blattmann, AndréLt Gen. André Blattmann (born 1956) Acting	21 July 2008	28 February 2009	7002222000000000000♠222 days	Air Force
3		Blattmann, AndréLt Gen. André Blattmann (born 1956)	1 March 2009	31 December 2016	7003286200000000000♠7 years, 305 days	Air Force
4		Rebord, PhilippeLt Gen. Philippe Rebord (born 1957)	1 January 2017	Incumbent	7002737000000000000♠2 years, 7 days	Army

External links

• 
  Chef der Armee at the official Swiss government website