Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the CDS include:

• commanding the service chiefs (through Military Strategic Headquarters)

• leading defence (with the Permanent Secretary (Perm Sec))

• setting strategy for defence, including the future development of the Armed Forces (subject to ministers’ direction, and together with Perm Sec)

• the conduct of current operations

• leading relationships with other countries’ Armed Forces

Supporting and associated posts

The CDS is supported by a deputy, the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, who since 1997 (when the CDS post was downgraded) has been of equivalent rank but is ordinarily from a different service to the CDS.

There are also several Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (DCDS) posts who support the VCDS. As of 2015, these are:

• Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy & Operations) (DCDS (MSO))
• Chief of Defence People (CDP)
• Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Military Capability (DCDS (Mil Cap))

The CDS maintains a close working relationship with the Ministry of Defence's Permanent Under-Secretary, who is the Ministry's senior civil servant, and they both report directly to the Secretary of State for Defence. The CDS focuses on military operations and strategy, while the Permanent Under-Secretary's remit concerns administrative and financial policy.

Additionally, the CDS is supported by a Strategic Advisory Panel.

History of the post

The post was created in 1959 to reflect the new concept of joint operations that had come to the fore in the Second World War. The first incumbent was Marshal of the RAF Sir William Dickson. Prior to the creation of the post, he had served as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, from 1956 onwards. Before 1956, although no permanent post of chairman existed, the three service chiefs took it in turn to act as chairman at meetings. From the post's inception until the mid-to-late 1970s, CDS appointments were granted on a strict rotational basis between the three services. The first break in rotational order was precipitated by the death of Marshal of the RAF Sir Andrew Humphrey.

From the creation of the post until 1997, the Chief of the Defence Staff was appointed to the highest rank in the respective branch of the British armed forces to which he belonged, being an admiral of the Fleet, a field marshal or marshal of the Royal Air Force, (NATO rank grade OF-10). However, with the post-Cold War reduction in the manpower strength of the British Armed Forces and the additional reasoning that no new "Five-star" appointments are to be made in peacetime, since 1997 the Chief of the Defence Staff has kept the rank of admiral, general or air chief marshal, (NATO OF-9), which he invariably already holds. However, during the 2010s Charles Guthrie, Michael Boyce, Michael Walker and Jock Stirrup were honorarily promoted to their respective services' senior ranks, sometime after they had each stepped down as CDS. Although there is no policy against a Royal Marines officer being appointed, few officers in the Corps attain a high enough rank to be considered for the post. However, in 2016, a Royal Marine officer Gordon Messenger was promoted to the rank of general and appointed as Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff. With the implementation of the Defence Reforms in April 2025, the CDS is also in charge of the Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ), commanding the four service chiefs and in charge of force design and equipment delivery to the armed forces. The CDS will also command the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy & Operations) and the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Force Development).

List of Chiefs of the Defence Staff (1959–present)

Earl Mountbatten of Burma

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late

Define $nextyear = 01/01/

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1955 till:$nextyear TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1955

Define $now = //

Colors = id:RN value:darkblue legend: RN id:BA value:red legend: Army id:RAF value:skyblue legend: RAF id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9)

Legend = orientation:vertical position:right

LineData = layer:back width:0.2 color:time at:01/01/1955 at:01/01/1960 at:01/01/1965 at:01/01/1970 at:01/01/1975 at:01/01/1980 at:01/01/1985 at:01/01/1990 at:01/01/1995 at:01/01/2000 at:01/01/2005 at:01/01/2010 at:01/01/2015 at:01/01/2020 at:01/01/2025

BarData = barset:PM bar:Dickson bar:Mountbatten bar:Hull bar:Elworthy bar:Hill-Norton bar:Carver bar:Humphrey bar:Ashmore bar:Cameron bar:Lewin bar:Bramall bar:Fieldhouse bar:Craig bar:Vincent bar:Harding bar:Inge bar:Guthrie bar:Boyce bar:Walker bar:Stirrup bar:Richards bar:Houghton bar:Peach bar:Carter bar:Radakin bar:Knighton

PlotData = width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM

bar:Dickson from: 01/01/1959 till: 12/07/1959 color:RAF text:Dickson bar:Mountbatten from: 13/07/1959 till: 13/07/1965 color:RN text:Mountbatten bar:Hull from: 16/07/1965 till: 04/08/1967 color:BA text:Hull bar:Elworthy from: 04/08/1967 till: 08/04/1971 color:RAF text:Elworthy bar:Hill-Norton from: 09/04/1971 till: 21/10/1973 color:RN text:Hill-Norton bar:Carver from: 21/10/1973 till: 23/10/1976 color:BA text:Carver bar:Humphrey from: 24/10/1976 till: 24/01/1977 color:RAF text:Humphrey bar:Ashmore from: 09/02/1977 till: 30/08/1977 color:RN text:Ashmore bar:Cameron from: 31/08/1977 till: 31/08/1979 color:RAF text:Cameron bar:Lewin from: 01/09/1979 till: 30/09/1982 color:RN text:Lewin bar:Bramall from: 01/10/1982 till: 31/10/1985 color:BA text:Bramall bar:Fieldhouse from: 01/11/1985 till: 09/12/1988 color:RN text:Fieldhouse bar:Craig from: 09/12/1988 till: 01/04/1991 color:RAF text:Craig bar:Vincent from: 02/04/1991 till: 31/12/1992 color:BA text:Vincent bar:Harding from: 31/12/1992 till: 13/03/1994 color:RAF text:Harding bar:Inge from: 15/03/1994 till: 01/04/1997 color:BA text:Inge bar:Guthrie from: 02/04/1997 till: 15/02/2001 color:BA text:Guthrie bar:Boyce from: 16/02/2001 till: 02/05/2003 color:RN text:Boyce bar:Walker from: 02/05/2003 till: 28/04/2006 color:BA text:Walker bar:Stirrup from: 28/04/2006 till: 29/10/2010 color:RAF text:Stirrup bar:Richards from: 29/10/2010 till: 18/07/2013 color:BA text:Richards bar:Houghton from: 18/07/2013 till: 14/07/2016 color:BA text:Houghton bar:Peach from: 14/07/2016 till: 11/06/2018 color:RAF text:Peach bar:Carter from: 11/06/2018 till: 30/11/2021 color:BA text:Carter bar:Radakin from: 30/11/2021 till: 02/09/2025 color:RN text:Radakin bar:Knighton from: 02/09/2025 till: $now color:RAF text:Knighton

Peerage

Customarily, former Chiefs of Defence Staff receive a life peerage on retirement, sitting in the House of Lords as non-political crossbench peers. Their appointment is recommended not via the House of Lords Appointments Commission as is normal procedure, but is instead nominated directly to the monarch by the prime minister, who elects to nominate "a limited number of distinguished public servants" on retirement for a peerage. Sir Jock Stirrup was introduced to the House of Lords on 1 February 2010 as Baron Stirrup, of Marylebone in the City of Westminster.

Notes

References

Sources

References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080312174932/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8A6AC2D1-3CA3-4C12-82F8-5AD8C1800FFA/0/accounts.pdf Departmental Resource Accounts 2006-7] Ministry of Defence
2. "The Royal Family and the Armed Forces".
3. (27 June 2025). "Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton KCB ADC FREng appointed new Chief of the Defence Staff".
4. "Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton KCB ADC FREng".
5. "Admiral Sir Tony Radakin KCB ADC appointed new Chief of the Defence Staff".
6. "Admiral Sir Tony Radakin KCB ADC".
7. (2025-09-02). "Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton takes over as Chief of Defence Staff".
8. "V: Ministry of Defence and tri-service senior appointments".
9. "How Defence Works". Ministry of Defence.
10. "Professor Michael Clarke". King's College London.
11. . (25 October 2024). ["Major defence reforms launched, with new National Armaments Director to tackle waste and boost industry"](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-defence-reforms-launched-with-new-national-armaments-director-to-tackle-waste-and-boost-industry). *UK Ministry of Defence*.
12. . (1 April 2025). ["Defence Reform Volume 765: debated on Tuesday 1 April 2025"](https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-04-01/debates/25040143000006/DefenceReform). *UK Hansard*.
13. . (28 April 2025). ["Armed Forces Question for Ministry of Defence UIN 44500, tabled on 7 April 2025"](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-04-07/44500). *UK Hansard*.
14. Barrass, Malcolm. (25 September 2007). "Marshal of the RAF Sir William Dickson". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
15. Heathcote (2002), p. 189
16. {{London Gazette. (13 July 1965)
17. Barrass, Malcolm. (16 June 2007). "Marshal of the RAF The Lord Elworthy of Timaru". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
18. {{London Gazette. (28 July 1967)
19. {{London Gazette. (7 August 1970)
20. {{London Gazette. (23 October 1973)
21. {{London Gazette. (25 October 1976)
22. {{London Gazette. (25 October 1976)
23. Heathcote (2002), p. 16
24. Barrass, Malcolm. (16 June 2007). "Marshal of the RAF Lord Cameron of Balhousie". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
25. {{London Gazette. (26 August 1977)
26. Heathcote (2002), p. 159
27. {{London Gazette. (18 October 1982)
28. Heathcote (2002), p. 78
29. {{London Gazette. (5 December 1988)
30. {{London Gazette. (28 March 1991)
31. {{London Gazette. (25 January 1993)
32. {{London Gazette. (18 April 1994)
33. {{London Gazette. (7 April 1997)
34. {{usurped
35. {{London Gazette. (8 July 2003)
36. (November 2016)
37. {{London Gazette. (2 November 2010)
38. {{London Gazette. (23 July 2013)
39. (13 July 2013). "Sir David Richards to become a lord – after overseeing the sacking of 20,000 troops".
40. (14 July 2016). "Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Stuart Peach GBE KCB DL".
41. {{London Gazette. (11 June 2018)
42. (7 October 2021). "Admiral Sir Tony Radakin KCB ADC appointed new Chief of the Defence Staff".
43. "Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton takes over as Chief of Defence Staff".
44. (27 October 2010). "Outgoing CDS to receive peerage". Downing Street.
45. [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/minutes/110201/ldordpap.htm House of Lords Business], February 1, 2011
46. (14 July 2010). "Gen Sir David Richards new head of British armed forces". BBC News.