Chief of the Defence Staff (Benin)

The Chief of the Defence Staff (French: Chef d'etat major général des armées) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Benin Armed Forces and is responsible for maintaining control over the service branches.

Chief of the Defence Staff
Chef d'etat major général des armées (French)
Incumbent Brigadier general Fructueux Gbaguidi since 12 April 2022
Benin Armed Forces
Reports to	Minister of National Defence
Appointer	the President
Formation	1960
First holder	Christophe Soglo
Deputy	Deputy chief of the Defence Staff

List of officeholders

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Defence branch	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
		Major general Fernand Amoussou [fr] (born 1955)	2000	17 August 2005	4–5 years	Army
		Major general Mathieu Amoussa Chabi Boni (born 1956)	17 August 2005	28 March 2012	6 years, 224 days	Army	^[1]
		Major general Soumanou Oke (born 1955)	28 March 2012	30 June 2012	94 days	Army	^[2]
		Brigadier general Emmanuel Joseph Akpona (born 1957)	30 June 2012	28 January 2013	212 days	Army	^[3]
		Counter admiral Denis Hounsou Gbèssèmèhlan	28 January 2013	30 December 2015	2 years, 336 days	Navy	^[4]
		Brigadier general Awal Djibril Bouko Nagnimi	30 December 2015	16 September 2016	261 days	Army	^[5]
		Brigadier general Laurent Amoussou	16 September 2016	14 November 2018	2 years, 59 days	Army	^[6]
		Counter admiral Patrick Jean Baptiste Aho (born 1960)	14 November 2018	12 April 2022	3 years, 149 days	Navy	^[7]
		Brigadier general Fructueux Candide Ahodegnon Gbaguidi	12 April 2022	Incumbent	1 year, 363 days	Army	^[8]

References

1. Hodonou, Aymard (17 August 2005). "Bénin: Etat major des armées béninoises : le Général de Mathieu Boni Amoussa installé". allafrica.com (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2022.
2. Hessoun, Charly (30 March 2012). "Le Général Soumanou Oké nommé Chef d'Etat Major Général des Fab". lanouvelletribune.info (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2022.
3. Gbeto, Emmanuel (2 July 2012). "Nomme chef d'etat major general des armees beninoises: Le General de brigade Emmanuel Akpona prend le commandement pour six mois". levenementprecis.com (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2022.
4. "Denis Hounsou Gbèssèmèhlan, nouveau chef d'état-major général". news.acotonou.com (in French). 28 January 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
5. Dogue, Didier Pascal (3 January 2015). "Etat-major général des FAB : Le général Awal Djibril Bouko Nagnimi désormais aux commandes". news.acotonou.com/ (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2022.
6. "Bénin-Défense-Commandement: le Général Laurent Amoussou, nouveau Chef d'Etat-major de l'armée béninoise". news.acotonou.com (in French). 16 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
7. Zohoun, Judicaël (15 November 2018). "Qui est Patrick Jean-Baptiste Aho ?". 24haubenin.info (in French). Retrieved 31 August 2022.
8. "Forces armées béninoises : Les nouveaux Chefs d'État-Majors ont pris le Commandement". gouv.bj (in French). Government of Benin. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.