Major General of the Defence Staff (France)

The Major General of the Defence Staff (French: Major Général des Armées, lit. 'Major General of the Armies', acronym: M.G.A.) is a high ranking general officer of the French Armed Forces and the deputy to the Chief of the Defence Staff. As such, it is the second highest position in the armed forces. Major Generals are nominated by the Minister of the Armed Forces and appointed by the Commander-in-Chief, the President of the French Republic. The designation of Major General is not indicative of any rank but is rather a position, as the most recent office holders were all four star generals (OF-9).

Major General of the Defence Staff
Major général des armées
Insignia of the Armed Forces Staff
Incumbent Admiral Jean Casabianca since 1 September 2018
Ministry of the Armed Forces
Type	Part of a military staff
Abbreviation	M.G.A.
Member of	Chiefs of Staff Committee
Reports to	Chief of the Defence Staff
Seat	Hexagone Balard, Paris
Appointer	President of the Republic Requires the Prime Minister's countersignature
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	28 April 1948
First holder	Henri Zeller
Website	www.defense.gouv.fr

History

The office was established on 28 April 1948, during the reorganization of the French higher hierarchy.^[1]

Duties

The major general leads the Defence Staff and is assisted by three general officers: the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (OPS), the Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning (PLANS) and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Performance (PERF).

They replace the chief of staff when necessary. As a flag officer, they are the commanding officer of the Site of Balard, headquarters of the French Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Office holders

No.	Portrait	Rank & Name	Term			Branch	Minister	Commander-in-Chief	Ref.^[a]
			Took office	Left office	Duration
Office established
1		Division general Henri Zeller	29 April 1948	8 July 1949	1 year, 70 days	Army	Pierre-Henri Teitgen René Mayer Paul Ramadier	Vincent Auriol	^[2] -
2		Air brigade general Raoul Vernoux	8 July 1949	11 May 1954	4 years, 307 days	Air Force	Paul Ramadier René Pleven Jules Moch Georges Bidault René Pleven		^[3] -
								René Coty
3		Division general Raymond Baillif	11 May 1954	20 October 1955	1 year, 162 days	Army	René Pleven Pierre Kœnig [...] Pierre Kœnig Pierre Billotte		^[4] -
4		Air division general Maurice Challe	20 October 1955	8 October 1958	2 years, 351 days	Air Force	Pierre Billotte Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury [...] Pierre de Chevigné Pierre Guillaumat		^[5] -
5		Army general André Demetz	8 October 1958	28 March 1959	171 days	Army	Pierre Guillaumat Pierre Messmer		^[6] -
								Charles de Gaulle
6		Air corps general Paul Stehlin	28 March 1959	15 March 1960	353 days	Air Force	Pierre Messmer		^[7] -
		...
		Air corps general Michel Délaval	1 May 1977	26 August 1979	2 years, 117 days	Air Force	...	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing	^[8] -
		Air corps general Jean-Paul Arbelet	26 August 1979	1 October 1983	4 years, 36 days	Air Force	...		^[9] -
								François Mitterrand
		Squadron vice-admiral Jean-André Brusson	1 October 1983	10 March 1985	1 year, 160 days	Navy	...		^[10] -
		Squadron vice-admiral Bernard Louzeau	10 March 1985	30 January 1987	1 year, 326 days	Navy	...		^[11] -
		Squadron vice-admiral Alain Coatanea	30 January 1987	20 November 1990	3 years, 294 days	Navy	André Giraud Jean-Pierre Chevènement		^[12] -
		Division general Mary-Jean Voinot	20 November 1990	1 October 1992	1 year, 316 days	Army	Jean-Pierre Chevènement Pierre Joxe		^[13] -
		Air corps general Jean-Philippe Douin	1 October 1992	15 June 1994	1 year, 257 days	Air Force	Pierre Joxe François Léotard		^[14] -
		Air corps general Jean Rannou	15 June 1994	1 September 1995	1 year, 78 days	Air Force	François Léotard Charles Millon		^[15] -
								Jacques Chirac
		Corps general Philippe Mercier	1 September 1995	28 August 1996	362 days	Army	Charles Millon		^[16] -
		Air corps general Jean-Pierre Kelche	28 August 1996	9 April 1998	1 year, 224 days	Air Force	Charles Millon Alain Richard		^[17] -
		Air corps general Jean-Pierre Job	9 April 1998	1 September 1999	1 year, 145 days	Air Force	Alain Richard		^[18] -
		Air corps general Richard Wolsztynski	1 September 1999	1 September 2002	3 years, 0 days	Air Force	Alain Richard Michèle Alliot-Marie		^[19] -
		Counter admiral Alain Coldefy	1 September 2002	15 July 2005	2 years, 317 days	Navy	Michèle Alliot-Marie		^[20] -
		Admiral Hervé Le Riche	15 July 2005	1 September 2007	2 years, 48 days	Navy	Michèle Alliot-Marie Hervé Morin		^[21] -
								Nicolas Sarkozy
		Admiral Pierrick Blairon	1 September 2007	12 March 2010	2 years, 192 days	Navy	Hervé Morin		^[22] -
		Army general Pierre de Villiers	12 March 2010	15 February 2014	3 years, 340 days	Army	Hervé Morin Alain Juppé Gérard Longuet Jean-Yves Le Drian		^[23] -
								François Hollande
		Air army general Gratien Maire	15 February 2014	1 September 2016	2 years, 199 days	Air Force	Jean-Yves Le Drian		^[24] -
		Admiral Philippe Coindreau	1 September 2016	1 September 2018	2 years, 0 days	Navy	Jean-Yves Le Drian Sylvie Goulard Florence Parly		^[25] -
								Emmanuel Macron
		Admiral Jean Casabianca	1 September 2018	Incumbent	5 years, 262 days	Navy	Florence Parly		^[26] ^[27]

References

1. Government of the French Republic (28 April 1948). "Décret portant regroupement des états-major généraux de la guerre, de la marine et de l'air et création de l'état-major général des forces armées". gallica.bnf.fr (in French). from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
2. Government of the French Republic (28 April 1948). "Decree appointing a general officer". gallica.bnf.fr (in French). from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
3. Government of the French Republic (10 July 1949). "Decree appointing a general officer". gallica.bnf.fr (in French). from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
4. JORF #108 - P4405 - 11 May 1954
5. JORF #254 - P10608 - 27 October 1955
6. JORF #236 - P9221 - 8 October 1958
7. JORF #077 - P3828 - 2 April 1959
8. Government of the French Republic (7 April 1977). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 March 2020.
9. Government of the French Republic (6 July 1979). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 March 2020.
10. Government of the French Republic (3 October 1983). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 March 2020.
11. Government of the French Republic (6 February 1985). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
12. Government of the French Republic (23 December 1986). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
13. Government of the French Republic (7 November 1990). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
14. Government of the French Republic (20 July 1992). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
15. Government of the French Republic (9 May 1994). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
16. Government of the French Republic (3 August 1995). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
17. Government of the French Republic (1 August 1996). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
18. Government of the French Republic (19 March 1998). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
19. Government of the French Republic (8 July 1999). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
20. Government of the French Republic (1 August 2002). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
21. Government of the French Republic (4 July 2005). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
22. Government of the French Republic (2 August 2007). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
23. Government of the French Republic (11 March 2010). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
24. Government of the French Republic (16 January 2014). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
25. Government of the French Republic (7 July 2016). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
26. Government of the French Republic (11 July 2018). "Décret portant affectation d'un officier général". legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
27. Xavier Vavasseur (17 September 2019). "U.S. Navy Europe's Top Admiral Highlights French-American Alliance". Naval News. from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2020.

Notes

1. Upper references are the official decree of nomination in French. Lower references are press articles in English.