Chief of Army Staff (Nepal)

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) (Nepali: नेपालको प्रधानसेनापति), informally known as Chief Sa'ab (Nepali: चिफ सा'ब), is the head and chief executive of the Nepalese Armed Forces. The post is a military appointment and statutory office held by the highest ranking officer on active duty in the armed forces of Nepal.

For head of Nepalese Army before COAS, see Chief of the Nepalese Army.

Chief of Army Staff of the Nepal Army
नेपालका प्रधानसेनापति
Incumbent
General Purna Chandra Thapa
since 9 September 2018
Ministry of Defence
AbbreviationCOAS
Reports toPrime Minister of Nepal
Ministry of Defence
SeatBhadrakali, Kathmandu, Nepal
NominatorGovernment of Nepal
AppointerPresident of Nepal
Term length3 years or upto 61 years of age[1]
PrecursorCommander-in-Chief of Nepal Army
Formation15 May 1979 (1979-05-15)
First holderGeneral Singha Pratap Shah
SuccessionOn basis of seniority, subjected to the decision of the Prime Minister of Nepal.
Unofficial namesArmy Chief
Chief Sa'ab
DeputyChief of General Staff
WebsiteOfficial website

The Chief of Army Staff is the Chief of the Nepalese Army and reports to the Government of Nepal. The appointment is constitutionally subjected to be for three years or up to 61 years of age whichever is earlier. The seat of Chief of Army Staff is in Bhadrakali, Kathmandu. The current Chief of Army Staff is General Purna Chandra Thapa, since 9 September 2018.

History

The Kajis of Gorkha Kingdom (later Kingdom of Nepal) carried the functions of army chief. In the 19th century, Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa was the first person to use Commander-in-Chief as the title of army chief.[2] During the Rana dynasty, the post of army chief was hereditary. In 1979, General Singha Pratap Shah was raised with the title of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) instead of Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C). Since then, COAS is the title of army chief of Nepalese Army.

Appointment

As per Section 8 of Army Act (2063) of Nepal, the Chief of Army Staff is appointed by the President of Nepal on the recommendation of Council of Ministers of Nepal.[3] The Chief of Army Staff is the head of the Nepalese military. As per Section 10 of the same, the appointment is subjected to be for three years or up to 61 years whichever is earlier.[3] As per Section 8(3) of Nepal Army Act (2063), in case of leave by current COAS, the President of Nepal can appoint the seniormost officer as the acting Chief of Army Staff. When General Rajendra Chhetri left for 15 days tour on 30 June 2017 to United States, Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Baldev Raj Mahat was appointed Acting Chief of the Army Staff as per section 8(3).[4] Similarly, then CGS Lt. Gen. Purna Chandra Thapa was appointed as the acting Chief of Army Staff on 8 August 2018 at the traditional last month leave of General Chhetri.[5]

Powers, duties and responsibilities

As per Section 9(1) of Army Act (2063) of Nepal, the Chief of Army Staff shall manage the armed forces under the instructions of the Government of Nepal and according to prevailing laws and acts. As per Section 9(2), the COAS shall submit an annual report on the management of Nepalese armed forces to the Government of Nepal on the Baisakh month of Hindu calendar.[3]

Removal

As per Section 11 (1 & 2) of the Army Act, COAS is normally retired on completion of 3 years or up to age of 61 years of the person, whichever is earlier. However, as per the section 11(3) of the same, the COAS can be removed by the President of Nepal if deemed necessary by Government of Nepal on the recommendation of Council of Ministers of Nepal.[3]

List of Chiefs of the Army Staff of Nepal (1979–present)
No. Chief of Army StaffTook officeLeft officeTime in officeUnit of CommissionRef
1
Shah, Singha PratapGeneral
Singha Pratap Shah OGDB, OTSP		15 May 197915 May 19834 years, 0 days--
2
Rana, Arjun NarsinghGeneral
Arjun Narsingh Rana OGDB, OTSP		15 May 198315 May 19874 years, 0 days--
3
Rana, Satchit Shamsher Jang BahadurGeneral
Satchit Rana OGDB, OTSP
(1934–2007)		15 May 198715 May 19914 years, 0 daysShreenath Battalion-
4
Rana, Gadul Shamsher Jang BahadurGeneral
Gadul Shamsher JB Rana OGDB, OTSP
(1936–2016)		15 May 19914 May 19953 years, 354 days-[6]
5
Thapa, Dharmapal BarsinghGeneral
Dharmapaal Barsingh Thapa OGDB, OTSP
(born 1936)		15 May 199515 May 19994 years, 0 days--
6
Rana, Prajwalla Shamsher Jang BahadurGeneral
Prajwalla Shamsher JB Rana OGDB, OTSP		19 May 19999 September 20034 years, 113 days--
7
Thapa, Pyar JungGeneral
Pyar Jung Thapa		10 September 200309 September 20062 years, 364 days--
8
Katawal, RookmangudGeneral
Rookmangad Katawal
(born 1948)		09 September 200609 September 20093 years, 0 days--
9
Gurung, Chhatra Man SinghGeneral
Chhatra Man Singh Gurung
(born 1952)		09 September 200905 September 20122 years, 362 daysShreenath Battalion-
10
Rana, Gaurav Shumsher JBGeneral
Gaurav Shumsher JB Rana
(born 1955)		06 September 201210 September 20153 years, 4 daysPurano Gorakh Battalion[7]
11
Chhetri, RajendraGeneral
Rajendra Chhetri
(born 1960)		10 September 20158 September 20182 years, 363 daysRajdal Battalion[5]
12
Thapa, Purna ChandraGeneral
Purna Chandra Thapa
(born 1960)		9 September 2018Incumbent1 year, 341 daysGorakh Bahadur Battalion[1][8][9]

Vice Chief of Army Staff

Chief of General Staff (CGS) is the deputy position of the Chief of Army Staff. The CGS is generally ranked as Lieutenant General (three star General). The chief of general staff is assigned to look after intelligence and operations in the Army.[10] Currently, Lt. Gen. Sarad Giri is the CGS of the Nepal Army.

No. Chief of General StaffTook officeLeft officeTime in officeUnit of CommissionRef
-
Chhetri, RajendraGeneral
Rajendra Chhetri
(born 1960)		February 2015July 20155 monthsRajdal Battalion[10]
-
Mahat, Baldev RajLieutenant General
Baldev Raj Mahat		July 20154 November 20172 years, 4 months-[10][11]
-
Thapa, Purna ChandraGeneral
Purna Chandra Thapa
(born 1960)		4 November 20178 August 2018277 daysGorakh Bahadur Battalion[5][11][12]
-
Kunwar, Hemanta RajLieutenant General
Hemanta Raj Kunwar		16 September 201823 April 2019219 daysNaya Gorakh Battalion[13][14][15][16]
40
Giri, SaradLieutenant General
Sarad Giri		23 April 2019Incumbent1 year, 114 daysRajdal Battalion[16]
gollark: Minoteaur has exciting bugs sometimes where it locks up and uses 100% of one CPU core constantly for no apparent reason.
gollark: As the Macron developer, you will.
gollark: Humans take a few deciseconds to consciously process things.
gollark: Don't insects have substantially faster nervous systems?
gollark: Anyway, if you like ABR's code, you'll *love* the unreleased Minoteaur 7.1 source.

References
  1. "Thapa likely to be appointed Nepali Army chief". thehimalayantimes.com. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  2. Adhikari 2012, p. 155.
  3. "Military act 2063" (PDF). www.nepalarmy.mil.np.
  4. "Lieutenant General Mahat entrusted with NA acting Chief responsibility". thehimalayantimes.com. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  5. "Thapa to take charge of Nepali Army as acting CoAS - The Himalayan Times". thehimalayantimes.com. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  6. "Former army chief Gadul Shamsher Rana no more". thehimalayantimes.com. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  7. "Tough challenges ahead for new NA chief Chhetri - The Himalayan Times". thehimalayantimes.com. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  8. "General Purna Thapa is new chief of Nepal Army". 9 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018 – via The Economic Times.
  9. "Thapa sworn in as new Army chief". ekantipur.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  10. "Chhetri promoted to acting Army chief". ekantipur.com. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  11. "Thapa likely to be appointed Nepali Army chief". thehimalayantimes.com. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  12. "CGS Biography". Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  13. http://therisingnepal.org.np/news/25695
  14. https://www.nepalisansar.com/news/nepal-keen-on-maintaining-world-military-relations/
  15. "CGS Biography". Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  16. "CGS Biography". Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.

Books
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.