Chief of General Staff (Georgia)

The Chief of General Staff of Georgian Defense Forces (Georgian: საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის უფროსი, translit.: sakartvelos tavdatsvis dzalebis generaluri sht'abis uprosi) is a high-ranking officer in the military of Georgia, who heads the General Staff of the Defense Forces of Georgia and is an ex officio Deputy Chief of the Defense Forces. The Chief is appointed by the Minister of Defense and reports to the Minister and Chief of Defense Forces.

Chief of General Staff of Defense Forces of Georgia საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის უფროსი
Standard of Chief of General Staff
Incumbent Major General Zaza Chkhaidze since December 2018
Ministry of Defense of Georgia
Type	Military department
Status	Active
Member of	General Staff of Georgian Defense Forces
Reports to	Minister of Defense Chief of Defense
Residence	Tbilisi
Appointer	Minister of Defense of Georgia
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	1991
First holder	Jemal Kutateladze

Ministry of Defence headquarters in Tbilisi

From its introduction in 1999 until the military reforms in 2018, the Chief of General Staff was appointed by the President of Georgia and served as the chief military adviser to the President and wartime commander of the Georgian military.

Overview

The Chief of General Staff exercises overall leadership of the General Staff and directs its day-to-day activities. The Chief is responsible for the proper execution of the tasks saddled on the General Staff, supervises planning of military operations, oversees coordination among the staffs of various units of the Defense Forces, and performs other functions as defined by the military law.[1]

The Chief of General Staff is also a Deputy Chief of Defense Forces. They are appointed, with no term length, and released of the position by the Minister of Defense of Georgia.[1]

History

The office of the Chief of General Staff was introduced in Georgia following its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The position had its precursor—the Commander–in-Chief of the Army—in the Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1918 to 1921. It has undergone several name changes since 1991. Prior to the 2018 reforms, the Chief was appointed by the President of Georgia on the advice of the Minister of Defense for a three-year term, with the possibility of extension for one year. The Chief was the highest-ranking military officer in the Georgian military, chief military adviser to the President, and wartime commander of the Armed Forces of Georgia.[2]

List

Commanders-in-Chief of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921)

No.		Commander in Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Kvinitadze, GiorgiMajor general Giorgi Kvinitadze (1874–1970)	26 May 1918	13 December 1920	2 years, 201 days
2		Odishelidze, IliaGeneral of the army Ilia Odishelidze (1865–1924)	13 December 1920	16 February 1921	65 days
(1)		Kvinitadze, GiorgiMajor general Giorgi Kvinitadze (1874–1970)	16 February 1921	17 March 1921	29 days

Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces (1991–2008)

For period from 1921 to 1991, see Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Union.

No.		Chief of General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Kutateladze, JemalJemal Kutateladze	August 1991	December 1991	4 months
2		Tskitishvili, AvtandilMajor general Avtandil Tskitishvili (1950–2013)	January 1992	December 1993	1 year, 11 months
3		Nikolaishvili, GuramMajor general Guram Nikolaishvili (born 1952)	December 1993	June 1994	6 months
4		Tatarashvili, NodarMajor general Nodar Tatarashvili (born 1941)	June 1994	June 1996	2 years
5		Meparishvili, ZurabMajor general Zurab Meparishvili (born 1934)	June 1996	May 1998	1 year, 11 months
6		Pirtskhalaishvili, JoniLieutenant general Joni Pirtskhalaishvili (born 1947)	May 1998	September 2003	5 years, 4 months
7		Iukuridze, GiviGivi Iukuridze (born 1956)	February 2004	25 August 2004	6 months
8		Kapanadze, VakhtangMajor general Vakhtang Kapanadze (born 1960)	25 August 2004	18 February 2005	5 months
9		Nikoleishvili, LevanMajor general Levan Nikoleishvili	18 February 2005	2 November 2006	1 year, 8 months
10		Gogava, ZazaMajor general Zaza Gogava (born 1971)	2 November 2006	4 November 2008	2 years

Chief of Joint Staff of Georgian Armed Forces (2008–2013)

No.		Chief of Joint Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Chachibaia, VladimerMajor general Vladimer Chachibaia (born 1971)	4 November 2008	5 March 2009	121 days
2		Chankotadze, DeviMajor general Devi Chankotadze (born 1961)	5 March 2009	8 October 2012	3 years, 217 days
3		Kalandadze, GiorgiBrigadier general Giorgi Kalandadze (born 1980)	8 October 2012	11 November 2012	34 days
-		Kapanadze, VakhtangMajor general Vakhtang Kapanadze (born 1960) Acting	11 November 2012	4 December 2012	23 days
4		Dzneladze, IrakliColonel Irakli Dzneladze (born 1968)	4 December 2012	22 November 2013	353 days

Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces (2013–2018)

No.		Chief of General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Kapanadze, VakhtangMajor general Vakhtang Kapanadze (born 1960)	22 November 2013	22 November 2016	3 years, 0 days	—
2		Chachibaia, VladimerMajor general Vladimer Chachibaia (born 1971)	22 November 2016	20 December 2018	2 years, 28 days	[3][4]

Chief of General Staff of Georgian Defence Forces (2018–present)

No.		Chief of General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		Chkhaidze, ZazaMajor General Zaza Chkhaidze (born 1974)	20 December 2018	27 December 2019	1 year, 7 days	-
2		Matiashvili, GiorgiBrigadier General Giorgi Matiashvili (born 1977)	27 December 2019	Incumbent	223 days	[5]

References

1. "საქართველოს თავდაცვის სამინისტროს თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის დებულება" [Statutes of the General Staff of the Defense Forces of Georgia]. Order of the Minister of Defense of Georgia No. №132 of 22 November 2013 (in Georgian).
2. "საქართველოს თავდაცვის სამინისტროს თავდაცვის ძალების გენერალური შტაბის დებულება" [Statutes of the General Staff of the Defense Forces of Georgia]. Order of the Minister of Defense of Georgia No. №298 of 13 December 2018 (in Georgian).
3. "President appoints new Chief of General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces". Agenda.ge. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
4. "General Chachibaia promoted to chief of the Georgian Army General Staff - Democracy & Freedom Watch | Security | Democracy & Freedom Watch". dfwatch.net. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
5. "New Chief of General Staff Appointed". Civil Georgia. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.