General Staff (Switzerland)

The General Staff of the Swiss Armed Forces (German: Generalstab Schweizer Armee) was the managing military staff of Switzerland. It was led by a Chief of the General Staff who held the rank of Korpskommandant (NATO: OF-8). He/she was effectively the highest-ranking officer in the Swiss military. Until 1830, the general staff consisted of 12 to 24 federal colonels and a few lieutenant colonels with experience in serving foreign armies. In 1865, the Federal Staff Office was created, with its responsibility being to maintain the Swiss combat readiness for war. In 1948, most of the services of the Federal Military Department were grouped together in the General Staff. After the Second World War, General Staff training was increasingly a precondition for the assumption of an army unit command. It operated until the end of 2003, when the reforms of Armee XXI introduced the position of Chief of the Armed Forces. Until its reorganization, the General Staff was the highest level of command in the Swiss Armed forces, with the Chief of the General Staff acting as the primus inter pares (first among equals). Even after the reform of the army, the military continued to utilize, General Staff officers, who are trained in the General Staff School to become senior management assistants in the armed forces.[1][2]

Theophil Sprecher von Bernegg (seen here) was the second longest serving Chief of the General Staff.

List of Chiefs of the General Staff

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The following is a list of chiefs of the General Staff from 1870 to 2003:[3]

No. Picture Chief of the General Staff Took office Left office Time in office Election General Ref.
1Paravicini, RudolfOberstkorpskommandant
Rudolf Paravicini [de]
(1815–1888)
21 July 187018754–5 years20 July 1870Herzog, HansHans Herzog
(1870 – 1871)
[4][5]
2Siegfried, HermannOberstkorpskommandant
Hermann Siegfried [de]
(1819–1879)
187518793–4 years?
3Sinner, JohannOberstkorpskommandant
Johann Rudolf von Sinner [de]
(1830–1901)
187918822–3 years?
4Altishofen, MaxOberstkorpskommandant
Max Alphons Pfyffer von Altishofen
(1834–1890)
18831890 †6–7 years?
5Keller, ArnoldOberstkorpskommandant
Arnold Keller [de]
(1841–1934)
1890190514–15 years?
6Bernegg, TheophilOberstkorpskommandant
Theophil Sprecher von Bernegg
(1850–1927)
1905191913–14 years?Wille, UlrichUlrich Wille
(1914 – 1918)
7Sonderegger, EmilOberstkorpskommandant
Emil Sonderegger
(1868–1934)
192019232–3 years?
8Roost, HeinrichOberstkorpskommandant
Heinrich Roost [de]
(1872–1936)
192326 May 1936 †12–13 years?
9Labhardt, JakobOberstkorpskommandant
Jakob Labhardt [de]
(1881–1949)
193619403–4 years?Guisan, Henri, 1Henri Guisan
(1939 – 1945)
10Huber, JakobOberstkorpskommandant
Jakob Huber [de]
(1883–1953)
23 March 194019454–5 years?Guisan, Henri, 2Henri Guisan
(1939 – 1945)
11Montmollin, LouisOberstkorpskommandant
Louis de Montmollin
(1893–1974)
1945195711–12 years?
12Annasohn, JakobOberstkorpskommandant
Jakob Annasohn [de]
(1893–1974)
1 January 195831 December 19646 years?
13Gygli, PaulOberstkorpskommandant
Paul Gygli [de]
(1909–1992)
1 January 196531 December 19716 years?
14Vischer, JohannKorpskommandant
Johann Jakob Vischer [de]
(1914–1985)
1 January 197231 December 19764 years?
15Senn, HansKorpskommandant
Hans Senn
(1918–2007)
1 January 197731 December 19803 years?
16Zumstein, JörgKorpskommandant
Jörg Zumstein [de]
(1923–1997)
1 January 198131 December 19854 years?
17Lüthy, EugenKorpskommandant
Eugen Lüthy [de]
(1927–1990)
1 January 198631 December 19893 years?
18Häsler, HeinzKorpskommandant
Heinz Häsler [de]
(born 1930)
1 January 199031 December 19922 years?
19Liener, ArthurKorpskommandant
Arthur Liener [de]
(born 1936)
1 January 199331 December 19974 years?
20Scherrer, HansKorpskommandant
Hans-Ulrich Scherrer [de]
(born 1942)
1 January 199831 December 20024 years?
21Keckeis, ChristopheKorpskommandant
Christophe Keckeis
(1945–2020)
1 January 200331 December 20031 year?

References

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  1. ^ "Generalstab".
  2. ^ Generalstabsschule (Gst S) (in German) Archived 8 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Generalstabschef der Armee / Chef der Armee". sieber-frauenfeld.ch (in German). Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Bundesversammlung vom 20. Juli". Intelligenzblatt für die Stadt Bern (in German). 21 July 1870. p. 4. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  5. ^ "20. Juli. Bundesversammlung". Zürcherische Freitagszeitung (in German). 22 July 1870. p. 3. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.