Inspector General of the Bundeswehr

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr
Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr (German)
Flag of the Inspector General
Incumbent
General Carsten Breuer
since 17 March 2023
Federal Ministry of Defence
AbbreviationIGBW
Member ofMinistry of Defence Executive Group
Reports toFederal Minister of Defence
PrecursorOberkommando der Wehrmacht
Formation1 June 1957
First holderGeneral Adolf Heusinger
DeputyDeputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr
WebsiteOfficial Website

The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (German: Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr, GenInspBw), is the highest-ranking military position held by a commissioned officer on active duty in the Bundeswehr, the present-day armed forces of Germany.

All Inspectors General have been of the rank of a (four-star) general or admiral, and they head the Führungsstab der Streitkräfte, the German Defence Staff within the Federal Ministry of Defence, and is the direct military advisor to the Federal Minister of Defence who, in peacetime according to the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, is the default holder of the supreme command authority (German: Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt) to ensure civilian control of the military.

The Inspector General is responsible for the overall military defense concept of the Bundeswehr, including the overall planning, preparation, as well as assessment of the whole Bundeswehr operations. [1] Subordinate to the Inspector General are the commanders of the branches of the Bundeswehr, the Inspector of the Army, Inspector of the Air Force, and Inspector of the Navy, and the commanders of the Joint Support Service and Joint Medical Service.

  1. ^ "The Chief of Defence". bmvg.de. Federal Ministry of Defence. 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022. The Chief of Defence is the administrative superior of all the soldiers in the armed forces under his command. As both the military advisor to the Federal Government and the senior military representative of the Bundeswehr, he is a member of the Ministry of Defence Executive Group.