| General of the Army General de Ejército | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:SP-09_General_de_Ejercito.svg) Insignia of Spanish General of the Army. | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Spain-Army-OF-9.svg) Uniform shoulder strap of a General of the Army. | |
| Country |  Spain |
| Service branch | Spanish Army |
| Abbreviation | GA |
| Rank | Four-star |
| NATO rank code | OF-9 |
| Formation | 19 May 1999 |
| Next higher rank | Captain general of the Army |
| Next lower rank | Lieutenant general |
| Equivalent ranks | |
General of the Army (Spanish: General de Ejército), also called Army General, is a four-star general officer and the second highest possible rank in the Spanish Army. A General of the Army ranks immediately above a Lieutenant general and is equivalent to an Admiral General and a General of the Air. There is no equivalent in the Civil Guard or in the Spanish Navy Marines; in both cases the top rank is Lieutenant General.
The rank was created in 1999 to adapt the Spanish military ranks to the ranks of NATO[1] This is the highest rank that a military officer can reach, because the next higher is Captain General and that rank is only reserved to the King or Queen as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces (even that sometimes has been given as an honorary rank to some generals).
The General of the Army insignia consist of a baton crossed over a sabre under a Royal Crown and a star in every angle that form the crossed baton and the sabre. Being under a Crown means that the rank is part of the generalship (the group of generals of the Armed Forces), the baton and the sabre means command and the four stars means the rank of General. This insignia was used before to 1999 by the Head of State as Captain General.[2]
- ^ "Law 17/1999, of May 18, on the Armed Forces Personnel Regime". BOE.es. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ "Ministry of Defense Order 1756/2016, of October 28, which approves the uniformity rules of the Armed Forces". BOE.es. Retrieved 29 September 2018.