Chief of the General Staff (Austria)

Chief of the General Staff
Chef des Generalstabes des Bundesheeres (German)
Roundel of Austria
Flag of Austrian general
Incumbent
Rudolf Striedinger [de]
since 20 October 2022
General staff of the Bundesheer
Ministry of Defense
StyleMr. Chief of the General Staff
(formal)
StatusHead of a general staff
Member ofGeneral staff
Reports toMinister of Defense
SeatRossauer Barracks, Innere Stadt, Vienna
PrecursorChief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff
First holderRudolf Vidossich
as Army Inspector of the Bundesheer (1922)
WebsiteOfficial website

The Chief of the Austrian General Staff (German: Chef des Generalstabes des Bundesheeres) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Austrian Armed Forces and is responsible for maintaining control over the service branches.

List of chiefs of the general staff[edit]

Army Inspectors (1922–1937)[edit]

No. Portrait Army Inspector Took office Left office Time in office
1
Rudolf Vidossich
Vidossich, RudolfOberstbrigadier
Rudolf Vidossich
(1872–1929)
192219230–1 years
2
Theodor Körner
Körner, TheodorMajor General
Theodor Körner
(1873–1957)
[a]
192319240–1 years
3
Josef Schneider
Schneider, JosefMajor General
Josef Schneider
1924December 19240 years
4
Thomas Buzek
Buzek, ThomasGeneral
Thomas Buzek
January 192519260–1 years
5
Richard Schilhawsky
Schilhawsky, RichardGeneral
Richard Schilhawsky
(1879–1960)
192619292–3 years
6
Ludwig von Eimannsberger
Schilhawsky, RichardGeneral
Ludwig von Eimannsberger
(1878–1945)
192919300–1 years
7
Siegmund Knaus
Knaus, SiegmundGeneral of the Infantry
Siegmund Knaus
(1879–1971)
193019321–2 years
8
Sigismund Schilhawsky
Schilhawsky, SigismundGeneral of the Infantry
Sigismund Schilhawsky
193219374–5 years

General Inspector of Troops (1937–1938)[edit]

No. Portrait General Inspector of Troops Took office Left office Time in office
1
Sigismund Ritter Schilhawsky von Bahnbrück
Bahnbrück, SigismundGeneral of the Infantry
Sigismund Ritter Schilhawsky von Bahnbrück
(1881–1957)
193712 March 19380–1 years

Chiefs of the General Staff (1936–1938)[edit]

No. Portrait Chief of the General Staff Took office Left office Time in office
1
Alfred Jansa
Jansa, AlfredLieutenant field marshal
Alfred Jansa
(1884–1963)
[b]
1 April 193612 February 19381 year, 317 days
2
Franz Böhme
Böhme, FranzMajor General
Franz Böhme
(1885–1947)
[c]
12 February 193812 March 193828 days

General Inspectors of Troops (1956–2002)[edit]

No. Portrait General Inspectors of Troops Took office Left office Time in office
1
Erwin Fussenegger [de]
Fussenegger, ErwinGeneral
Erwin Fussenegger [de]
(1908–1986)
31 August 195616 December 197014 years, 107 days
2
Otto Seitz [de]
Seitz, OttoGeneral of the Infantry
Otto Seitz [de]
(1911–1974)
1 January 197130 November 1971349 days
3
Anton Leeb [de]
Leeb, AntonGeneral of the Infantry
Anton Leeb [de]
(1913–2008)
30 November 197131 December 19776 years, 31 days
4
Hubert Wingelbauer [de]
Wingelbauer, HubertGeneral of the Infantry
Hubert Wingelbauer [de]
(1915–1987)
1 January 197831 December 19803 years, 0 days
5
Heinz Scharff [de]
Scharff, HeinzGeneral
Heinz Scharff [de]
(1920–2014)
1 January 198131 December 19866 years, 0 days
6
Othmar Tauschitz [de]
Tauschitz, OthmarGeneral
Othmar Tauschitz [de]
(1925–2022)
1 January 19871 October 19904 years, 273 days
7
Karl Majcen [de]
Majcen, KarlGeneral
Karl Majcen [de]
(born 1934)
1 October 199020 December 19999 years, 80 days
8
Horst Pleiner [de]
Pleiner, HorstGeneral
Horst Pleiner [de]
(born 1941)
1 January 20001 December 20022 years, 334 days

Chiefs of the General Staff (2002–present)[edit]

No. Portrait Chief of the General Staff Took office Left office Time in office Ref.
1
Roland Ertl [de]
Ertl, RolandGeneral
Roland Ertl [de]
(born 1945)
1 December 200230 November 20074 years, 364 days
2
Edmund Entacher [de]
Entacher, EdmundGeneral
Edmund Entacher [de]
(born 1949)
30 November 200724 January 20113 years, 55 days
Othmar Commenda
Commenda, OthmarLieutenant General
Othmar Commenda
(born 1954)
Acting
24 January 20117 November 2011287 days[1]
(2)
Edmund Entacher [de]
Entacher, EdmundGeneral
Edmund Entacher [de]
(born 1949)
7 November 201123 March 20131 year, 136 days[2]
3
Othmar Commenda
Commenda, OthmarGeneral
Othmar Commenda
(born 1954)
22 May 201324 July 20185 years, 63 days[1]
4
Robert Brieger
Brieger, RobertMajor general
Robert Brieger
(born 1955)
24 July 20186 May 20223 years, 286 days[3][4]
5
Rudolf Striedinger [de]
Striedinger, RudolfMajor general
Rudolf Striedinger [de]
(born 1961)
20 October 2022Incumbent1 year, 190 days[5]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Later served as the President of Austria from 1951 to 1957.
  2. ^ Dismissed according to paragraph 8 of the Berchtesgaden agreement of 12 February 1938.
  3. ^ Appointed according to paragraph 8 of the Berchtesgaden agreement of 12 February 1938.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Böhmer, Christian (22 May 2013). "„Commander" Commenda soll fürs Heer begeistern". Kurier (in German). KURIER Medienhaus. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Entacher wird in den Ruhestand verabschiedet". BVZ (in German). 22 March 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Commendas Nachfolger als Generalstabschef steht fest". ORF (in German). Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Verteidigungsministerin Tanner verabschiedet Generalstabschef Brieger". bundesheer.at (in German). Bundesheer. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  5. ^ "General Rudolf Striedinger tritt Amt als neuer Generalstabschef an". ots.at (in German). Wien. PK/PK. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.