| Post: | Chief |
| Body: | the General Staff |
| Native Name: | Spanish; Castilian: Jefe del Estado Mayor |
| Insignia: | Guatemala-army-OF-8.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 50px |
| Insigniacaption: | Shoulder rank insignia for the Chief of the General Staff |
| Flag: | Flag for the Chief of the General Staff (Guatemala).svg |
| Incumbent: | William Arnulfo López |
| Incumbentsince: | 31 May 2022 |
| Reports To: | Minister of Defence |
| Formation: | 14 November 1890 |
| Deputy: | Deputy Chief of the General Staff |
The Chief of the General Staff (Spanish; Castilian: Jefe del Estado Mayor) is the professional head of the Guatemalan Armed Forces. They are responsible for the administration and operational control of the military. It is the highest achievable commissioned officer rank that may be attained in the Guatemalan Armed Forces.
| [1] | Portrait | Name | Term of office | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | Brigadier general Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García | July 1970 | July 1972 | |||
| 2 | Brigadier general Fausto David Rubio Coronado | July 1972 | January 1973 | |||
| 3 | Brigadier general Efraín Ríos Montt | January 1973 | April 1973 | |||
| 4 | Brigadier general Fernando Romeo Lucas García | July 1973 | July 1976 | |||
| 5 | Otto Guillermo Spliegler Noriega | July 1976 | February 1977 | |||
| 6 | Divisional general David Cancinos Barrios | February 1977 | 11 June 1979 | |||
| 7 | Ángel Aníbal Guevara | June 1979 | January 1980 | |||
| 8 | Luís René Mendoza Palomo | January 1980 | June 1981 | |||
| 9 | Manuel Benedicto Lucas García | 15 August 1981 | 24 March 1982 | |||
| 10 | Héctor Mario López Fuentes | March 1982 | October 1983 | |||
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Defence branch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| Divisional general Rodolfo Lobos Zamora | October 1983 | September 1985 | [2] [3] | ||||
| Brigadier general Héctor Gramajo | January 1986 | February 1987 | [4] | ||||
| Brigadier general Hellmuth René Casados Ramírez | 14 January 2012 | 4 June 2013 | [5] | ||||
| Divisional general Manuel Augusto López Ambrocio | 4 June 2013 | 16 July 2013 | [6] | ||||
| Divisional general Rudy Ortiz | 16 July 2013 | 20 August 2014 † | [7] [8] | ||||
| Divisional general Carlos Eduardo Estrada Pérez | 27 August 2014 | 31 July 2015 | [9] [10] | ||||
| Brigadier general Alfredo Sosa Díaz | 31 July 2015 | 22 January 2016 | |||||
| Divisional general Juan Manuel Pérez Ramírez | 22 January 2016 | 1 August 2017 | [11] [12] | ||||
| Divisional general Erick Cano Zamora | 1 August 2017 | 6 March 2018 | [13] | ||||
| Divisional general Julio César Paz Bone | 6 March 2018 | 21 June 2019 | [14] | ||||
| Brigadier general Hugo Roberto Urbina Marroquín | 15 January 2020 | 19 December 2020 | ? | [15] | |||
| Brigadier general Walfre Omar Carranza España | 19 December 2020 | 31 May 2022 | |||||
| Brigadier general William Arnulfo López | 19 December 2020 | Incumbent | [16] | ||||