| Post: | Chief of Defence |
| Native Name: | Commandant der Strijdkrachten |
| Flag: | Onderscheidingsvlag van de Commandant der Strijdkrachten 2005.svg |
| Flagsize: | 150px |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the Chief of Defence |
| Incumbent: | General Onno Eichelsheim |
| Incumbentsince: | 15 April 2021 |
| Department: | Armed forces of the Netherlands |
| Style: | His Excellency |
| Member Of: | Central Staff |
| Reports To: | Minister of Defence |
| Precursor: | Chief of the Defence Staff |
| Formation: | 5 September 2005 |
| First: | General Dick Berlijn |
| Abbreviation: | CDS |
| Deputy: | Vice Chief of Defence |
| Website: | Chief of Defence |
The Chief of Defence (Dutch; Flemish: Commandant der Strijdkrachten, CDS) is the highest-ranking officer in the Netherlands Armed Forces and is the principal military advisor to the minister of defence. On behalf of the minister of defence, he is responsible for operational policy, strategic planning and for preparing and executing military operations carried out by the armed forces. The chief of defence is in charge of the central staff and is the direct commanding officer of all the commanders of the branches of the armed forces. In this capacity, the chief of defence directs all the activities of the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Navy and Royal Netherlands Air Force. He is also in charge of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, when it is operating under the guise of the minister of defence.
The current position of Chief of Defence (CHOD) was created on 5 September 2005, when it replaced the existing role of Chef-Defensiestaf (Chief of the Defence Staff) and was abbreviated as CDS. Just like its predecessor role the position of Chief of Defence will rotate between the branches of the military; the first Chief of Defence was General Dick Berlijn, of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The position of Chief of Defence is subsequently held by a Four-star officer with the rank of General or Lieutenant Admiral
The main role of the chief of defence is as an intermediary between the Minister of Defence and the Central Staff of the Armed Forces of The Netherlands. He makes operational policy and is responsible to the minister for military-strategic planning, operations and deployment of the armed forces. The chief of defence is the direct commanding officer of the commanders of the branches of the Armed forces.
The branch commanders are responsible for preparedness and actual deployment of their military personnel in the Netherlands and the rest of the world. Regarding operational planning and deployment, the branch commanders take their orders directly from the Chief of Defence.
The Royal Marechaussee (Gendarmerie) does not answer to the Chief of Defence directly, but rather to the secretary-general for the Ministry of Defence. The current secretary-general is Maarten Schurink.
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Interbellum|-|-style="text-align:center;"|colspan=7|Vacant
German occupation|-
| Vice Chiefs of Defence | Military branch | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant general Hans Sonneveld | Royal Netherlands Army | 5 September 2005 – 1 December 2006 | ||
| Lieutenant general Rob Bertholee (Born 1955) | Royal Netherlands Army | 1 December 2006 – 3 March 2008 | ||
| Royal Netherlands Air Force | 3 March 2008 – 3 March 2012 | |||
| Vice admiral Wim Nagtegaal | Royal Netherlands Navy | 3 March 2010 – 14 May 2012 | ||
| Royal Netherlands Air Force | 14 May 2012 – 1 September 2015 | |||
| Vice admiral Rob Bauer (born 1962) | Royal Netherlands Navy | 1 September 2015 – 13 July 2017 | ||
| Lieutenant general Martin Wijnen (Born 1966) | Royal Netherlands Army | 13 July 2017 – 1 July 2019 | ||
| Lieutenant general Onno Eichelsheim (Born 1966) | Royal Netherlands Air Force | 1 July 2019 - 8 March 2021 | ||
| Vice admiral Boudewijn Boots (born 1964) | Royal Netherlands Navy | 8 March 2021 - | ||