Chairman of the General Staff
Head of the armed forces of Saudi Arabia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chairman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (abbreviated COGS) also known as the "Chief of the General Staff" is the chief and highest ranking officer of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces.
TypeChief of defence
StatusHighest-ranking (within MoD)
AbbreviationCOGS
Member ofGeneral Staff Presidency
Council of Military Service
Council of Military Service
| Chairman of the General Staff | |
|---|---|
| رئاسة هيئة الأركان العامة للقوات المسلحة | |
| |
 Ministry of Defense | |
| Type | Chief of defence |
| Status | Highest-ranking (within MoD) |
| Abbreviation | COGS |
| Member of | General Staff Presidency Council of Military Service |
| Nominator | Minister of Defense |
| Appointer | King of Saudi Arabia |
| Term length | No fixed length |
| Precursor | Military Affairs Director |
| Formation | 29 September 1939 |
| First holder | Muhammad Tariq Abd al-Qadir al-Afriqi |
He usually holds the highest military rank within the Ministry of Defense. The current Chairman is Air Chief Marshal Fayyadh al-Ruwaili, who succeeded General Abdulrahman al-Bunian in February 2018.[1]
List of chairmen
| No. | Portrait | Chairman | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Major General Muhammad Tariq Abd al-Qadir al-Afriqi (c. 1886–1965) | 1939 | 1941 | 1–2 years |  Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 2 | Brigadier General Ja'far Al Tayyar (18??–1944) | 1941 | 1944 | 2–3 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 3 | Brigadier General Al-Sheriff Mohsen al-Hussein (1908–1968) | 1944 | 1949 | 4 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 4 | Brigadier General Said al-Kurdi (1896–1964) | 1949 | 1957 | 7 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 5 | Major General Abdullah al-Issa (1924–1975) | 1957 | 1959 | 1–2 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 6 | Lieutenant General Ibrahim al-Tassan (1???–1963) | 1959 | 1962 | 2–3 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 7 | General Abdullah al-Mutlaq (19??–2015) | 1962 | 1971 | 8–9 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 8 | General Hamad Shammemry (1919–2016) | 1971 | 1975 | 3–4 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 9 | General Othman Al Hamid (c. 1923–2004) | 1975 | 1980 | 4–5 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 10 | General Mohammed al-Hamad (19??–2010) | 1980 | 1996 | 16–17 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 11 | General Saleh al-Mahaya (born 1939) | 1996 | 2011 | 14–15 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 12 | General Hussein al-Qabil (born 1942) | 2011 | 2014 | 2–3 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 13 | General Abdulrahman al-Bunyan | 2014 | 2018 | 3–4 years | Saudi Arabian Army | |
| 14 | Air Chief Marshal Fayyadh al-Ruwaili (born 1958) | 26 February 2018 | Incumbent | 8 years, 64 days |  Royal Saudi Air Force |
![Abdulrahman al-Bunyan [ar]](#/media/File:Abdulrahman_bin_Saleh_al-Bunyan_(cropped).jpg)
Timeline
