Chief of Defence Staff (Guyana)
Head of the armed forces of Guyana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chief of Defence Staff is the professional head of the Guyana Defence Force. He is responsible for the administration and the operational control of the military of Guyana. The current Chief of Defence Staff is Brigadier Omar Khan.
| Chief of Defence Staff | |
|---|---|
Flag of the Guyana Defence Headquarters | |
| Reports to | President of Guyana |
| Formation | May 1967 |
| First holder | Ronald Pope |
The office was officially known as the 'Chief of Staff' until 2024 when the Defence (Amendment) Act 2024 was passed giving effect to the new name of the office.
List of officeholders
Chief of Staff (1967–2024)
- Acting
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 | Colonel Ronald Pope |
May 1967 | March 1969 | 1 year, 10 months | [1] | |
| 2 | Brigadier Clarence Price (1922–?) |
March 1969 | 12 July 1979 | 10 years, 4 months | [2] | |
| 3 | Major general Norman Gordon Mc Lean (born 1935) |
12 July 1979 | March 1990 | 10 years, 7 months | [3] | |
| 4 | .jpg) |
Major general Joseph Singh (born 1945) |
March 1990 | April 2000 | 10 years, 1 month | [4] |
| 5 | Major general Michael Atherly (born 1949) |
April 2000 | 31 May 2004 | 4 years, 1 month | [5][6] | |
| 6 | Major general Edward Orin Collins (born 1945) |
31 May 2004 | 2007 | 2–3 years | [7] | |
| 7 | .jpg) |
Rear admiral Gary Best (born 1959) |
September 2007 | 16 September 2013 | 6 years | [8] |
| 8 | .jpg) |
Brigadier Mark Phillips (born 1961) |
16 September 2013 | 3 October 2016 | 3 years, 17 days | [9] |
| 9 | Brigadier George Lewis (born 1961) |
3 October 2016 | 10 January 2017 | 99 days | [10][11] | |
| 10 | _(cropped).jpg) |
Brigadier Patrick West (born 1965) |
10 January 2017 | 1 July 2020 | 3 years, 173 days | [12][13] |
| – | .jpg) |
Brigadier Godfrey Bess (born 1968) |
1 July 2020 | 4 March 2021 | 246 days | [14][15] |
| 11 | 4 March 2021 | 28 April 2023 | 2 years, 55 days | |||
| 12 | .jpg) |
Brigadier Omar Khan (born 1972) |
28 April 2023 | 24 May 2024 | 1 year, 26 days | [16][17] |
Chief of Defence Staff (2024–present)
- Acting