General-in-chief has been a military rank or title in various armed forces around the world.
France
In the Kingdom of France, general-in-chief () was an informal title used for lieutenant-generals which commanded other lieutenant-generals or for marshals in charge of a field army. Following the French Revolution, it became a title given to divisional generals of the French Revolutionary Army who commanded a field army. In the Revolutionary Army, generals-in-chief wore four stars on their shoulders boards instead to the three worn by divisional generals. The title of general-in-chief continued to be used as the Revolutionary Army was transformed into the French Imperial Army in 1804 but was abolished in 1812. Following the Bourbon Restoration in France in 1815 its use was restored before ultimately being abolished in 1848.
Russia
In Russia, general-in-chief (, originating from the French général en chef), was a full general rank in the Imperial Russian Army, the second highest rank, after the rank of marshal, in Russian military ranks (the 2nd grade of Table of Ranks). It was created in 1698 by Peter the Great. In 1798, the rank was divided into three equivalent ranks of general of the infantry, general of the cavalry and general of the artillery.
United States In the United States, the title "General in Chief" was used to refer to the commanding general of the United States Army, who was the Army's senior-most officer. Famous generals-in-chief were George Washington, Winfield Scott, Henry Halleck, George McClellan, and Ulysses S. Grant (Washington's title was commander-in-chief during the American Revolution, and he was only called the "Senior Officer of the Army" after he was president in the late 1790s). The position of "general-in-chief," not the commanding general of the United States Army, was abolished with the creation of the title of chief of staff in 1903 — the Chief of Staff of the United States Army is the modern-day equivalent, although the current position is not responsible for commanding military forces in the field, as the generals-in-chief did in the 19th century. The rank of "General of the Armies of the United States" was conferred upon General John J. Pershing in 1919 and to Lieutenant General George Washington (posthumously) in 1975 by acts of Congress. Washington's date of rank was retroactively dated to 1799, so that he will always be the senior ranking general of the United States Army.
Confederate States On January 31, 1865, the 2nd Confederate States Congress established a “General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States”. General Robert E. Lee was appointed to the position on February 6 and served until the end of the American Civil War. During the entire time, Lee retained command of the Army of Northern Virginia, serving in both positions until he was paroled as a prisoner of war on April 12.
Venezuela
Since the age of the independence war in Venezuela, the most senior officer is designated as general-in-chief (General en Jefe). From its creation, the rank was represented by three suns (equivalent to three-star rank), but with the creation in 2008 of the rank of major general, four suns (equivalent to four-star rank) are used.
From the 1940s until 2001 the rank was not used. In 2001 Divisional General Lucas Rincon Romero was promoted to general-in-chief. He was the first-ever active officer to be promoted after six decades.
Since 2001, 18 officers have been promoted to this rank or equivalent (13 from the Army including 3 posthumously, 1 from the Air Force, also posthumously, 2 from the Navy, 1 other naval recipient having been promoted to Admiral plus 1 posthumously):
Name Component Year NoteGeneral-in-Chief Lucas Rincón Romero2001General-in-Chief Luis Acevedo QuinteroAir Force2002Promoted posthumously as the first and only General in Chief from the Air Force General-in-Chief Jorge Luis García CarneiroArmy2004Admiral Ramon Orlando Maniglia FerreiraNavy2005First to be promoted to admiral, first-ever Venezuelan three-star admiral in two centuries after Luis BrionGeneral-in-Chief Raul Isaias BaduelArmy2006General-in-Chief Gustavo Rangel BriceñoArmy2007First four-sun promotion for the armed forcesGeneral-in-Chief Carlos José Mata FigueroaArmy2009 Second four-sun promotion for the armed forces, also promoted while being the Chief of the Operational Strategic Command General-in-Chief Jesús González GonzálezArmy2009General-in-Chief Almidien Moreno AcostaArmy2010Posthumously promotedGeneral-in-Chief Alberto Müller RojasArmy2010Posthumously promotedGeneral-in-Chief Henry Rangel SilvaArmy20102nd to be promoted while in capacity as Commander of the OSCAdmiral-in-Chief Diego Alfredo Molero BellaviaNavy2012First Navy four-sun flag officer to be appointed Minister of Defense, 1st to be promoted to Admiral in ChiefAdmiral-in-Chief Carmen MeléndezNavy2013First woman ever to be promoted to Admiral in Chief and first woman Minister of Defense in Venezuelan historyGeneral-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino LópezArmy2013First to be promoted to General in Chief while being appointed as Commander of the OSCGeneral-in-Chief Jacinto Pérez ArcayArmy2014Oldest living general officer in Venezuelan history to be promoted to the rankGeneral-in-Chief Felix Antonio VelazquezArmy2016Promoted posthumouslyAdmiral-in-Chief Francisco de MirandaNavy2016In honor of the bicentennial year since his death in prison and the 210th anniversary of his arrival in Venezuela, promoted posthumouslyGeneral-in-Chief Gustavo González LópezArmy (Bolivarian Intelligence Service)2017First SEBIN commandant to be promotedAdmiral-in-Chief Remigio CeballosNavy20173rd to be promoted to Admiral in Chief and first naval officer to be appointed Commandant of the OSC
See also General officer
References