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Chief of the Naval Command
Chef for Søværnskommandoen (Danish)
Coat of Arms
Rank flag for Rear admirals
Incumbent Rear admiral Henrik Ryberg since 1 April 2022
Royal Danish Navy
Member of	Defence Command
Reports to	Chief of Defence
Term length	No fixed length
Formation	2 April 1852
First holder	Christian Christopher Zahrtmann [da]

The Chief of the Royal Danish Navy is the professional head of the Royal Danish Navy.

History

Originally the commander of the navy was the King, with daily control given to the Admiralty and Commissioners College [da]. The Admiralty existed from 1660 until the end of absolute monarchy in 1848. In 1852, the position of Navy Inspector (Danish: Flådeinspektør) is established as the commander of the navy. Following the Naval Law of 1909, the position was renamed the General Inspector for the Navy (Danish: Generalinspektør for søværnet). After the Naval Law of 1932, the vice admiral would become Chief of the Naval Command (Danish: Chef for Søværnskommandoen) and director of the Ministry of the Navy. In 1960, the position was renamed to Chief of the Navy (Danish: Chef for Søværnet). Following major reductions in the 1980s, the name was again changed, this time to Inspector of the Navy (Danish: Inspektøren for Søværnet). In 1990, the Marine staff and the position of Inspector of the Navy were abolished, resulting in all areas of responsibility being transferred to the Admiral Danish Fleet. Following the Danish Defence Agreement 2013–17, the Admiral Danish Fleet was disbanded and reorganised into the Naval Staff. On 1 January 2019, as part of the Danish Defence Agreement 2018–23, the name was changed to Chief of the Naval Command (Danish: Chef for Søværnskommandoen).

List of chiefs

Navy Inspector

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Zahrtmann, Christian ChristopherVice admiral Christian Christopher Zahrtmann [da] (1793–1853)	2 April 1852	1 April 1853	364 days
2		Mourier, ConradVice admiral Conrad Emil Mourier (1795–1865)	1 April 1853	28 February 1860	6 years, 333 days
3		Meyer, JohanVice admiral Johan Anton Meyer (1799–1875)	28 February 1860	28 December 1862	2 years, 303 days
4		Dockum, Carl EdvardVice admiral Carl Edvard van Dockum [da] (1804–1893)	28 December 1862	17 September 1866	3 years, 263 days
5		Bille, SteenVice admiral Steen Andersen Bille (1797–1883)	24 September 1866	27 January 1868	1 year, 125 days
(4)		Dockum, Carl EdvardVice admiral Carl Edvard van Dockum [da] (1804–1893)	27 January 1868	27 March 1869	1 year, 59 days
6		Wulff, JørgenVice admiral Jørgen Peter Frederik Wulff (1808–1881)	27 March 1869	19 June 1873	4 years, 84 days
7		Sommer, FrederikVice admiral Frederik Laurentius Fiedler Sommer (1813–1878)	19 June 1873	20 July 1878 †	5 years, 31 days
–		Schultz, AugustVice admiral August Christian Schultz (1813–1908) Acting	20 July 1878	24 July 1878	4 days
8		Wrisberg, GerhardVice admiral Gerhard Frederik Wilhelm Wrisberg (1816–1896)	24 July 1878	20 February 1886	7 years, 211 days
9		Meldal, JuliusVice admiral Julius Meldal [da] (1827–1901)	21 February 1886	19 July 1897	11 years, 148 days
10		Koch, HansVice admiral Hans Henrik Koch (1836–1903)	19 July 1897	2 January 1899	1 year, 167 days
11		Uldall, FritzVice admiral Fritz Peter Adolph Uldall (1835–1911)	2 January 1899	9 March 1905	6 years, 66 days
12		Wandel, CarlVice admiral Carl Frederik Wandel (1843–1930)	9 March 1905	5 March 1909	3 years, 361 days

General Inspector for the Navy

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Wandel, CarlVice admiral Carl Frederik Wandel (1843–1930)	5 March 1909	1 August 1911	2 years, 180 days
2		Kofoed-Hansen, OttoVice admiral Otto Joachim Moltke Kofoed-Hansen (1854–1918)	1 August 1911	11 April 1918 †	6 years, 222 days
3		Evers, Anton FerdinandVice admiral Anton Ferdinand Mazanti Evers (1857–1951)	27 April 1918	31 March 1923	4 years, 338 days
4		Konow, HenriVice admiral Henri Konow (1862–1939)	1 April 1923	7 February 1927	3 years, 313 days
5		Amdrup, Georg CarlVice admiral Georg Carl Amdrup (1866–1947)	7 February 1927	30 November 1931	4 years, 296 days
6		Wenck, HenriVice admiral Henri L. E. Wenck (1872–1933)	1 December 1931	31 March 1932	121 days

Chiefs of the Naval Command

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Rechnitzer, HjalmarVice admiral Hjalmar Rechnitzer [da] (1872–1953)	1 April 1932	10 May 1940	8 years, 39 days
–		Crèvecoeur, EmmanuelRear admiral Emmanuel Briand de Crèvecoeur (1882–1968) Acting	10 May 1940	25 July 1941	1 year, 76 days
–		Vedel, AageRear admiral A. H. Vedel (1894–1981) Acting	25 July 1941	31 July 1941	6 days
2		Vedel, AageVice admiral A. H. Vedel (1894–1981)	1 August 1941	29 August 1943	2 years, 28 days
Vacant No chief following Operation Safari
(2)		Vedel, AageVice admiral A. H. Vedel (1894–1981)	5 May 1945	31 May 1958	13 years, 26 days

Chiefs of the Navy

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Nyholm, HansVice admiral Hans Alfred Nyholm (1898–1964)	1 June 1958	31 May 1961	2 years, 364 days
2		Pontoppidan, Svend ErikVice admiral Svend Erik Pontoppidan (1900–1987)	1 June 1961	30 November 1965	4 years, 182 days
3		Thostrup, Sven StøckelVice admiral Sven Støckel Thostrup (1915–2006)	1 December 1965	31 January 1980	14 years, 62 days
4		Lange, Niels FærgemannRear admiral Niels Færgemann Lange (1919–2006)	1 February 1980	30 June 1982	2 years, 150 days

Inspector of the Navy

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Lange, Niels FærgemannRear admiral Niels Færgemann Lange (1919–2006)	1 July 1982	1984	1–2 years
2		Rasmussen, JørgenRear admiral Jørgen Philip Rasmussen (1925–2017)	1984	1986	1–2 years	–
3		Telling, MogensRear admiral Mogens Michael Telling (1927–2011)	1986	1989	2–3 years
4		Ruth, JohanRear admiral Johan Andersen Ruth (born 1930)	1989	31 December 1990	0–1 years	–

Chiefs of the Admiral Danish Fleet

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Borck, Knud Erik JohanRear admiral Knud Erik Johan Borck (1940–2011)	1 January 1991	30 April 1995	4 years, 119 days
2		Winther, Kristen HustedRear admiral Kristen Husted Winther (born 1946)	1 May 1995	30 June 2000	5 years, 60 days
3		Jørgensen, Tim SlothRear admiral Tim Sloth Jørgensen (born 1951)	1 July 2000	31 July 2002	2 years, 30 days
4		Jensen, Kurt BirgerRear admiral Kurt Birger Jensen (born 1949)	1 August 2002	31 July 2005	2 years, 364 days
5		Wang, Nils ChristianRear admiral Nils Christian Wang [da] (born 1958)	1 August 2005	31 August 2010	5 years, 30 days
6		Hansen, FinnRear admiral Finn Hansen [da] (born 1957)	1 September 2010	1 April 2013	2 years, 212 days
–		Leisborch, JanFlotilla admiral Jan Leisborch (born 1954) Acting	1 April 2013	15 April 2013	14 days
7		Trojahn, FrankRear admiral Frank Trojahn (born 1963)	15 April 2013	30 September 2014	1 year, 168 days

Chiefs of the Naval Staff

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Trojahn, FrankRear admiral Frank Trojahn (born 1963)	1 October 2014	31 March 2017	2 years, 242 days
2		Mikkelsen, TorbenRear admiral Torben Mikkelsen (born 1963)	1 June 2017	31 December 2018	1 year, 213 days

Chiefs of the Naval Command

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Mikkelsen, TorbenRear admiral Torben Mikkelsen (born 1963)	1 January 2019	1 June 2022	3 years, 151 days
–		Fjord, CarstenFlotilla admiral Carsten Fjord-Larsen Acting	1 June 2022	1 April 2023	304 days
2		Rear admiral Henrik Ryberg (born 1963)	1 April 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 280 days

See also

• Chief of Defence (Denmark)
• Chief of the Royal Danish Army
• Chief of the Royal Danish Air Force

References

Citations

1. Christensen 2000.
2. Bjerg 2011a.
3. Balsved 2008.
4. arma-dania 2014a.
5. arma-dania 2014b.
6. ^ Bjerg 1990, p. 12.
7. DSM 2018.
8. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 758.
9. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 213.
10. Erichsen 1861, p. 247.
11. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 181.
12. ^ Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935a, p. 297.
13. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935a, p. 136.
14. ^ Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 740.
15. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 533.
16. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 474.
17. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, pp. 172–173.
18. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 9.
19. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 657.
20. ^ Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 675.
21. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 18.
22. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935a, p. 340.
23. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 24.
24. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935a, p. 22.
25. Topsøe-Jensen & Marquard 1935b, p. 684.
26. Pontoppidan & Teisen 1984, p. 459.
27. Pontoppidan & Teisen 1984, p. 70.
28. ^ Pontoppidan & Teisen 1984, p. 565.
29. Pontoppidan & Teisen 1984, p. 400.
30. Pontoppidan & Teisen 1984, p. 436.
31. Pontoppidan & Teisen 1984, p. 549.
32. ^ Pontoppidan & Teisen 1984, p. 311.
33. Bjerg 2011b, p. 221.
34. ^ Balsved 2013.
35. Kristeligt Dagblad 2005.
36. Hansen 2013.
37. ^ Søværnets Operative Kommando 2013.
38. Ministry of Defence 2017.
39. ^ Wester, Kasper Junge (26 April 2022). "Søværnets chef fratræder sin stilling for at lede Forsvarets Skibsprogram". olfi.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 26 June 2022.
40. Defence Command (14 April 2023). "Søværnet får ny chef" [The Navy Gets a New Chief]. forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 16 May 2023.

Bibliography

• Balsved, Johnny (30 May 2008). "Mærkedage - 1800-tallet". navalhistory.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
• Balsved, Johnny (27 September 2013). "Chefer for Kystflåden og Søværnets operative Kommando" [Chiefs for the Coastal Navy and Navy Operational Command]. navalhistory.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 15 May 2018.
• Bjerg, Hans Christian (31 December 1990). "Marinestaben nedlægges". Søvernsorintering (in Danish). 15: 10–13.
• Bjerg, Hans Christian (30 November 2011a). "Admiralitets- og Kommissariatskollegiet". Den Store Danske (in Danish). Gyldendal. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
• Bjerg, Hans Christian, ed. (2011b). "Nekrolog". Tidsskrift for Søvæsen (in Danish). 182 (3). Søe-Lieutenant-Selskab: 220–223.
• Christensen, W.K. (25 February 2000). "Grundlaget for militær magtanvendelse ifølge dansk statsforfatningsret". krigsvidenskab.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 16 December 2020.
• Erichsen, H. E., ed. (1861). Hof- og statscalender: Statshaandbog for det danske Monarchie for Aaret 1860 (in Danish). Copenhagen: Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri.
• Hansen, Michelle (10 April 2013). "Ny chef for Søværnet". soefart.dk (in Danish). Nordiske Medier. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
• Kristeligt Dagblad (6 May 2005). "Aktuelle navne". kristeligt-dagblad.dk (in Danish). Kristeligt Dagblad. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
• Ministry of Defence (23 May 2017). "Nye chefer for Marinestaben og Flyverstaben" [New Chiefs for Air Staff and Navy Staff]. fmn.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
• Pontoppidan, S. E.; Teisen, J., eds. (1984). Danske Søofficerer 1934-1983 (in Danish). Copenhagen: Søe-Lieutenant-Selskab.
• Søværnets Operative Kommando (16 April 2013). "Ny chef for Søværnets Operative Kommando" (in Danish). Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
• Topsøe-Jensen, T.A.; Marquard, Emil, eds. (1935a). Officerer i Den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og Den danske Søetat 1814-1932 (in Danish). Vol. I. Copenhagen: Pedersen & Lefevre.
• Topsøe-Jensen, T.A.; Marquard, Emil, eds. (1935b). Officerer i Den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og Den danske Søetat 1814-1932 (in Danish). Vol. II. Copenhagen: Pedersen & Lefevre.
• "Hærloven af 30. September 1909". arma-dania.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
• "Hærloven af 23. Marts 1932". arma-dania.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
• "Forsvarschefen om implementeringen af Forsvarsforliget". DSM (in Danish). Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.

v t e Danish Defence
Royal Danish Army    Royal Danish Navy    Royal Danish Air Force    Danish Home Guard
Command organisations	Defence Command Defence Staff Army Command Naval Command Air Command Joint Arctic Command Home Guard Command Special Operations Command
Leadership	Chief of Defence Chief of the Defense Staff Army Chief of the Army Sergeant Major of the Army Navy Chief of the Navy Master chief petty officer Air Force Chief of the Air Force Chief Master Sergeant of the RDAF Home Guard Chief of the Home Guard Command Sergeant Major of the Home Guard
Joint Service	Acquisition and Logistics Organization Administration of Conscientious Objector The Ark Project Emergency Management Agency Estates and Infrastructure Organisation Financial Management Agency Health Services Intelligence Service Internal Auditor Judge Advocate Corps Maintenance Service Personnel Service
Higher education facilities	Royal Danish Defence College Royal Danish Military Academy Royal Danish Naval Academy Royal Danish Air Force Academy
Units	Army Danish Artillery Regiment Engineer Regiment Guard Hussar Regiment Intelligence Regiment Jutland Dragoon Regiment Royal Life Guards Schleswig Foot Regiment Signal Regiment Logistic Regiment Navy 1st Squadron 2nd Squadron Sirius Dog Sled Patrol Danish Task Group Air Force Air Squadron 515 Air Squadron 660 Air Squadron 690 Air Squadron 721 Air Squadron 722 Air Squadron 723 Air Squadron 724 Air Squadron 727 Air Squadron 730 Mobile Air Control Centre Control and Reporting Centre Karup Combat Support Wing Special Forces Jaeger Corps Frogman Corps Sirius Dog Sled Patrol SSR (Home Guard)
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• Royal Danish Navy
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