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Chief of the South African National Defence Force
Flag of the SANDF
Incumbent General Rudzani Maphwanya since 1 June 2021
Department of Defence
Reports to	Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
Seat	Pretoria, Gauteng
Nominator	President of South Africa
Precursor	Chief of the South African Defence Force
Formation	27 April 1994
First holder	General Georg Meiring

The Chief of the South African National Defence Force is the most senior South African military officer and the professional Head of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The Chief is appointed by the President of South Africa.

The SANDF was formed in 1994 following the first democratic general election in South Africa and was created by an amalgamation of the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) as well as the existing South African Defence Force (SADF) structure of Army, Air Force, Navy, and Medical Service (which was renamed Military Health Service in 1998).

Constitutional role

In terms of the South African Constitution the role of the Chief of the South African National Defence Force is to

1. Act as the principal adviser to the Minister on any military, operational and administrative matters
2. Maintain a military response capability
3. Formulate and issuing military policy and doctrines

Chiefs of the SANDF

No.	Portrait	Chief of the SANDF	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
1		Meiring, GeorgGeneral Georg Meiring SSAS, SD, SM, MMM, ORB (1939–2024)	27 April 1994	31 May 1998	4 years, 34 days	South African Army	—
2		Nyanda, SiphiweGeneral Siphiwe Nyanda SSA, SBS, CLS, DMG, MMS, MMM (born 1950)	1 June 1998	31 May 2005	6 years, 364 days	South African Army	—
3		Ngwenya, GodfreyGeneral Godfrey Ngwenya SBG, DMG, MMS, LOM (USA) (born 1950)	1 June 2005	1 May 2011	5 years, 334 days	South African Army	—
4		Shoke, SollyGeneral Solly Shoke OMBG, SBS, MMS, OMS (born 1956)	2 May 2011	30 May 2021	10 years, 28 days	South African Army
5		Maphwanya, RudzaniGeneral Rudzani Maphwanya SM, MMM (born 1960)	1 June 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 219 days	South African Army

See also

• List of South African military chiefs

References

1. ^ "Defence Act 42 of 2002" (PDF). South African Government. 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
2. "Chief of the SANDF, General S. Shoke". Department of Defence. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
3. Seleka, Ntwaagae (14 April 2021). "Ramaphosa announces Lt-General Rudzani Maphwanya as incoming SANDF Chief". News24. Retrieved 15 April 2021.

v t e Chiefs of the South African military
List of South African military chiefs
Chief of the UDF 1912 – 1957	Andries Brink Pierre van Ryneveld Leonard Beyers Christiaan du Toit Hendrik Klopper Stephen Melville
Commandant General of the SADF 1958 – 1973	Stephen Melville Pieter Grobbelaar Rudolph Hiemstra Hugo Biermann
Chief of the SADF 1973 – 1994	Hugo Biermann Magnus Malan Constand Viljoen Johannes Geldenhuys Andreas Liebenberg Georg Lodewyk Meiring
Chief of the SANDF 1994 – present	Georg Lodewyk Meiring Siphiwe Nyanda Godfrey Ngwenya Solly Shoke Rudzani Maphwanya

• South African military leaders
• Chiefs of defence