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The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (German: Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr, GenInspBw), also translated as Chief of Staff of the Federal Armed Forces, is the highest-ranking military post held by a commissioned officer in the Bundeswehr, the present-day armed forces of Germany.
All Inspectors General have been of the rank of a (four-star) general or admiral, and they head the Führungsstab der Streitkräfte, the German Defence Staff within the Federal Ministry of Defence, and is the direct military advisor to the Federal Minister of Defence who is the peacetime holder of the supreme command authority (German: Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt).
Subordinate to the Inspector General are the commanders of the branches of the Bundeswehr, the Inspector of the Army, Inspector of the Air Force, and Inspector of the Navy, and the commanders of the Joint Support Service and Joint Medical Service.
Title and translations
While official translations of the position include "Chief of Staff" and variations of this term, the German term "Generalinspekteur" – "Inspector General" – was specifically created to avoid the term of "Generalstabschef" ("Chief of General Staff") deemed historically compromised. When the Bundeswehr was created in 1955, many traditional military terms were considered inappropriate after the German Wehrmacht's conduct in World War II. Therefore, Federal German Bundeswehr has no "General Staff", but the "Army Command" ("Kommando Heer").