The Armed Forces General Staff (Portuguese: Estado-Maior-General das Forças Armadas), or EMGFA, is the supreme military body of Portugal. It is responsible for the planning, command and control of the Portuguese Armed Forces.
Armed Forces General Staff | |
---|---|
Estado-Maior-General das Forças Armadas | |
Active | 1950–1974 (SGDN); 1974–present (EMGFA) |
Country | Portugal |
Branch | Armed forces |
Type | Military staff |
Part of | Portuguese Armed Forces |
Headquarters | Lisbon |
Motto(s) | Que quem quis sempre pôde ("Who wills aye finds a way", from The Lusiads, Canto IX, 95, v. 6) |
Engagements | Annexation of Goa Portuguese Colonial War IFOR SFOR EUFOR KFOR Afghanistan War Peacekeaping missions Angola Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia North Macedonia Western Sahara Georgia Lebanon |
Website | www |
Commanders | |
Current Chief | General José Nunes da Fonseca |
Insignia | |
Abbreviation | EMGFA |
EMGFA is headed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (Portuguese: Chefe do Estado-Maior-General das Forças Armadas) or CEMGFA, the highest rank of general in the Portuguese Armed Forces.
History
editIn 1950, as part of the Portuguese military reforms related with the lessons learned following World War II, the start of the Cold War and the foundation of NATO, the roles of minister of National Defence and of Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (CEMGFA) were created. The creation of these roles was a major step in the planned integration of the several military service branches and so the establishment of the Armed Forces of Portugal as a single organization. The CEMGFA assumed most of the responsibilities until then assigned to the military heads of the Navy and of the Army, the then existing service branches, as the Air Force would only be created in 1952.
At the same time and as a forerunner of a future General Staff, the Secretariat-General of National Defence (Portuguese: Secretariado-Geral da Defesa Nacional) or SGDN was established. The SGDN was the central planning organization of the Defence, being headed by the CEMGFA.
In 1969, it was decreed that SGDN should be remodelled in order to be transformed into the Armed Forces General Staff (EMGFA), as the organization for the joint administration of the Armed Forces. However, transformation of the SGDN into the EMGFA occurred only in 1974.
Organization
editThe Armed Forces General Staff is integrated into the Portuguese Ministry of National Defence and includes:
- The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA)
- The Joint Staff (EMC, Estado-Maior Conjunto)
- The Joint Operational Command (COC, Comando Operacional Conjunto)
- The operational commands of the Azores and Madeira
- The commanders-in-chief that can be created under the CEMGFA, in times of war
- The Military Security and Information Center (CISMIL, Centro de Informações e Segurança Militares)
- The general support organizations
Under the dependency of the CEMGFA are also:
- The Portuguese Joint Command and Staff College (IESM, Instituto de Estudos Superiores Militares)
- The Hospital of the Armed Forces (HFAR, Hospital das Forças Armadas)
Chief of the General Staff
editThe Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces is the operational commander of the Portuguese Armed Forces in times of peace. In times of war, he assumes the complete command of the Armed Forces. The CEMGFA is a general officer of one of the three branches of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force), appointed by the President of Portugal, by proposal of the Government of Portugal.
List of chiefs of the General Staff
editNo. | Portrait | Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | General Aníbal César Valdez de Passos e Sousa (1884–1954) | 5 August 1950 | 6 December 1951 | 1 year, 123 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
2 | Rear admiral Manuel Ortins de Bettencourt (1892–1969) | 12 December 1951 | 9 February 1955 | 3 years, 59 days | Portuguese Navy | – | |
3 | Júlio Botelho Moniz (1900–1979) | General3 March 1955 | 13 August 1958 | 3 years, 163 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
4 | José António da Rocha Beleza Ferraz (1901–?) | General22 August 1958 | 12 April 1961 | 2 years, 233 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
5 | Manuel Gomes de Araújo (1897–1982) | General13 April 1961 | 3 December 1962 | 1 year, 234 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
6 | Venâncio Augusto Deslandes (1909–1985) | General16 August 1968 | 4 September 1972 | 4 years, 19 days | Portuguese Air Force | – | |
7 | Francisco da Costa Gomes (1914–2001) [a] | General5 September 1972 | 13 March 1974 | 1 year, 189 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
8 | Joaquim da Luz Cunha (1914–?) [b] | General19 March 1974 | 28 April 1974 | 40 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
(7) | Francisco da Costa Gomes (1914–2001) [c] | General29 April 1974 | 13 July 1976 | 2 years, 75 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
9 | António Ramalho Eanes (born 1935) [d] | General14 July 1976 | 16 February 1981 | 4 years, 217 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
10 | Nuno Viriato Tavares de Melo Egídio (1922–2011) | General17 February 1981 | 18 February 1984 | 3 years, 1 day | Portuguese Army | – | |
11 | José Lemos Ferreira (1929–2020) | General1 March 1984 | 8 March 1989 | 5 years, 7 days | Portuguese Air Force | – | |
12 | António Soares Carneiro (1928–2014) | General29 March 1989 | 25 January 1994 | 4 years, 302 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
13 | Admiral António Carlos Fuzeta da Ponte (born 1935) | 21 February 1994 | 9 March 1998 | 4 years, 16 days | Portuguese Navy | – | |
14 | Gabriel Espírito Santo (1936–2014) | General17 March 1998 | 8 August 2000 | 2 years, 144 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
15 | Manuel José Alvarenga de Sousa Santos (born 1940) | General12 August 2000 | 23 August 2002 | 2 years, 11 days | Portuguese Air Force | – | |
16 | José Manuel Garcia Mendes Cabeçadas (born 1943) | Admiral4 November 2002 | 5 December 2006 | 4 years, 31 days | Portuguese Navy | – | |
17 | Luís Valença Pinto (born 1946) | General5 December 2006 | 4 February 2011 | 4 years, 61 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
18 | Luís Evangelista Esteves Araújo (1949–2023) | General7 February 2011 | 7 February 2014 | 3 years, 0 days | Portuguese Air Force | – | |
19 | Artur Neves Pina Monteiro (born 1952) | General7 February 2014 | 1 March 2018 | 4 years, 22 days | Portuguese Army | – | |
20 | António da Silva Ribeiro (born 1957) | Admiral1 March 2018 | 1 March 2023 | 5 years, 0 days | Portuguese Navy | – | |
21 | José Nunes da Fonseca (born 1961) | General1 March 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 297 days | Portuguese Army | – |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Dismissed because of refusal to swear loyalty to the Prime Minister Marcello Caetano in a public ceremony
- ^ Dismissed following the Carnation Revolution
- ^ Simultaneously served as President of the National Salvation Junta (30 September 1974 – 14 March 1975), 15th President of Portugal (30 September 1974 – 13 July 1976) and President of the Revolutionary Council (14 March 1975 – 13 July 1976)
- ^ Simultaneously served as 16th President of Portugal (14 July 1976 – 9 March 1986) and President of the Revolutionary Council (14 July 1976 – 30 September 1982)
References
edit- RIBEIRO, António S., Organização Superior da Defesa Nacional, Prefácio, 2004