Section 8 of the Defence Act 1903 states:

The Minister for Defence and several subordinate ministers exercise this control through the Australian Defence Organisation. In practice, however, the Governor-General does not play an active part in the Australian Defence Force's command structure, and the democratically accountable Australian Cabinet (chaired by the Prime Minister) de facto controls the ADF. The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the King's representative. Under chapter II of section 68 titled Command of the naval and military forces, the Constitution of Australia states that:

Australia Governor General of Australia The Lord Gowrie (right) signing the declaration of war against Japan with Prime Minister John Curtin (left) looking on. The Ministry of Defense is the government department that assists and serves the president in the management of the armed forces ( Army, Navy and Air Force). It also states that the president is entitled to provide military posts in the granting of the jobs or grades of senior officers of the armed forces, and by itself on the battlefield runs with its organization and distribution according to needs of the Nation and declares war and orders reprisals with the consent and approval of the Argentine National Congress. Under part II, chapter III, article 99, subsections 12, 13, 14 and 15, the Constitution of Argentina states that the president of the Argentine Nation is the 'Commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Nation'.

Mostly ceremonial heads of state (constitutional monarchs, viceroys and presidents in parliamentary republics) with residual substantive reserve powers over the armed forces, acting under normal circumstances on the constitutional advice of chief executives with the political mandate to undertake discretionary decision-making.Īccording to the Constitution of Albania, the president of the Republic of Albania is the commander-in-chief of Albanian Armed Forces.Īrgentina Argentine president Carlos Menem presiding over an Argentine Air Force ceremony for the Falklands War in May 1997.

Are chief executives with the political mandate to undertake discretionary decision-making, including command of the armed forces.

The term is also used for officers who hold authority over an individual military branch, special branch or within a theatre of operations. The term is also used for military officers who hold such power and authority, not always through dictatorship, and as a subordinate (usually) to a head of state (see Generalissimo). Governors-general and colonial governors are also often appointed commander-in-chief of the military forces within their territory.Ī commander in chief is sometimes referred to as supreme commander, which is sometimes used as a specific term. In a parliamentary system, the executive branch is ultimately dependent upon the will of the legislature although the legislature does not issue orders directly to the armed forces and therefore does not control the military in any operational sense. A nation's head of state (monarchical or republican) usually holds the position of commander-in-chief, even if effective executive power is held by a separate head of government. In English use, the term was first used during the English Civil War. The formal role and title of a ruler commanding the armed forces derives from Imperator of the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire, who possessed imperium (command and other regal) powers. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state, head of government, or other designated government official.

For other uses, see CINC (disambiguation) and Commander in Chief (disambiguation).Ī commander in chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch.

Who is the commander in chief