The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr (German: Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr, GenInspBw), is the highest-ranking military position held by a commissioned officer on active duty in the Bundeswehr, the present-day armed forces of Germany.

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Quick Facts Bundeswehr, Status ...

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr
Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr
Flag of the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr
Incumbent General Carsten Breuer since 17 March 2023
Federal Ministry of Defence
Status	Active
Abbreviation	IGBW
Member of	Ministry of Defence Executive Group
Reports to	Federal Minister of Defence
Precursor	Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
Formation	1 June 1957
First holder	General Adolf Heusinger
Deputy	Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr
Website	Official Website

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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, in peacetime according to the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, is the default holder of the supreme command authority (German: Inhaber der Befehls- und Kommandogewalt) to ensure civilian control of the military.

The Inspector General is responsible for the overall military defense concept of the Bundeswehr, including the overall planning, preparation, as well as assessment of the whole Bundeswehr operations. ^[1] 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.

While official translations of the position is "Chief of Defence",^[2] the German term "Generalinspekteur" – "Inspector General" – was specifically created to avoid the term of "Generalstabschef" ("Chief of General Staff") deemed historically compromised.^{[citation needed]} 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, the Bundeswehr has no "General Staff", but the "Army Command" ("Kommando Heer").

• Inspector of the Army
• Inspector of the Navy
• Inspector of the Air Force