Chief of staff - Definition and Overview

The term Chief of Staff can refer to:

• The White House Chief of Staff, the highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
• The head of the Prime Minister's Office of Canada
• The most senior aide in the office of state governors, provincial premiers and other political leaders.
• The professional head of a branch of the armed forces. These officers together may be called the Chiefs of Staff Committee or Joint Chiefs of Staff. The title comes from the fact that they are the chief military aides to the Commander-in-Chief, who is usually the head of state.
• The chief aide to the commander of larger military formations and units.
• A Congressional Chief of Staff heads the office of a member of the United States Congress, and can exercise influence in his/her own right
• The General staff (המטה הכללי), the highest command of the Israeli Defence Forces, has at its head the Chief of staff called Ramatkal (רמטכ"ל) from the abbreviation for "Head of the General Staff".

See also

• Chief of the Defence Staff
• Chief of the General Staff
• Chief of the Imperial General Staff
• Chief of the Naval Staff
• Chief of the Air Staff