Appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff

(1) The Governor General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, shall appoint a person to be the (2) A person shall be eligible to be appointed as Chief of Defence Staff if– (a) that person has served in any of the armed forces and attained a rank not lower than Colonel or Lieutenant Commander, as the case may be; or 5 (b) that person is currently serving in any of the armed forces at a rank not lower than Colonel or Lieutenant Commander, as the case may be. (3) The Governor General, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister may– (a) appoint a person over the age of 55 years to serve as the Chief of Defence Staff; or (b) permit a person who attains the age of 55 years to continue serving as the Chief of Defence (4) The Chief of Defence Staff shall function under the direction, supervision and control of the Minister responsible for (5) Where an officer serving as the Commander, Belize Defence Force, the Commandant, Coast Guard, as the case may be, is appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff, he shall, upon being so appointed, relinquish his position as the Commander, Belize Defence Force, the Commandant Coast Guard, as the case may be, provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Defence Act or the Coast Guard Act, the person so appointed as Chief of Defence Staff shall, for so long as he holds such position, continue to be a member of the services to which he belonged at the time of his appointment under sub-section (1). CAP. 135. CAP. 131.01. (6) The Chief of Defence Staff shall, while so serving in the office of the Chief of Defence Staff, hold the rank of Major General in the case of an officer of the Belize Defence Force and Rear Admiral of the Upper Half in the case of an officer of the Coast Guard.