The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy () (CZsk) is the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The CZsk reports directly to the Chief of Defence (Netherlands).
The position of CZsk was created on 5 September 2005, following a large overhaul of the command structure of the Dutch armed forces. In this overhaul the position of Bevelhebber der Zeestrijdkrachten was dropped and the position of Commander of the Naval Force in The Netherlands was upgraded to the current CZsk position. Ever since the integration of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps into the Navy, the former Commander of the Marine Corps has held the position of Deputy Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
In addition to being the commanding officer of the Dutch Navy, under the terms of the BENESAM Treaty the CZsk is also the Admiral of the Benelux (the commanding officer of the integrated command of the Dutch and Belgian fleets). This means the CZsk is the commanding officer of the operational units of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Belgian Naval Component. Also, the CZsk shares command responsibility with the Chief of Defence for units that have been deployed on international missions (under the colors of the United Nations).
The position of CZsk is statutorily held by a Vice Admiral or Lieutenant General of the Marines (NATO OF-8). The current CZsk is Vice-Admiral Harold Liebregs, who succeeded Vice Admiral René Tas in the position in September 2025.
Units The Commander of the Royal Dutch Navy is Director of four Directorates:
Directorate Planning & Control Directorate Operational Support Directorate of Operations Directorate of the Caribbean
List of officeholders Commander of the naval forces 1939 - 1945 Lieutenant Admiral J. Th. Fürstner 1945 - 1948 Lieutenant Admiral C.E.L. Helfrich 1948 - 1951 Vice Admiral E.J. van Holthe 1951 - 1956 Vice Admiral A. de Booy 1956 - 1956 Vice Admiral F.T. Burghard 1956 - 1959 Vice Admiral H.H.L. Pröpper 1959 - 1963 Vice Admiral L. Brouwer 1963 - 1967 Vice Admiral A.H.J. van der Schatte Olivier 1967 - 1968 Vice Admiral H.M. van den Wall Bake 1968 - 1972 Vice Admiral J.B.M.J. Maas 1972 - 1975 Vice Admiral E. Roest 1976 - 1979 Vice Admiral B. Veldkamp 1979 - 1982 Vice Admiral H.L. van Beek 1982 - 1985 Vice Admiral J.H.B. Hulshof 1985 - 1989 Vice Admiral C.H.E. Brainich von Brainich Felth 1989 - 1992 Vice Admiral jhr. H. van Foreest 1992 - 1995 Vice Admiral N.W.G. Buis 1995 - 1998 Vice Admiral L. Kroon 1998 - 2003 Vice Admiral C. van Duyvendijk 2003 - 2005 Vice Admiral R.A.A. Klaver
Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy Portrait Name Term of office Took office Left office Time in office 1 Vice AdmiralJan-Willem Kelder 5 September 2005 31 August 2007 2 Lieutenant GeneralRob Zuiderwijk 31 August 2007 22 January 2010 3 Vice AdmiralMatthieu Borsboom 22 January 2010 26 September 2014 4 Lieutenant GeneralRob Verkerk 26 September 2014 22 September 2017 5 Vice AdmiralRob Kramer 22 September 2017 9 September 2021 6 Vice AdmiralRené Tas 9 September 2021 18 September 2025 7Vice AdmiralHarold Liebregs18 September 2025Incumbent
Deputy commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy Major General of the Marines Rob Zuiderwijk (5 September 2005 – 27 August 2007) Rear Admiral Wim Nagtegaal (27 August 2007 – 13 January 2010) Major General of the Marines Ton van Ede (13 January 2010 – 9 April 2012) Major General of the Marines Rob Verkerk (9 April 2012 – 26 September 2014) Rear Admiral Ben Bekkering (26 September 2014 – 27 May 2016) Rear Admiral Rob Kramer (27 May 2016-11 September 2017) Major General of the marines Frank van Sprang (11 September 2017-11 November 2019) Rear Admiral Jan-Hubert Hulsker (11 November 2019-December 2022) Rear Admiral Harold Liebregs (December 2022-18 September 2025) Major General of the marines Rob de Wit (18 September 2025-present)
See also Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force
References
Further reading