Editing General admiral

{{Short description|General officer rank in some nation's navy}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{redirect|General Admiral|the American general surnamed Admiral|Kevin Admiral}}
{{Navalranks}}
[[File:Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt - Maurits van Nassau, prins van Oranje en Stadhouder.jpg|thumb|150px|{{center|[[Maurice, Prince of Orange|Maurits van Oranje]], first ''Generaladmiral'' in history}}]]

'''General admiral''' or '''Admiral general''' was first a Dutch then Danish, German, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish naval [[military rank|rank]]. Its historic origin is a title high military or naval dignitaries of early modern Europe sometimes held, for example the (nominal) [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Dutch Republic]]'s navy (usually the [[Prince of Orange]]).

==Denmark==
[[File:Navy Rank Flag of General Admiral (Denmark).svg|thumb|''Generaladmiral'' rank flag]]
In Denmark, the General Admiral ({{langx|da|Generaladmiral}}) was the term for the commander-in-chief of the [[Dano-Norwegian navy]]. The rank below the General Admiral was [[Lieutenant admiral|Lieutenant General Admiral]] ({{langx|da|Generaladmiralløjtnant}}).<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Blangstrup |editor1-first=Chr. |title=Salmonsens konverssationsleksikon: Bind IX: Friele—Gradient |date=1919 |publisher=J. H. Schultz A/S |location=Copenhagen |edition=2nd |url=https://runeberg.org/salmonsen/2/9/0560.html |access-date=7 October 2020 |language=da}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan=2| Portrait
! rowspan=2| Name<br />{{small|(birth–death)}}
! colspan=3| Term of office
! rowspan=2| {{Abbr|Ref.|References}}
|-
! Appointed
! Dismissed
! Time in office
|-
| [[File:Cort Adeler.jpg|60px]]
| '''[[Cort Adeler]]'''<br />{{small|(1622–1675)}}
| 1665
| 5 November 1675 †
| {{age in years|1665|1675}} years
| {{sfn|Topsøe-Jensen|Marquard|1935a|p=8}}
|-
| [[File:Cornelis Tromp 1629-91 by Peter Lely.jpg|60px]]
| '''[[Cornelis Tromp]]'''<br />{{small|(1629–1691)}}
| 8 May 1676
| 1678
| {{age in years|1676|1678}} years
| {{sfn|Garde|1861|p=265}}
|-
| [[File:Baron Jens Juel.jpg|60px]]
| '''[[Jens Juel (diplomat)|Jens Juel]]'''<br />{{small|(1631–1700)}}
| 21 October 1699
| 17 April 1700
| {{ayd|1699|10|21|1700|04|17}}
| {{sfn|Topsøe-Jensen|Marquard|1935a|p=681}}
|-
| [[File:Christian Ulrik Gyldenløve.JPG|60px]]
| '''[[Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø]]'''<br />{{small|(1678–1719)}}
| 4 May 1700
| 8 December 1719 †
| {{ayd|1700|04|17|1719|12|08}}
| {{sfn|Topsøe-Jensen|Marquard|1935a|pp=505-506}}
|}

==Germany==
{{main|Uniforms and insignia of the Kriegsmarine#Commissioned Officer ranks}}
{{Infobox military rank
| name           = General admiral
| native_name    = {{lang|de|Generaladmiral}}
| image          = Kriegsmarine Generaladmiral-Flag 1945 v2.svg{{!}}border
| image_size     = 100px
| alt            =
| caption        = Generaladmiral rank flag
| image2         = {{nobreak| [[File:Generaladmiral der Deutschen Kriegsmarine.png|50px]] [[File:Kriegsmarine-Admiral.svg|50px]]}}
| image_size2    = 
| alt2           =
| caption2       = Shoulder board and sleeve
| image3         = 
| image_size3    = 
| alt3           =
| caption3       = 
| country        = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| service branch = {{naval|Nazi Germany}}
| abbreviation   = GenAdm
| rank group     = [[Flag officer]]
| rank           = 
| NATO rank      = 
| Non-NATO rank  = 
| pay grade      = 
| formation      = 1936
| abolished      = 1945
| higher rank    = {{lang|de|[[Grand admiral|Großadmiral]]}}
| lower rank     = {{lang|de|[[Admiral (Germany)|Admiral]]}}
| equivalents    = {{lang|de|[[Generaloberst]]}}
| history        = 
}}

In the German ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' of the [[Second World War]], '''Generaladmiral''' was a rank senior to an [[Admiral (Germany)|Admiral]], but junior to a [[Großadmiral]]. ''Generaladmiral'' was a four-star admiral rank, equivalent to a full admiral in the British and American navies. In the traditional German ranking system until [[World War II]], an admiral was equivalent to a British or American vice admiral.

The sleeve insignia for a ''Generaladmiral'' was the same as that of a regular admiral, being a thick rank stripe below three regular stripes (''{{linktext|Kolbenringe}}'' in German naval parlance). ''Generaladmiral''s wore a third pip on their shoulder boards to differentiate them from regular admirals.  The German Army and Air Force equivalent of ''Generaladmiral'' was the rank [[colonel general]] ({{Lang|de|Generaloberst}}).

In 1943, a directive was issued that should the ''[[Oberkommando der Marine|Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine]]'' ("commander of the navy") hold the rank of ''Generaladmiral'', he would wear the sleeve insignia of a grand admiral, but the shoulder boards of a ''Generaladmiral''.

A similar practice was used in the German Army, allowing colonel generals to wear four pips on the shoulder board when engaged in duties befitting a [[field marshal]].

The rank of ''Generaladmiral'' was first given to the future [[grand admiral]] [[Erich Raeder]] on 20 April 1936.

===List===
Other holders of the rank were:
* [[Conrad Albrecht]] (1 April 1939)
* [[Alfred Saalwächter]] (1 January 1940)
* [[Rolf Carls]] (19 July 1940)
* [[Hermann Boehm (admiral)|Hermann Boehm]] (1 April 1941)
* [[Karl Witzell]] (1 April 1941)
* [[Otto Schultze]] (31 August 1942)
* [[Wilhelm Marschall]] (1 February 1943)
* [[Otto Schniewind]] (1 March 1944)
* [[Walter Warzecha]] (1 March 1944)
* [[Oskar Kummetz]] (16 September 1944)
* [[Hans-Georg von Friedeburg]] (1 May 1945)

Notably, [[Karl Dönitz]] was promoted to grand admiral without becoming a ''Generaladmiral'' first.

{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0.5em auto; clear: both;"
|-
|width="30%" align="center" style="background:#cfcfcf;"|junior rank<br/>'''[[Admiral (Germany)|Admiral]]'''
|width="40%" align="center" style="background:#bfbfbf;"|[[File:War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945.svg|30px]]<br /><small>[[Uniforms and insignia of the Kriegsmarine#Commissioned Officer ranks|(Ranks Kriegsmarine)]]</small><br/><span style="color:#007;">'''Generaladmiral'''</span><br />[[Generaloberst|<span style="color:#060;">'''Generaloberst'''</span>]]
|width="30%" align="center" style="background:#afafaf;"|senior rank<br/>'''[[Großadmiral]]''' 
|}

==Portugal==
''Almirante-general'' was the highest rank in the [[Portuguese Navy]], from 1808 to 1812 and again, from 1892 to 1910. It was the naval equivalent to the rank of ''marechal-general'' ("general field marshal") of the [[Portuguese Army]].

The rank was initially introduced in 1808, to be assigned to the commander-in-chief of the navy. The ''almirante-general'' had similar functions to those of the former ''capitão-general da armada'' (captain general of the navy) which had been extinguished in 1796 and whose functions passed to the Board of the Admiralty. The rank was only given to [[Infante]] Pedro Carlos de Bragança, being extinguished when he died in 1812.

In 1892, the ''almirante-general'' rank was reintroduced as a mere ceremonial rank to be held by the King of Portugal in his constitutional function of supreme commander of the navy. As supreme commander of the army, the king also held the ceremonial rank of ''marechal-general''. The last holder of the rank was King [[Manuel II of Portugal|Manuel II]].

==Russia==
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horisontal
| image1   = 1904mor-e21.png
| caption_align = center
| caption1  = {{small|[[Epaulette]]}}
| width1     = 150
| image2   = 1904mor-21.png
| caption2  = {{small|[[Shoulder board]]}}
| width2     = 100
| header    = Rank insignia 1904–1917
| header_align = center
| footer    = <span style="color:white;">'''<big>General-admiral</big>'''</span>
| footer_align = center
| footer_background = #007
}}

General-admiral ({{langx|ru|генера́л-адмира́л}}) was the highest rank of the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] as established by the [[Table of Ranks]] and equivalent to [[Field marshal (Russian Empire)|field marshal]]. This was purely an honorific rank and for much of its existence, it was awarded only to a person on active duty, usually for the head of the naval department, and typically a descendant of the [[House of Romanov|Romanov]] royal family.

There were only ten holders of this rank:
* [[Count]] [[Franz Lefort]] (1695);
* Count [[Fyodor Alexeyevich Golovin|Fedor Golovin]], first Russian chancellor (1700);
* Count [[Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin]] (1708);
* Count [[Andrei Ivanovich Osterman]] or Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann (1740; dismissed 1741);
* [[Knyaz|Prince]] [[Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn (admiral)|Mikhail Golitsyn]] (1756);
* [[Grand Duke of Russia|Grand Duke]] ([[Emperor of Russia|Emperor]] since 1796) [[Paul I of Russia|Pavel Petrovich]] (1762);
* Count [[Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov]] (1770);
* Count [[Ivan Chernyshyov]] (1796);
* [[Grand Duke of Russia|Grand Duke]] [[Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia|Constantine Nikolayevich]] (1831);
* [[Grand Duke of Russia|Grand Duke]] [[Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia|Alexei Alexandrovich]] (1883).
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}

The general admiral rank was abolished with the fall of the Empire and was not revived when rank distinctions were reintroduced during 1935–40. The rank of [[Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union|admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union]] can be considered as a modern equivalent.

==Spain==
{{Main|Admiral General (Spain)}}

''Almirante general'' is a rank in the [[Spanish Navy]] that is above an admiral, but subordinate to a [[captain general]].

==Sweden==
''Generalamiral'' is the highest rank of admiral that has existed in the [[Swedish Navy]], created by [[Charles XI of Sweden|Charles XI]] in the name of Admiral General (''Amiralgeneral''). [[Gustav III of Sweden|Gustav III]] revived the rank in 1780, and the same year issued instructions for the General Admiral, which alone was the [[King in Council (Sweden)|King in Council]]'s responsible for naval existence and betterment. The rank has been held by [[Henrik af Trolle]] (1780–84), [[Carl August Ehrensvärd]] (1792–94), [[Johan af Puke]] (1812), [[Victor von Stedingk]] (1818) and [[Rudolf Cederström]] (1823–28).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/nfae/0512.html |title=Nordisk familjebok: konversationslexikon och realencyklopedi innehållande upplysningar och förklaringar om märkvärdiga namn, föremål och begrepp |editor-first1=B.F. |editor-last1=Olsson |editor-first2=John |editor-last2=Rosén |editor-first3=Theodore |editor-last3=Westrin |volume=5 |year=1882 |location=Stockholm |language=sv |id={{LIBRIS|78095}} |page=1012}}</ref>

==In fiction==
"Admiral General" Aladeen from [[The Dictator (2012 film)|''The Dictator'']] (2012) is a parody of leaders who appoint themselves grandiose military ranks.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=Garde |first1=Hans Georg |title=Den dansk-norske sømagts historie 1535-1700 |publisher=B. Lunos bogtrykkeri |date=1861 |location=Copenhagen |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_vcpCAAAAYAAJ |language=da}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Topsøe-Jensen |editor1-first=T.A. |editor2-last=Marquard |editor2-first=Emil |title=Officerer i Den dansk-norske Søetat 1660-1814 og Den danske Søetat 1814-1932 |date=1935a |publisher=Pedersen & Lefevre |location=Copenhagen |language=da |volume=I}}

[[Category:Naval ranks of Germany]]
[[Category:Military ranks of Russia]]
[[Category:Four-star officers of Nazi Germany]]