The chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iraq (Arabic: رئاسة اركان الجيش العراقي, romanized: riasat arkan aljaysh aleiraqiu; is the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iraq. He is appointed by the Prime Minister of Iraq, who is the commander-in-chief. The position dates to the period of the Independence of Iraq. Up until 2003, the Chief of Staff was the second most senior officer in the Armed Forces behind the Minister of Defence.