[1] The position was created in 1937 as a successor to the Chief of the General Staff which was abolished the same year.

The position was held by a senior member of one of the three main branches of the Swedish Armed Forces until 1993 when the position was abolished when the Defence Staff was disbanded.

Between 2007 and 2022, the Ledningsstaben (LEDS) in the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters was called the Defence Staff in English and was commanded by the Chief of Defence Staff (Chefen för ledningsstaben, C LEDS).

In this role, the Chief of the Defence Staff, under the Chief of Defence, is responsible for coordinating strategic planning and military strategic command, and for ensuring that all matters, inquiries, and tasks submitted to the authority are processed and prepared as their nature requires.

This responsibility includes coordinating activities within the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters, as well as ensuring that decisions made by the authority's leadership are implemented, monitored, and that results are reported back to the leadership.