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'Commandeur' is a title in French and Dutch (also, now a purism, Kommandeur), usually rendered in English as Commander, with different uses. The literal meaning is he who commands, parallel to Commandant. In most senses the German equivalent is 'Kommandeur'.

Contents

Naval and air force use

Orders

Colonial office

Sources and references

Naval and air force use

Various functions of commanding officers were styled Commandeur, and the Dutch use of the title as a rank lives on in the Royal Netherlands Navy, as the equivalent of Commodore. In the Royal Netherlands Air Force, however, this rank is known by the English spelling of Commodore which is the Dutch equivalent of the British Air Commodore.
Similar rank also exist in the the Royal Danish Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy (as ''Kommandør''), as well as the Royal Swedish Navy (as ''Kommendör''). Note that these are equivalent to Captain in the British Royal Navy and the United States Navy, and ''not'' Commodore.

Orders

In many orders of knighthood, Commandeur is a high rank, usually above Officier (i.e. Officer), but under one or more ranks with a prefix meaning "Great", e.g. ''Groot-'' in Dutch, ''Grand -'' in French, which may include Grootcommandeur (equivalent to [Knight] Grand Commander), the equivalent of ''Commendador-mayor'' (using an equivalent suffix) in Spanish.

★ In military orders with extensive territorial possessions, individual estates could be called ''commenda'' and enthrusted to an individual Knight, as a de facto fief. Apart from cases where such a fief was ex officio linked to a higher office within the order, his style would then be Commandeur; this etymology is best preserved in the Spanish form 'Commendador', important in the military orders involved in the Reconquista such as the Order of Santiago.
In this sense only, the equivalent German title is ''Komthur'', of importance mainly in the ''Ordensstaat'' of the Teutonic Knights and other orders' possessions (throughout Europe).

Colonial office

As in various small colonial settlements (such as various Caribbean islands) commanding the garrison was the crux of the top job, the military title Commandeur could also be used instead of a civilian gubernatorial style, not unlike the Portuguese Captain-major.
For example, this was the case on the island of Tobago in the Dutch colony of Nieuw Walcheren ('New Walcheren')

Sources and references

★ WorldStatesmen- see each present country