Please see "Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

" for other nations which use this rank

Admiral (admiraal) is theoretically the highest possible military rank

Military rank

Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...

 in the Royal Netherlands Navy

Royal Netherlands Navy

The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 (Koninklijke Marine), which is comparable to the 5 star rank of Fleet Admiral in other navies like the US Navy. The rank of Admiral is still described in the military protocols of the Dutch navy, but at present it is not used as an active rank.

The rank can be held by either a Naval officer appointed by the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands

Council of Ministers of the Netherlands

The Dutch Council of Ministers is the executive council of Dutch government, formed by all the ministers. This executive council initiates laws and policy. The Council of Ministers is distinct from the Cabinet which also includes state secretaries...

 or a member of the Dutch royal family. The royal connection to the rank of Admiral possibly originated in 1830 when King William I

William I of the Netherlands

William I Frederick, born Willem Frederik Prins van Oranje-Nassau , was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg....

 promoted his son Prince Frederick

Prince Frederick of the Netherlands

Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau , was the second son of king William I of the Netherlands and his wife, Wilhelmine of Prussia....

 (who was already the Secretary of State for War and Navy) to the rank of Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The next and till today last person promoted to the rank of Admiral was Prince Hendrik, the youngest brother of King William III

William III of the Netherlands

William III was from 1849 King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg until his death and the Duke of Limburg until the abolition of the Duchy in 1866.-Early life:William was born in Brussels as son of William II of the Netherlands and...

, who made his brother Admiral in 1879 to honor him for his long and exceptional career in the Navy.

The seniority of all Netherlands Admiral ranks is as follows:

1. Admiraal (Admiral)
2. Luitenant-admiraal (Lieutenant Admiral
   Lieutenant Admiral
   Lieutenant admiral is a senior naval military rank in some countries of the world. The rank is considered by many nations to be a direct equivalent of a vice admiral....
   
   )
3. Vice-admiraal (Vice Admiral)
4. Schout-bij-nacht
   Schout-bij-nacht
   Schout-bij-nacht is a Dutch Naval rank, equivalent to Rear Admiral in the US Navy and Royal Navy. It is the second most junior Admiral position of the Dutch Navy, ranking above Commandeur and below a Vice-admiraal ....
   
   (Rear Admiral)
5. Commandeur (Commodore)