Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (French: Sous-commissaire de la Police montée royale canadienne) is the second-highest ranking sworn constable of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada's premier federal law enforcement agency. The Deputy Commissioner is appointed by and answers directly to the Commissioner of the RCMP, whose administrative and operational responsibilities the Deputy Commissioner is often required to take on in order to allow the Commissioner to attend the many governmental meetings and political and social engagements expected of a federal law enforcement executive. The Deputy Commissioner is also the only rank besides the Commissioner which may be held by only one individual at a time; the next rank, Assistant Commissioner, is usually held by between 10 and 16 individuals, most of whom are responsible for overseeing a particular operational division of the RCMP. An Assistant Commissioner reports directly to the Deputy Commissioner, and is promoted to the position by the commissioner on the nomination of the Deputy Commissioner.