Supreme Commander

The rank Supreme Commander is one of the highest Covenant Sangheili ranks. They command large fleets and armadas. It is unknown if a Supreme Commander is higher or lower in rank compared to an Imperial Admiral.

For most of the Covenant's history, this rank was held by the Elite race until the Great Schism, when the Brutes got some of the higher ranks.

Description
Supreme Commander is the rank which commands large Covenant fleets, such as the Fleet of Particular Justice formerly led by Thel 'Vadam before his failure change of rank to Arbiter. Lesser fleets may be commanded by Fleet Masters, a lower rank than the Supreme Commander.

The particular Supreme Commander in the aforementioned text was a friend of, and yet superior to, Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee and would later become the Arbiter.

During the Civil War of the Covenant, it is possible that Brutes took these positions from the Elites, but none has ever been seen, as the majority of the other posts were taken over. However, some Elite Supreme Commanders may have escaped to fight the Brutes.

Appearance
When commanding a Fleet, Supreme Commanders were wearing purple armor with a cloak that wraps around and over the armor piece of their shoulders, and a showy helmet, probably with ceremonial purpose. The Supreme Commander's unusual helmet looks somewhat similar to the Halo 3 Elite Combat Helmet when compared closely. However, when Thel 'Vadamee appears before the Covenant High Council, he sports golden Zealot armor instead of purple, suggesting that the golden color is more ceremonial than the purple.

Trivia

 * Thel 'Vadam is the only known Supreme Commander.
 * Supreme Commander may be a type of Zealot, as the term "Zealot" appears to be a blanket rank covering various positions, and Thel was in a Zealot armor suit when he was in council.