Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
Incumbent	General Petr Pavel
Personal details
Website	NATO

The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The Chairman is one of the foremost officials of NATO, next to the Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander. He is assisted by the Deputy Chairman who advises the Deputy Secretary General and serves as the principal agent for coordination of nuclear, biological, and chemical matters for the Military Committee.

The current Chairman of the NATO Military Committee is Petr Pavel, former Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic, who took office on June 26, 2015. The next Chairman from June 2018 will be Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach from the United Kingdom.

Origins

In accordance with Article 9 of the North Atlantic Treaty and the guidance given by the Working Group on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization during the first Council session in Washington in 1949, the Defence Committee rapidly established the Military Committee. During its few sessions held behind closed doors in Washington, the Military Committee gave policy guidance on military matters to the Standing Group, and advice on military questions to the Defence Committee and other bodies, and it recommended military measures for the unified defence of the North Atlantic region to the Defence Committee. The Military Committee was directly subordinate to the Defence Committee, and each member nation was represented by its chief of staff or a deputy. Iceland, which had no military forces, was represented by a civilian. Each member state in turn held the Chair of the Military Committee for one year (C1 D-1/2, DC 1/2).

Two other groups which also sat in Washington came directly under the Military Committee:

• The Standing Group, the executive body, set up at the beginning, responsible for Military Committee everyday business;
• The Military Representatives Committee (MRC), created at the end of 1950, to ensure communication of information and points of view between the Standing Group and Alliance member states not represented on it.

Representatives

The principal military member of each NATO country's delegation is the Military Representative, a senior officer from each country's armed forces, supported by the International Military Staff. Together the Military Representatives form the Military Committee (MC), a body responsible for assisting and advising the North Atlantic Council, Defence Planning Committee, and Nuclear Planning Group on military matters. Its principal role is to provide direction and advice on military policy and strategy. It provides guidance on military matters to the NATO Strategic Commanders, whose representatives attend its meetings, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the military affairs of the Alliance under the authority of the Council.

Like the Council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each nation's armed forces. Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country's 1966 decision to remove itself from NATO's integrated military structure, which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members. Such was the case in the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The operational work of the Committee is supported by the International Military Staff.

The Chairman of the Military Committee is elected from among the NATO Chiefs of Defence and appointed for a three-year term of office. He must have served as Chief of defence – or an equivalent capacity – in his own country and is traditionally a non-US officer of four-star rank or national equivalent.

The Chairman of the Military Committee chairs all meetings and acts in an international capacity. In his absence, the Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee takes the chair. The current Chairman is Czech General Petr Pavel.

List

Since the formation of NATO, its Military Chairmen have been:

NATO Military Committee in Chiefs-of-Staff Session (1949-1963)

№		Chairman of the NATO Military Committee	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Nationality
1		Bradley, OmarGeneral of the Army Omar Bradley (1893–1981)	5 October 1949	2 April 1951	1 year, 179 days	United States Army	United StatesUnited States
2	Etienne Baele	Baele, EtienneLt. General Etienne Baele (1891–1975)	2 April 1951	1952	0–1 years	Belgium Army	BelgiumBelgium
3		Foulkes, CharlesLt. General Charles Foulkes (1903–1969)	1952	1953	0–1 years	Royal Canadian Army	CanadaCanada
4		Qvistgaard, E.J.C.Admiral Erhard J.C. Qvistgaard (1898–1980)	1953	1954	0–1 years	Royal Danish Navy	DenmarkDenmark
5		Guillaume, AugustinGeneral Augustin Guillaume (1895–1983)	1954	1955	0–1 years	France Army	FranceFrance
6	Stylianos Pallis	Pallis, StylianosGeneral Stylianos Pallis	1955	1956	0–1 years	Greece Army	GreeceGreece
7	Giuseppe Mancinelli	Mancinelli, GiuseppeGeneral Giuseppe Mancinelli (1895–1976)	1956	1 January 1957	0–1 years	Italian Army	ItalyItaly
8		Hasselman, BenGeneral Ben Hasselman (1898–1984)	1 January 1957	1 February 1958	1 year, 31 days	Netherlands Army	NetherlandsNetherlands
9		Øen, BjarneLt. General Bjarne Øen (1898–1994)	1 February 1958	1959	0–1 years	Norway Air Force	NorwayNorway
10	J.A. Beleza Ferraz	Ferraz, J.A. BelezaGeneral J.A. Beleza Ferraz (1901–?)	1959	1960	0–1 years	Portugal Army	PortugalPortugal
11	Rüştü Erdelhun	Erdelhun, RüştüGeneral Rüştü Erdelhun (1894–1983)	23 February 1960	3 June 1960	101 days	Turkey Army	TurkeyTurkey
12		Mountbatten, LouisAdmiral of the Fleet Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979)	3 June 1960	1961	0–1 years	Royal Navy	United KingdomUnited Kingdom
13		Lemnitzer, LymanGeneral Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988)	1961	1962	0–1 years	United States Army	United StatesUnited States
14	Charles Paul de Cumont	de Cumont, Charles PaulLt. General Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990)	1962	December 1963	0–1 years	Belgium Army	BelgiumBelgium

NATO Military Committee in Permanent Session (1958-1963)

№		Chairman of the NATO Military Committee	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Nationality
1		Hasselman, BenGeneral Ben Hasselman (1898–1984)	1 February 1958	April 1961	3 years, 2 months	Netherlands Army	NetherlandsNetherlands
2		Heusinger, AdolfGeneral Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982)	April 1961	December 1963	2 years, 8 months	West German Army	GermanyWest Germany

NATO Military Committee (1963-present)

№		Chairman of the NATO Military Committee	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Nationality
1		Heusinger, AdolfGeneral Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982)	December 1963	1 April 1964	4 months	West German Army	GermanyWest Germany
2	Charles Paul de Cumont	de Cumont, Charles PaulLt. General Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990)	1 April 1964	1 June 1968	4 years, 61 days	Belgium Army	BelgiumBelgium
3	Sir Nigel Henderson	Henderson, NigelAdmiral Sir Nigel Henderson (1909–1993)	1 June 1968	1 April 1971	2 years, 304 days	Royal Navy	United KingdomUnited Kingdom
4		Steinhoff, JohannesGeneral Johannes Steinhoff (1913–1994)	1 April 1971	28 June 1974	3 years, 88 days	West German Air Force	GermanyWest Germany
5		Hill-Norton, PeterAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Peter Hill-Norton (1915–2004)	28 June 1974	20 March 1977	2 years, 265 days	Royal Navy	United KingdomUnited Kingdom
6		Zeiner-Gundersen, Herman FredrikGeneral Herman Fredrik Zeiner-Gundersen (1915–2002)	20 March 1977	1980	2–3 years	Norway Army	NorwayNorway
7	Robert Hilborn Falls	Falls, Robert HilbornAdmiral Robert Hilborn Falls (1924–2009)	1980	November 1983	2–3 years	Canadian Maritime Command	CanadaCanada
8		de Jager, CornelisGeneral Cor de Jager (1925–2001)	November 1983	30 September 1986	2 years, 333 days	Netherlands Army	NetherlandsNetherlands
9		Altenburg, WolfgangGeneral Wolfgang Altenburg (born 1928)	30 September 1986	5 September 1989	2 years, 340 days	West German Army	GermanyWest Germany
10		Eide, VigleikGeneral Vigleik Eide (1933–2011)	5 September 1989	31 December 1992	3 years, 117 days	Norway Army	NorwayNorway
11	Vincent, RichardField Marshal Sir Richard Vincent (1931–2018)	1 January 1993	14 February 1996	3 years, 45 days	British Army	United KingdomUnited Kingdom
12		Naumann, KlausGeneral Klaus Naumann (born 1939)	14 February 1996	6 May 1999	3 years, 81 days	Germany Army	GermanyGermany
13		Venturoni, GuidoAdmiral Guido Venturoni (born 1934)	6 May 1999	30 June 2002	3 years, 55 days	Marina Militare	ItalyItaly
14		Kujat, HaraldGeneral Harald Kujat (born 1942)	1 July 2002	17 June 2005	2 years, 351 days	Germany Air Force	GermanyGermany
15		Henault, RaymondGeneral Raymond Henault (born 1949)	17 June 2005	27 June 2008	3 years, 10 days	Royal Canadian Air Force	CanadaCanada
16		Di Paola, GiampaoloAdmiral Giampaolo Di Paola (born 1944)	27 June 2008	18 November 2011	3 years, 144 days	Marina Militare	ItalyItaly
–		Gaskin, Walter E.Lt. General Walter E. Gaskin (Acting) (born 1951)	18 November 2011	2 January 2012	45 days	United States Marines	United States
17		Bartels, KnudGeneral Knud Bartels (born 1952)	2 January 2012	26 June 2015	3 years, 175 days	Denmark Army	Denmark
18		Pavel, PetrGeneral Petr Pavel (born 1961)	26 June 2015	29 June 2018	3 years, 3 days	Czech Republic Army	Czech Republic
19		Peach, StuartAir Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach (born 1956)	29 June 2018	Incumbent	7 years, 163 days	Royal Air Force	United Kingdom

See also

• Chairman of the European Union Military Committee
• Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

Further reading

• Douglas S. Bland, 'The Military Committee of the North Atlantic Alliance: A Study of Structure and Strategy,' New York, Praeger, 1991.