Chairman of the NATO Military Committee | |
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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.[1]
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.[2]
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.[3] 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,[4] DC 1/2[5]).
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.[6] 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.[7]
The operational work of the Committee is supported by the International Military Staff.[8]
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.[9]
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:[10]
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 | General of the Army Omar Bradley (1893–1981) | 5 October 1949 | 2 April 1951 | 1 year, 179 days | United States Army | United States | |
2 | Lt. General Etienne Baele (1891–1975) | 2 April 1951 | 1952 | 0–1 years | Belgium Army | Belgium | |
3 | Lt. General Charles Foulkes (1903–1969) | 1952 | 1953 | 0–1 years | Canadian Army | Canada | |
4 | Admiral Erhard J.C. Qvistgaard (1898–1980) | 1953 | 1954 | 0–1 years | Royal Danish Navy | Denmark | |
5 | General Augustin Guillaume (1895–1983) | 1954 | 1955 | 0–1 years | France Army | France | |
6 | General Stylianos Pallis | 1955 | 1956 | 0–1 years | Greece Army | Greece | |
7 | General Giuseppe Mancinelli (1895–1976) | 1956 | 1 January 1957 | 0–1 years | Italian Army | Italy | |
8 | Ben Hasselman (1898–1984) | General 1 January 1957 | 1 February 1958 | 1 year, 31 days | Netherlands Army | Netherlands | |
9 | Bjarne Øen (1898–1994) | Lt. General 1 February 1958 | 1959 | 0–1 years | Norway Air Force | Norway | |
10 | J.A. Beleza Ferraz (1901–?) | General 1959 | 1960 | 0–1 years | Portugal Army | Portugal | |
11 | Rüştü Erdelhun (1894–1983) | General 23 February 1960 | 3 June 1960 | 101 days | Turkey Army | Turkey | |
12 | Admiral of the Fleet Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979) | 3 June 1960 | 1961 | 0–1 years | Royal Navy | United Kingdom | |
13 | General Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988) | 1961 | 1962 | 0–1 years | United States Army | United States | |
14 | Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990) | Lt. General 1962 | December 1963 | 0–1 years | Belgium Army | Belgium |
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 | Ben Hasselman (1898–1984) | General 1 February 1958 | April 1961 | 3 years, 2 months | Netherlands Army | Netherlands | |
2 | General Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982) | April 1961 | December 1963 | 2 years, 8 months | West German Army | West Germany |
NATO Military Committee (1963-present)[]
№ | Chairman of the NATO Military Committee | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Nationality | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982) | General December 1963 | 1 April 1964 | 4 months | West German Army | West Germany | |
2 | Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990) | Lt. General 1 April 1964 | 1 June 1968 | 4 years, 61 days | Belgium Army | Belgium | |
3 | Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson (1909–1993) | 1 June 1968 | 1 April 1971 | 2 years, 304 days | Royal Navy | United Kingdom | |
4 | Johannes Steinhoff (1913–1994) | General 1 April 1971 | 28 June 1974 | 3 years, 88 days | West German Air Force | West Germany | |
5 | Peter Hill-Norton (1915–2004) | Admiral of the Fleet Sir 28 June 1974 | 20 March 1977 | 2 years, 265 days | Royal Navy | United Kingdom | |
6 | Herman Fredrik Zeiner-Gundersen (1915–2002) | General 20 March 1977 | 1980 | 2–3 years | Norway Army | Norway | |
7 | Admiral Robert Hilborn Falls (1924–2009) | 1980 | November 1983 | 2–3 years | Canadian Maritime Command | Canada | |
8 | Cor de Jager (1925–2001) | General November 1983 | 30 September 1986 | 2 years, 333 days | Netherlands Army | Netherlands | |
9 | Wolfgang Altenburg (born 1928) | General 30 September 1986 | 5 September 1989 | 2 years, 340 days | West German Army | West Germany | |
10 | Vigleik Eide (1933–2011) | General 5 September 1989 | 31 December 1992 | 3 years, 117 days | Norway Army | Norway | |
11 | Field Marshal Sir Richard Vincent (1931–2018) | 1 January 1993 | 14 February 1996 | 3 years, 45 days | British Army | United Kingdom | |
12 | Klaus Naumann (born 1939) | General 14 February 1996 | 6 May 1999 | 3 years, 81 days | Germany Army | Germany | |
13 | Guido Venturoni (born 1934) | Admiral 6 May 1999 | 30 June 2002 | 3 years, 55 days | Marina Militare | Italy | |
14 | Harald Kujat (born 1942) | General 1 July 2002 | 17 June 2005 | 2 years, 351 days | Germany Air Force | Germany | |
15 | General Raymond Henault (born 1949) | 17 June 2005 | 27 June 2008 | 3 years, 10 days | Royal Canadian Air Force | Canada | |
16 | Giampaolo Di Paola (born 1944) | Admiral 27 June 2008 | 18 November 2011 | 3 years, 144 days | Marina Militare | Italy | |
– | Lt. General Walter E. Gaskin (Acting) (born 1951) | 18 November 2011 | 2 January 2012 | 45 days | United States Marines | United States | |
17 | Knud Bartels (born 1952) | General 2 January 2012 | 26 June 2015 | 3 years, 175 days | Denmark Army | Denmark | |
18 | Petr Pavel (born 1961) | General 26 June 2015 | 29 June 2018 | 3 years, 3 days | Czech Republic Army | Czech Republic | |
19 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach (born 1956) | 29 June 2018 | Incumbent | 6 years, 162 days | Royal Air Force | United Kingdom |
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_69471.htm, NATO: Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee (DCMC), Jan 19, 2016, retrieved Feb 22, 2018.
- ↑ "UK Defence Chief appointed as NATO Chairman of Military Committee". UK Ministry of Defence. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-defence-chief-appointed-as-nato-chairman-of-military-committee. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ↑ Description at NATO Archives site. http://archives.nato.int/military-committee;isad
- ↑ "FIRST SESSION - REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON ORGANISATION AS ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER 17TH, 1949 - NATO Archives Online". Archives.nato.int. http://archives.nato.int/first-session-report-of-working-group-on-organisation-as-adopted-by-council-on-september-17th-1950;isad. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- ↑ "Directive To The Military Committee (Mc) - Nato Archives Online". Archives.nato.int. http://archives.nato.int/directive-to-military-committee-mc;isad. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- ↑ NATO Handbook, 50th Anniversary Edition, 1998-99, 234.
- ↑ Fuller, Thomas (18 February 2003). "Reaching accord, EU warns Saddam of his 'last chance'". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071012115843/http://iht.com/articles/2003/02/18/eu_ed3__1.php. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
- ↑ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_64557.htm?selectedLocale=en, International Military Staff, Jun 15, 2017, retrieved Feb 20, 2018.
- ↑ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49152.htm?selectedLocale=en, NATO: Chairman of the Military Committee, Dec 7, 2017, retrieved Feb 20, 2018.
- ↑ "Chairmen of the NATO Military Committee". https://www.nato.int/cv/milcom/chair.htm.
Further reading[]
- Douglas S. Bland, 'The Military Committee of the North Atlantic Alliance: A Study of Structure and Strategy,' New York, Praeger, 1991.
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