| Sir George Zambellas | |
|---|---|
 Admiral Sir George Zambellas | |
| Born | 4 April 1958 |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1980– |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Cattistock HMS Argyll HMS Chatham |
| Battles/wars | Operation Palliser |
| Awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Cross |
Admiral Sir George Michael Zambellas, KCB DSC DL (born 4 April 1958)[1] is the current First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff of the Royal Navy. In his early career he served as a helicopter pilot with 814 Naval Air Squadron, 829 Naval Air Squadron and then 815 Naval Air Squadron. As captain of HMS Chatham he was deployed as part of Operation Palliser off Sierra Leone for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross in 2001. He went on to be Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff of the Royal Navy in early 2012.
Early life[]
Born the son of Michael George Zambellas and Rosemary Frederique Zambellas (née Lindsay), Zambellas was educated at Shabani Primary School in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), at Stowe School and then at Southampton University where he studied aeronautical and astronautical engineering.[1] He is of Greek descent.[2]
Military career[]
Zambellas was commissioned as an acting sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy on 17 September 1980.[3] He was promoted to lieutenant on 16 May 1982[4] and served with 814 Naval Air Squadron, 829 Naval Air Squadron and 815 Naval Air Squadron in his early career.[1]
Zambellas was trained for the naval staff at Greenwich in 1990,[1] and after spending a short time as a corporate planner for the Royal Navy’s manpower and training division within the Ministry of Defence, he took command of the mine-sweeper HMS Cattistock in 1991.[1] His next appointment was ashore, as an aviation operations officer in the Fleet Headquarters at Northwood, before being promoted to commander on 30 June 1994.[5] In 1995 he was given command of the frigate HMS Argyll and was deployed on counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean.[1]
Zambellas speaking at Chatham House in 2012
Zambellas served as a corporate planner during the 1997/98 Strategic Defence Review[1] before returning to operational command in 1999 as captain of the frigate HMS Chatham and being deployed as part of Operation Palliser off Sierra Leone for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross in 2001.[6][7] In 2001 he took the Higher Command and Staff Course at Shrivenham before becoming Deputy Flag Officer Sea Training, responsible for training Royal Navy and foreign warships and auxiliaries.[1]
Promoted to commodore in 2002, Zambellas was appointed to be principal staff officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff and served Admiral Boyce and General Walker during the invasion of Iraq and the early days of its fallout.[1] He was given command of the Royal Navy’s Amphibious Task Group in January 2005.[1]
Promoted to rear admiral on 29 August 2006[8] and appointed Chief of Staff (Transformation),[1] Zambellas was in this role entrusted with "designing and delivering the Fleet’s new approach to the generation of maritime capability and support to operations."[9] In 2007, he became Commander United Kingdom Maritime Force,[1] and in October 2008, he became Chief of Staff (Operations) at the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood.[1]
Promoted vice admiral in January 2011, Zambellas was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet, Chief of Staff to Navy Command Headquarters, and Chief Naval Warfare Officer.[10] He became Commander-in-Chief Fleet in January 2012 and was promoted admiral on 6 January 2013.[11] In April 2012 his role was re-designated Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of the Naval Service.[12]
Zambellas was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2012 Birthday Honours[13] and became First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff on 9 April 2013.[14]
Zambellas is a Younger Brother of Trinity House.[1]
Family[]
In 1982 Zambellas married Amanda Jane LeCudennec; they have three sons.[1]
Honours and awards[]
 |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) | 16 June 2012[13] |
 |
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) | 6 April 2001[6] |
 |
Operational Service Medal for Sierra Leone | |
 |
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal | 2002 |
 |
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal | 2012 |
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010, ISBN 978-1-408-11414-8
- ↑ UK ambassador in Athens: "Our First Sea Lord, Admiral Zambellas is himself of Greek descent."
- ↑ "No. 49251". 1 February 1983. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/49251/page/
- ↑ "No. 48976". 11 May 1982. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/48976/page/
- ↑ "No. 53724". 5 July 1994. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/53724/page/
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "No. 56168". 6 April 2001. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/56168/page/
- ↑ "No medal for SAS man killed in hostage rescue". The Telegraph. 6 April 2001. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1315396/No-medal-for-SAS-man-killed-in-hostage-rescue.html. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ↑ "No. 58095". 12 September 2006. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/58095/page/
- ↑ "Making a change". Defence Management Journal, Issue 37. http://www.defencemanagement.com/article.asp?id=267&content_name=Marine&article=7977. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ↑ "Service Appointments October 2010". Defence Viewpoints. 2 November 2010. http://www.defenceviewpoints.co.uk/military-operations/service-appointments-october-2010. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ↑ "No. 60025". 10 January 2012. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/60025/page/
- ↑ "Navy Board". Royal Navy. http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/About-the-Royal-Navy/Organisation/Navy-Board. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "No. 60173". 16 June 2012. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/60173/page/
- ↑ "Admiral Zambellas new First Sea Lord". Inside Government. 9 April 2013. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/admiral-zambellas-new-first-sea-lord. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
External links[]
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