Chair of the NATO Military Committee

Summary

The Chair 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 CMC is the senior military spokesperson of the 32-nation alliance and principal advisor to the Secretary General. The chair is one of the foremost officials of NATO, next to the Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The CMC is assisted by the deputy chair, 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] Originally titled the Chairman, the post was redesignated in 2021 to reflect the gender-neutrality of the post.[2]

Chair of the NATO Military Committee
Coat of arms
Incumbent
Lieutenant admiral Rob Bauer
since 25 June 2021
NAC
AbbreviationCMC
Member of NATO
Reports toSecretary General of NATO
SeatNATO Military Committee
Term length3 years
Formation1949; 75 years ago (1949)
First holderGeneral Omar Bradley
DeputyDeputy Chair of the NATO Military Committee
WebsiteNATO

The current Chair of the NATO Military Committee is lieutenant admiral Rob Bauer, former Chief of Defence of the Netherlands, who took office on 25 June 2021.[3]

Origins

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General Knud Bartels in 2014

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.[4] 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,[5] DC 1/2[6]).

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.

Appointment

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The Chair of the Military Committee is elected from among the NATO Chiefs of Defence and appointed for a three-year term of office. They must have served as chief of defence – or an equivalent capacity – in their own country and is traditionally a non-US officer of four-star rank or national equivalent.[7]

The Chair of the Military Committee chairs all meetings and acts in an international capacity. In their absence, the Deputy Chair of the Military Committee takes the chair.

List

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Since the formation of NATO, its Military Chairmen have been:[8]

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

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No. Picture 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 19492 April 19511 year, 179 days  United States Army  United States
2
 
Baele, EtienneLieutenant General
Etienne Baele
(1891–1975)
2 April 195119520–1 years  Belgian Land Component  Belgium
3
 
Foulkes, CharlesGeneral
Charles Foulkes
(1903–1969)
195219530–1 years  Canadian Army  Canada
4
 
Qvistgaard, E.J.C.Admiral
Erhard J.C. Qvistgaard
(1898–1980)
195319540–1 years  Royal Danish Navy  Denmark
5
 
Guillaume, AugustinArmy General
Augustin Guillaume
(1895–1983)
195419550–1 years  French Army  France
6
 
Pallis, StylianosGeneral
Stylianos Pallis
195519560–1 years  Hellenic Army  Greece
7
 
Mancinelli, GiuseppeGeneral
Giuseppe Mancinelli
(1895–1976)
19561 January 19570–1 years  Italian Army  Italy
8
 
Hasselman, BenGeneral
Ben Hasselman
(1898–1984)
1 January 19571 February 19581 year, 31 days  Royal Netherlands Army  Netherlands
9
 
Øen, BjarneLieutenant General
Bjarne Øen
(1898–1994)
1 February 195819590–1 years  Royal Norwegian Air Force  Norway
10
 
Ferraz, J. A. BelezaGeneral
J. A. Beleza Ferraz
(1901–?)
195919600–1 years  Portuguese Army  Portugal
11
 
Erdelhun, RüştüGeneral
Rüştü Erdelhun
(1894–1983)
23 February 19603 June 1960101 days  Turkish Land Forces  Turkey
12
 
Mountbatten, LouisAdmiral of the Fleet
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
(1900–1979)
3 June 1960June 19611 year  Royal Navy  United Kingdom
13
 
Lemnitzer, LymanGeneral
Lyman Lemnitzer
(1899–1988)
June 196119620–1 years  United States Army  United States
14
 
de Cumont, Charles PaulLieutenant General
Charles Paul de Cumont
(1902–1990)
1962December 19630–1 years  Belgian Land Component  Belgium

NATO Military Committee in Permanent Session (1958–1963)

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No. Picture 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 1958April 19613 years, 2 months  Royal Netherlands Army  Netherlands
2
 
Heusinger, AdolfGeneral
Adolf Heusinger
(1897–1982)
April 1961December 19632 years, 8 months  West German Army  West Germany

NATO Military Committee (1963–present)

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No. Picture Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Took office Left office Time in office Defence branch Nationality
1
 
Heusinger, AdolfGeneral
Adolf Heusinger
(1897–1982)
December 19631 April 19644 months  West German Army  West Germany
2
 
de Cumont, Charles PaulLieutenant General
Charles Paul de Cumont
(1902–1990)
1 April 19641 June 19684 years, 61 days  Belgian Land Component  Belgium
3
 
Henderson, NigelAdmiral
Sir Nigel Henderson
(1909–1993)
1 June 19681 April 19712 years, 304 days  Royal Navy  United Kingdom
4
 
Steinhoff, JohannesGeneral
Johannes Steinhoff
(1913–1994)
1 April 197128 June 19743 years, 88 days  West German Air Force  West Germany
5
 
Hill-Norton, PeterAdmiral of the Fleet
Sir Peter Hill-Norton
(1915–2004)
28 June 197420 March 19772 years, 265 days  Royal Navy  United Kingdom
6
 
Zeiner-Gundersen, Herman FredrikGeneral
Herman Fredrik Zeiner-Gundersen
(1915–2002)
20 March 197719802–3 years  Norwegian Army  Norway
7
 
Falls, Robert HilbornAdmiral
Robert Hilborn Falls
(1924–2009)
1980November 19832–3 years  Canadian Maritime Command  Canada
8
 
de Jager, CornelisGeneral
Cor de Jager
(1925–2001)
November 198330 September 19862 years, 333 days  Royal Netherlands Army  Netherlands
9
 
Altenburg, WolfgangGeneral
Wolfgang Altenburg
(1928–2023)
30 September 19865 September 19892 years, 340 days  West German Army  West Germany
10
 
Eide, VigleikGeneral
Vigleik Eide
(1933–2011)
5 September 198931 December 19923 years, 117 days  Norwegian Army  Norway
11
 
Vincent, RichardField Marshal
Sir Richard Vincent
(1931–2018)
1 January 199314 February 19963 years, 45 days  British Army  United Kingdom
12
 
Naumann, KlausGeneral
Klaus Naumann
(born 1939)
14 February 19966 May 19993 years, 81 days  German Army  Germany
13
 
Venturoni, GuidoAdmiral
Guido Venturoni
(born 1934)
6 May 199930 June 20023 years, 55 days  Italian Navy  Italy
14
 
Kujat, HaraldGeneral
Harald Kujat
(born 1942)
1 July 200217 June 20052 years, 351 days  German Air Force  Germany
15
 
Henault, RaymondGeneral
Raymond Henault
(born 1949)
17 June 200527 June 20083 years, 10 days  Canadian Air Command  Canada
16
 
Di Paola, GiampaoloAdmiral
Giampaolo Di Paola
(born 1944)
27 June 200818 November 20113 years, 144 days  Italian Navy  Italy
 
Gaskin, Walter E.Lieutenant General
Walter E. Gaskin
(born 1951)
Acting
18 November 20112 January 201245 days  United States Marine Corps  United States
17
 
Bartels, KnudGeneral
Knud Bartels
(born 1952)
2 January 201226 June 20153 years, 175 days  Royal Danish Army  Denmark
18
 
Pavel, PetrGeneral
Petr Pavel
(born 1961)
26 June 201529 June 20183 years, 3 days  Czech Land Forces  Czech Republic
19
 
Peach, StuartAir Chief Marshal
Sir Stuart Peach
(born 1956)
29 June 201825 June 20212 years, 361 days  Royal Air Force  United Kingdom
20
 
Bauer, RobLieutenant admiral
Rob Bauer
(born 1962)
25 June 2021Incumbent3 years, 161 days  Royal Netherlands Navy  Netherlands

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Press statement by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Chair of the NATO Military Committee following the Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence session". NATO. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Admiral Rob Bauer begins his tenure as Chair of the NATO Military Committee". NATO. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  4. ^ Description at NATO Archives site. http://archives.nato.int/military-committee;isad
  5. ^ "FIRST SESSION - REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON ORGANISATION AS ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER 17TH, 1949 - NATO Archives Online". Archives.nato.int. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  6. ^ "Directive To The Military Committee (Mc) - Nato Archives Online". Archives.nato.int. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  7. ^ NATO (9 July 2018). "Chairman of the Military Committee". NATO.int. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  8. ^ NATO. "Chairmen of the NATO Military Committee". NATO. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

Further reading

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