NATO Military Committee

Summary

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s Military Committee (MC) is the body that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are officers of the rank of general and admiral. 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.

NATO Military Committee
LocationBrussels, Belgium
WebsiteNATO.int
Commanders
Secretary GeneralMark Rutte
ChairLieutenant Admiral Rob Bauer
Deputy ChairVacant
Director General of the International Military StaffLieutenant General Janusz Adamczak
Insignia
Chair's arms
Deputy Chair's arms
International Military Staff's arms
International Military Staff's flag

Role

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Chairman in 2014, General Knud Bartels

The MC assists and advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC), Defence Planning Committee (DPC), and Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) on military matters including policy and strategy.[1] Its principal role is to provide direction and advice on military policy and strategy. It provides guidance on military matters to the Supreme Allied Commanders of Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation, 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. The executive body of the MC is the International Military Staff (IMS).[2]

Current NATO Chiefs of Defence

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Member CHOD Member CHOD Member CHOD
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Albania

Member since
1 April 2009
 
Major General
Arben Kingji
of the
  Albanian Land Force
 

Chief of Defence of
Belgium

Member since
24 August 1949
 
General
Frederik Vansina
of the
  Belgian Air Component
 

Chief of Defence of
Bulgaria

Member since
29 March 2004
 
Admiral
Emil Eftimov
of the
  Bulgarian Navy
 

Chief of the Defence Staff of
Canada

Member since
24 August 1949
 
General
Jennie Carignan
of the
  Canadian Army
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Croatia

Member since
1 April 2009
 
Colonel general
Tihomir Kundid
of the
  Croatian Army
 

Chief of the General Staff of the
Czech Republic

Member since
12 March 1999
 
Lieutenant General
Karel Řehka
of the
  Czech Special Forces
 

Chief of Defence of
Denmark

Member since
24 August 1949
 
Major General
Michael Hyldgaard
of the
  Royal Danish Army
 

Commander of the Defence Forces of
Estonia

Member since
29 March 2004
 
Major General
Andrus Merilo
of the
  Estonian Land Forces
 

Chief of Defence of
Finland

Member since
4 April 2023
 
General
Janne Jaakkola
of the
  Finnish Army
 

Chief of the Defence Staff of
France

Member since
24 August 1949
[a]
 
General
Thierry Burkhard
of the
  French Army
 

Inspector General of the Bundeswehr of
Germany

Member since
6 May 1955
[b]
 
General
Carsten Breuer
of the
  German Army
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Greece

Member since
18 February 1952
 
General
Dimitrios Choupis
of the
  Hellenic Army
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Hungary

Member since
12 March 1999
 
Colonel General
Gábor Böröndi
of the
  Hungarian Ground Forces
 

Director of the Security and Defence Department of
Iceland

Member since
24 August 1949
 

Jónas G. Allansson
 

Chief of the Defence Staff of
Italy

Member since
24 August 1949
 
General
Luciano Portolano
of the
  Italian Army
 

Commander of the Armed Forces of
Latvia

Member since
29 March 2004
 
Lieutenant General
Leonīds Kalniņš
of the
  Latvian National Guard
 

Chief of Defence of
Lithuania

Member since
29 March 2004
 
General
Raimundas Vaikšnoras
of the
  Lithuanian Land Force
 

Chief of Defence of
Luxembourg

Member since
24 August 1949
 
General
Steve Thull
of the
  Luxembourg Army
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Montenegro

Member since
5 June 2017
 
Brigadier General
Zoran Lazarević
of the
  Montenegrin Ground Army
 

Chief of Defence of the
Netherlands

Member since
24 August 1949
 
General
Onno Eichelsheim
of the
  Royal Netherlands Air Force
 

Chief of the General Staff of
North Macedonia

Member since
27 March 2020
 
Major General
Saško Lafčiski
of the
  North Macedonian Special Forces
 

Chief of Defence of
Norway

Member since
24 August 1949
 
General
Eirik Kristoffersen
of the
  Norwegian Army
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Poland

Member since
12 March 1999
 
General
Wiesław Kukuła
of the
  Polish Territorial Defence Forces
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Portugal

Member since
24 August 1949
 
General
José Nunes da Fonseca
of the
  Portuguese Army
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Romania

Member since
29 March 2004
 
General
Gheorghiță Vlad
of the
  Romanian Land Forces
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Slovakia

Member since
29 March 2004
 
Lieutenant General
Daniel Zmeko
of the
  Slovak Ground Forces
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Slovenia

Member since
29 March 2004
 
Major General
Robert Glavaš
of the
  Slovenian Ground Force
 

Chief of the Defence Staff of
Spain

Member since
30 May 1982
 
Admiral General
Teodoro Esteban López Calderón
of the
  Spanish Navy
 

Supreme Commander of
Sweden

Member since
7 March 2024
 
General
Michael Claesson
of the
  Swedish Army
 

Chief of the General Staff of
Turkey

Member since
18 February 1952
 
General
Metin Gürak
of the
  Turkish Land Forces
 

Chief of the Defence Staff of the
United Kingdom

Member since
24 August 1949
 
Admiral
Tony Radakin
of the
  Royal Navy
 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the
United States

Member since
24 August 1949
 
General
Charles Q. Brown Jr.
of the
  United States Air Force
  1. ^ Excluded from the Committee in 1966–2008.
  2. ^ As West Germany. East Germany became part of NATO after German reunification on 3 October 1990

History

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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.[3]

Established in 1949 during the first Council session in Washington, the Military Committee is NATO's highest military authority and advises the NAC and NATO's strategic commanders, the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ NATO Handbook, 50th Anniversary Edition, 1998-99, 234.
  2. ^ International Military Staff, Jun 15, 2017, retrieved Feb 20, 2018.
  3. ^ 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. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
  4. ^ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49633.htm, NATO Military Committee, Dec 7, 2017, retrieved Feb 15, 2018.
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  • Official website