Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
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. He is the senior military spokesman of the 30-nation alliance and principal advisor to the Secretary General. The Chairman is one of the foremost officials of NATO, next to the Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. 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]
| Chairman of the NATO Military Committee | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| NAC | |
| Abbreviation | CMC |
| Member of |  |
| Reports to | Secretary General of NATO |
| Seat | NATO Military Committee |
| Term length | 3 years |
| Formation | 1949 |
| First holder | General Omar Bradley |
| Deputy | Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee |
| Website | NATO |
The current Chairman of the NATO Military Committee is Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, former Chief of the Defence Staff of the British Armed Forces, who took office on 29 June 2018. [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.
Appointment
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.[6]
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 United Kingdom Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach. The NATO Military Command Structure consists of two strategic commands directed by the North Atlantic Council:[7]
- Liaison: Provides advice and support to the NAC
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| NATO SG (NAC) Brussels, BE | IS Brussels, BE | ||||||||||||||||||
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 CMC (NATO MC)
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 SACEUR (ACO, SHAPE) Mons, BE |  SACT (ACT, HQ SACT) Norfolk, US | ||||||||||||||||||
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List
Since the formation of NATO, its Military Chairmen have been:[8]
NATO Military Committee in Chiefs-of-Staff Session (1949-1963)
| No. | Picture | 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) | 4 April 1949 | 2 April 1951 | 1 year, 363 days |  United States Army | .svg.png){kind=small} | |
| 2 | Lt. General Etienne Baele (1891–1975) | 2 April 1951 | 1952 | 0–1 years |  Belgian Army | .svg.png){kind=small} | |
| 3 | Lt. General Charles Foulkes (1903–1969) | 1952 | 1953 | 0–1 years |  Canadian Army | .svg.png){kind=small} | |
| 4 | Admiral Erhard J.C. Qvistgaard (1898–1980) | 1953 | 1954 | 0–1 years |  Royal Danish Navy |  | |
| 5 | General Augustin Guillaume (1895–1983) | 1954 | 1955 | 0–1 years | .svg.png){kind=logo} French Army |  | |
| 6 | General Stylianos Pallis | 1955 | 1956 | 0–1 years |  Hellenic Army | .svg.png){kind=small} | |
| 7 | General Giuseppe Mancinelli (1895–1976) | 1956 | 1 January 1957 | 0–1 years |  Italian Army |  | |
| 8 | General Ben Hasselman (1898–1984) | 1 January 1957 | 1 February 1958 | 1 year, 31 days |  Royal Netherlands Army |  | |
| 9 | Lt. General Bjarne Øen (1898–1994) | 1 February 1958 | 1959 | 0–1 years |  Royal Norwegian Air Force |  | |
| 10 | General J.A. Beleza Ferraz (1901–?) | 1959 | 1960 | 0–1 years |  Portuguese Army |  | |
| 11 | General Rüştü Erdelhun (1894–1983) | 23 February 1960 | 3 June 1960 | 0 years |  Turkish Land Forces |  | |
| 12 | Admiral of the Fleet Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979) | 3 June 1960 | 1961 | 0–1 years |  Royal Navy |  | |
| 13 | General Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988) | 1961 | 1962 | 0–1 years | United States Army |  | |
| 14 | Lt. General Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990) | 1962 | December 1963 | 0–1 years | Belgian Army | |
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NATO Military Committee in Permanent Session (1958-1963)
| No. | Picture | Chairman of the NATO Military Committee | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Ben Hasselman (1898–1984) | 1 February 1958 | April 1961 | 3 years, 2 months | Royal Netherlands Army | | |
| 2 | General Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982) | April 1961 | December 1963 | 2 years, 8 months |  West German Army |  |
NATO Military Committee (1963-present)
| No. | Picture | Chairman of the NATO Military Committee | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Adolf Heusinger (1897–1982) | December 1963 | 1 April 1964 | 4 months | West German Army | | |
| 2 | Lt. General Charles Paul de Cumont (1902–1990) | 1 April 1964 | 1 June 1968 | 4 years, 61 days | Belgian Army | | |
| 3 | Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson (1909–1993) | 1 June 1968 | 1 April 1971 | 2 years, 304 days | Royal Navy | | |
| 4 | General Johannes Steinhoff (1913–1994) | 1 April 1971 | 28 June 1974 | 3 years, 88 days |  West German Air Force | | |
| 5 | Admiral of the Fleet Sir Peter Hill-Norton (1915–2004) | 28 June 1974 | 20 March 1977 | 2 years, 265 days | Royal Navy | | |
| 6 | General Herman Fredrik Zeiner-Gundersen (1915–2002) | 20 March 1977 | 1980 | 2–3 years |  Norwegian Army | | |
| 7 | Admiral Robert Hilborn Falls (1924–2009) | 1980 | November 1983 | 2–3 years |  Canadian Maritime Command | .svg.png){kind=small} | |
| 8 | General Cor de Jager (1925–2001) | November 1983 | 30 September 1986 | 2 years, 333 days | Royal Netherlands Army | | |
| 9 | General Wolfgang Altenburg (born 1928) | 30 September 1986 | 5 September 1989 | 2 years, 340 days | West German Army | | |
| 10 | General Vigleik Eide (1933–2011) | 5 September 1989 | 31 December 1992 | 3 years, 117 days | Norwegian Army | | |
| 11 | Field Marshal Sir Richard Vincent (1931–2018) | 1 January 1993 | 14 February 1996 | 3 years, 45 days | .svg.png){kind=small} British Army | | |
| 12 | General Klaus Naumann (born 1939) | 14 February 1996 | 6 May 1999 | 3 years, 81 days | German Army | | |
| 13 | Admiral Guido Venturoni (born 1934) | 6 May 1999 | 30 June 2002 | 3 years, 55 days |  Italian Navy | | |
| 14 | General Harald Kujat (born 1942) | 1 July 2002 | 17 June 2005 | 2 years, 351 days | German Air Force | | |
| 15 | General Raymond Henault (born 1949) | 17 June 2005 | 27 June 2008 | 3 years, 10 days |  Canadian Air Command | | |
| 16 | Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola (born 1944) | 27 June 2008 | 18 November 2011 | 3 years, 144 days | Italian Navy | | |
| - | Lt. General Walter E. Gaskin (born 1951) Acting | 18 November 2011 | 2 January 2012 | 45 days |  United States Marine Corps | | |
| 17 | General Knud Bartels (born 1952) | 2 January 2012 | 26 June 2015 | 3 years, 175 days |  Royal Danish Army | | |
| 18 | General Petr Pavel (born 1961) | 26 June 2015 | 29 June 2018 | 3 years, 3 days |  Army of the Czech Republic |  | |
| 19 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach (born 1956) | 29 June 2018 | Incumbent | 2 years, 37 days |  Royal Air Force | |
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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.
- Mehta, Aaron (29 June 2018). "NATO has a new top military adviser".
- 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. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Directive To The Military Committee (Mc) - Nato Archives Online". Archives.nato.int. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- NATO (9 July 2018). "Chairman of the Military Committee". NATO.int. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- "Command Structure" (PDF). NATO. Retrieved 19 October 2019. and "Military Command Structure". shape.nato.int. Supreme Head Allied Powers Europe. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- NATO. "Chairmen of the NATO Military Committee". NATO. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
Further reading
- Douglas S. Bland, 'The Military Committee of the North Atlantic Alliance: A Study of Structure and Strategy,' New York, Praeger, 1991.