Chris Harper (RAF officer)

Air Marshal Sir Christopher Nigel Harper, KBE (born 25 March 1957) is a senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as the UK Military Representative to NATO and the European Union from 2011 to 2013 and as Director General of the NATO International Military Staff from 2013 to 2016. He was previously Deputy Commander Allied Joint Force Command at Brunssum in the Netherlands (2009–11), and Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in the UK (2007–09).

For other people named Chris Harper, see Chris Harper (disambiguation)

Sir Christopher Harper
Air Marshal Harper in Kabul, November 2009
Born	(1957-03-25) 25 March 1957
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1976 – 2017
Rank	Air Marshal
Commands held	No. 1 Group (2007–09) RAF Coltishall (1999–01) No. 41(F) Squadron (1994–97)
Battles/wars	Operation Deny Flight, Operation Northern Watch
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Mentioned in Despatches
Other work	Honorary Air Commodore, No 2620 (County of Norfolk) Sqn, RAuxAF ( 2017 - Present)

Education and personal

Harper was educated at Alleyn's School in Dulwich and King's College London (MA, Defence Studies) and is married with one son. He enjoys flying, shooting, running, riding motorcycles and gastronomy.[1]

Service career

Sir Christopher Harper was commissioned as an acting pilot officer after Initial Officer Training in 1976,[2] and then regraded to pilot officer the following year.[3] He was promoted to flying officer in 1978;[4] and posted in 1979 to 41(F) Squadron for his first tour on the SEPECAT Jaguar.[1] He was promoted to flight lieutenant in 1982[5] and served as a Qualified Weapons Instructor on the Jaguar with No. 31 and No. 14 Squadrons before an exchange tour with the Canadian Air Force flying the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet.[1] He was promoted to squadron leader in 1986,[6] and gained a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King's College London in 1993. Promoted to wing commander in 1993,[7] he returned to command No. 41(F) Squadron between 1994 and 1997; he was actively involved in operations over Bosnia during this period.[1] Having been promoted to group captain at the end of this tour,[8] he maintained his connection with the Jaguar force by returning to RAF Coltishall from 1999 to 2001 as Station Commander and Jaguar Force Commander. Throughout this period the Jaguar Force was involved in operations over Iraq.[1] Harper was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2002 New Year Honours List[9] and later that year was Mentioned in Despatches for action while over Northern Iraq.[10]

Promoted to air commodore in 2002,[11] Harper served as Air Commodore Typhoon at No. 1 Group,[1] before becoming the Director of Joint Commitments at the Ministry of Defence in 2004.[12] Following promotion to air vice marshal in 2005,[13] he was appointed Chief of Staff Operations[14] at what became RAF Air Command. In 2007 he returned to No. 1 Group as Air Officer Commanding,[15][16] following which he was promoted to air marshal and appointed Deputy Commander, NATO Allied Joint Force Command, Brunssum in March 2009.[17]

Harper was appointed the UK Military Representative to NATO and the EU in March 2011[18][19] and promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 2011.[20] He was elected to be the Director-General of the International Military Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 24 July 2013.[21] As of 2015, Harper was paid a salary of between £155,000 and £159,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.[22] In July 2016, he handed over his command of Director-General of the International Military Staff to Lieutenant General Jan Broeks.[23]

Following his retirement from the RAF in 2017, Air Mshl Harper became the Honorary Air Commodore of No 2623 (County of Norfolk) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, based at RAF Marham. He was appointed in 2018 as a Trustee of the Air League[24] and in 2019 as a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS).

References

1. NATO biography (includes photo) retrieved 7 April 2012
2. "No. 47007". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 September 1976. p. 12206.
3. "No. 47294". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 August 1977. p. 10287.
4. "No. 47616". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 August 1978. p. 9822.
5. "No. 48964". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 April 1982. p. 5666.
6. "No. 50583". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 June 1986. pp. 8719–8720.
7. "No. 53164". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 January 1993. p. 105.
8. "No. 54642". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 January 1997. p. 217.
9. "No. 56430". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2001. p. 6.
10. "No. 56541". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 April 2002. p. 4813.
11. "No. 56620". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 July 2002. p. 7894.
12. gulabin.com Tri-Service Appointments p16 (Mar 2012) retrieved 13 May 2012
13. "No. 57761". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 September 2005. p. 12121.
14. gulabin.com RAF Appointments p43 (Mar 2012) retrieved 13 May 2012
15. RAF Air Rank Appointments List 07/06 of 21 Aug 2006 Archived 4 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 17 June 2011
16. gulabin.com RAF Appointments p84 (Mar 2012) retrieved 13 May 2012
17. RAF Air Rank Appointments List 09/08 of 19 Dec 2008 Archived 18 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 17 June 2011
18. RAF Air Rank Appointments List 07/10 of 17 Sep 2010 retrieved 17 June 2011
19. gulabin.com Tri-Service Appointments p28 (Mar 2012) retrieved 13 May 2012
20. "No. 59808". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2011. pp. 4–6.
21. "NATO News, 24 July 2013". Retrieved 31 July 2013.
22. "Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
23. "Change of Command – Director General of the NATO International Military Staff". Retrieved 27 July 2016.
24. https://www.airleague.co.uk/about-us/key-people/

Military offices
New title	Director Joint Commitments, Ministry of Defence 2004–2005	Succeeded by C G S Hughes
New title	Chief of Staff Operations 2005–2007	Succeeded by Nigel Maddox as Chief of Staff Operations, Air Command
Preceded by David Walker	Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group 2007–2009	Succeeded by Greg Bagwell
Preceded by Chris Moran	Deputy Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum 2009–2011	Succeeded by David Walker
Preceded by Sir David Bill	UK Military Representative to NATO 2011–2013	Succeeded by Ian Corder