Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee's authority stems from the NATO Military Committee, to which he is responsible in the performance of his duties. He chairs all meetings of the Military Committee and acts in an international capacity. In his absence, the Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee takes the chair. The previous Chairman is Italian Admiral Giampaolo di Paola, as the current Chairman is Danish General Knud Bartels.

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

1. General of the Army Omar N. Bradley (United States): 1949, to 1951
2. Lt. General Etienne Baele (Belgium): 1951, to 1952
3. Lt. General Charles Foulkes (Canada): 1952, to 1953
4. Admiral E.J.C. Quistgaard (Denmark): 1953, to 1954
5. General Augustin Guillaume (France): 1954, to 1955
6. Lt. General Stylianos Pallis (Greece): 1955, to 1956
7. General Giuseppe Mancinelli (Italy): 1956, to 1957
8. General B.R.P.F. Hasselman (Netherlands): 1957, to 1958
9. Lt. General Bjarne Øen (Norway): 1958, to 1959
10. General J.A. Beleza Ferras (Portugal): 1959, to 1960
11. General Rustu Erdelhun (Turkey): 1960
12. Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Burma (United Kingdom): 1960, to 1961
13. General Lyman L. Lemnitzer (United States): 1961, to 1962
14. Lt. General C.P. de Cumont (Belgium): 1962, to 1963
15. General Adolf Heusinger (Germany): 1963, to 1964
16. Lt. General C.P. de Cumont (Belgium): 1964, to 1968
17. Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson (United Kingdom): 1968, to 1971
18. General Johannes Steinhoff (Germany): 1971, to 1974
19. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Peter Hill-Norton (United Kingdom): 1974, to 1977
20. General Herman F. Zeiner-Gundersen (Norway): 1977, to 1980
21. Admiral Robert H. Falls (Canada): 1980, to 1983
22. General Cornelis De Jager (Netherlands): 1983, to 1986
23. General Wolfgang Altenburg (Germany): 1986, to 1989
24. General Vigleik Eide (Norway): 1989, to 1993
25. Field Marshal Sir Richard Vincent (United Kingdom): 1993, to 1996
26. General Klaus Naumann (Germany): 1996, to 1999
27. Admiral Guido Venturoni (Italy): 1999, to 2002
28. General Harald Kujat (Germany): 2002, to 2005
29. General Raymond Henault (Canada): 2005, to 2008
30. Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola (Italy): 2008, to 2011
31. General Knud Bartels (Denmark): 2011, to present