Supreme Allied Commander Europe

Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Flag of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Incumbent General Curtis M. Scaparrotti since 4 May 2016
North Atlantic Treaty Organization Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Reports to	North Atlantic Council, through NATO Military Committee
Seat	Casteau, Mons, Belgium
Nominator	President of the United States, with Senate advice and consent
Appointer	North Atlantic Council
Inaugural holder	General of the Army D.D. Eisenhower
Formation	2 April 1951
Website	shape.nato.int

The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is based at SHAPE in Casteau, Belgium. SACEUR is the second-highest military position within NATO, below only the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in terms of precedence.

SACEUR has always been held by a U.S. military officer, and the position is dual-hatted with that of Commander of United States European Command.

The current SACEUR, General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, has held the position since 4 May 2016.

List of holders

Since 2003 the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) has also served as the head of Allied Command Europe and the head of Allied Command Operations.

	Name	Photo	Branch	Term began	Term ended
1.	General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower		U.S. Army	April 2, 1951	May 30, 1952
2.	General Matthew Ridgway		U.S. Army	May 30, 1952	July 11, 1953
3.	General Alfred Gruenther		U.S. Army	July 11, 1953	November 20, 1956
4.	General Lauris Norstad		U.S. Air Force	November 20, 1956	January 1, 1963
5.	General Lyman Lemnitzer		U.S. Army	January 1, 1963	July 1, 1969
6.	General Andrew Goodpaster		U.S. Army	July 1, 1969	December 15, 1974
7.	General Alexander M. Haig, Jr.		U.S. Army	December 15, 1974	July 1, 1979
8.	General Bernard W. Rogers		U.S. Army	July 1, 1979	June 26, 1987
9.	General John Galvin		U.S. Army	June 26, 1987	June 23, 1992
10.	General John Shalikashvili		U.S. Army	June 23, 1992	October 22, 1993
11.	General George Joulwan		U.S. Army	October 22, 1993	July 11, 1997
12.	General Wesley Clark		U.S. Army	July 11, 1997	May 3, 2000
13.	General Joseph Ralston		U.S. Air Force	May 3, 2000	January 17, 2003
14.	General James L. Jones		U.S. Marine Corps	January 17, 2003	December 7, 2006
15.	General Bantz J. Craddock		U.S. Army	December 7, 2006	July 2, 2009
16.	Admiral James G. Stavridis		U.S. Navy	July 2, 2009	May 13, 2013
17.	General Philip M. Breedlove		U.S. Air Force	May 13, 2013	May 4, 2016
18.	General Curtis M. Scaparrotti		U.S. Army	May 4, 2016	Incumbent

Deputy

The position of deputy head of Allied Command Europe (Deputy SACEUR) – since 2003 known as deputy head of Allied Command Operations – has been held by the following officers. From January 1978 until June 1993 there were two Deputy SACEURs, one British and one German, but from July 1993 this reverted to a single Deputy SACEUR.

	Name	Photo	Branch	Term began	Term ended
1.	Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery		British Army	April 2, 1951	September 23, 1958
2.	General Sir Richard Gale		British Army	September 23, 1958	September 22, 1960
3.	General Sir Hugh Stockwell		British Army	September 22, 1960	January 1, 1964
4.	Marshal of the RAF Sir Thomas Pike		Royal Air Force	January 1, 1964	March 1, 1967
5.	General Sir Robert Bray	File:General RNHC Bray GBE KCB DSO.jpg	British Army	March 1, 1967	December 1, 1970
6.	General Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick		British Army	December 1, 1970	November 12, 1973
7.	General Sir John Mogg		British Army	November 12, 1973	March 12, 1976
8.	General Sir Harry Tuzo		British Army	March 12, 1976	November 2, 1978
9.	General Gerd Schmückle		German Army	January 3, 1978	April 1, 1980
10.	General Sir Jack Harman		British Army	November 2, 1978	April 9, 1981
11.	Admiral Günter Luther		German Navy	April 1, 1980	April 1, 1982
12.	Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Terry		Royal Air Force	April 9, 1981	July 16, 1984
13.	General Günter Kießling		German Army	April 1, 1982	April 2, 1984
14.	General Hans-Joachim Mack		German Army	April 2, 1984	October 1, 1987
15.	General Sir Edward Burgess		British Army	July 16, 1984	June 26, 1987
16.	General Sir John Akehurst		British Army	June 26, 1987	January 17, 1990
17.	General Eberhard Eimler		German Air Force	October 1, 1987	October 2, 1990
18.	General Sir Brian Kenny		British Army	January 17, 1990	April 5, 1993
19.	General Dieter Clauss		German Army	October 2, 1990	July 1, 1993
20.	General Sir John Waters		British Army	April 5, 1993	December 12, 1994
21.	General Sir Jeremy Mackenzie		British Army	December 12, 1994	November 30, 1998
22.	General Sir Rupert Smith		British Army	November 30, 1998	September 17, 2001
23.	General Dieter Stöckmann		German Army	September 17, 2001	September 18, 2002
24.	Admiral Rainer Feist		German Navy	September 18, 2002	October 1, 2004
25.	General Sir John Reith		British Army	October 1, 2004	October 22, 2007
26.	General Sir John McColl		British Army	October 22, 2007	March 2011
27.	General Sir Richard Shirreff		British Army	March 2011	March 2014
28.	General Sir Adrian Bradshaw		British Army	March 2014	March 2017
29.	General Sir James Everard		British Army	March 2017	Incumbent

See also

• Supreme Allied Commander
• Secretary General of NATO
• Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

External links

Official website