Supreme Allied Commander Europe
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.
| Supreme Allied Commander Europe | |
|---|---|
 Standard | |
| North Atlantic Treaty Organization Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe | |
| Abbreviation | SACEUR |
| 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 |
| Formation | 2 April 1951 |
| First holder | General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Website | shape.nato.int |
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 is General Tod D. Wolters of the United States Air Force.
Role
The NATO Military Command Structure consists of two strategic commands and is directed by the International Military Staff:[1]
The commands under SACEUR - Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, Allied Joint Force Command Naples and Joint Force Command Norfolk are Operational Level Commands, while Headquarters Allied Air Command, Headquarters Allied Maritime Command and Headquarters Allied Land Command are Tactical Level Commands.[2] SACEUR also has operational command of the Joint Support and Enabling Command.[3]
- Liaison: Provides advice and support to the NAC
| Political strategic level: | |||||||||||||||||||
| NA Council | |||||||||||||||||||
| NATO SG Brussels, BE | IS Brussels, BE | ||||||||||||||||||
| Military strategic level: | |||||||||||||||||||
  CMC (NATO MC)
| |||||||||||||||||||
 SACEUR (ACO, SHAPE) Mons, BE |  SACT (ACT, HQ SACT) Norfolk, US | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operational level: | |||||||||||||||||||
 JFCBS Brunssum, NL |  JWC Stavanger, NO | ||||||||||||||||||
 AIRCOM Ramstein, DE |  JALLC Lisbon, PT | ||||||||||||||||||
 MARCOM Northwood, GB |  JFTC Bydgoszcz, PL | ||||||||||||||||||
 LANDCOM İzmir, TR | |||||||||||||||||||
 CIS GP Mons, BE | |||||||||||||||||||
 JFCNP Naples, IT | |||||||||||||||||||
| JFC-NF Norfolk, Virginia, US | |||||||||||||||||||
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. The officeholders have been:[4]
| No. | Portrait | Supreme Allied Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) | April 2, 1951 | May 30, 1952 | 1 year, 58 days |  United States Army | |
| 2 | General Matthew Ridgway (1895–1993) | May 30, 1952 | July 11, 1953 | 1 year, 42 days | United States Army | |
| 3 | General Alfred Gruenther (1899–1983) | July 11, 1953 | November 20, 1956 | 3 years, 132 days | United States Army | |
| 4 | General Lauris Norstad (1907–1988) | November 20, 1956 | January 1, 1963 | 6 years, 42 days |  United States Air Force | |
| 5 | General Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988) | January 1, 1963 | July 1, 1969 | 6 years, 181 days | United States Army | |
| 6 | General Andrew Goodpaster (1915–2005) | July 1, 1969 | December 15, 1974 | 5 years, 167 days | United States Army | |
| 7 | General Alexander M. Haig, Jr. (1924–2010) | December 15, 1974 | July 1, 1979 | 4 years, 198 days | United States Army | |
| 8 | General Bernard W. Rogers (1921–2008) | July 1, 1979 | June 26, 1987 | 7 years, 360 days | United States Army | |
| 9 | General John Galvin (1929–2015) | June 26, 1987 | June 23, 1992 | 4 years, 363 days | United States Army | |
| 10 | General John Shalikashvili (1936–2011) | June 23, 1992 | October 22, 1993 | 1 year, 121 days | United States Army | |
| 11 | General George Joulwan (born 1939) | October 22, 1993 | July 11, 1997 | 3 years, 262 days | United States Army | |
| 12 | General Wesley Clark (born 1944) | July 11, 1997 | May 3, 2000 | 2 years, 297 days | United States Army | |
| 13 | General Joseph Ralston (born 1943) | May 3, 2000 | January 17, 2003 | 2 years, 259 days | United States Air Force | |
| 14 | General James L. Jones (born 1943) | January 17, 2003 | December 7, 2006 | 3 years, 324 days |  United States Marine Corps | |
| 15 | General Bantz J. Craddock (born 1949) | December 7, 2006 | July 2, 2009 | 2 years, 207 days | United States Army | |
| 16 | Admiral James G. Stavridis (born 1955) | July 2, 2009 | May 13, 2013 | 3 years, 315 days |  United States Navy | |
| 17 | General Philip M. Breedlove (born 1955) | May 13, 2013 | May 4, 2016 | 2 years, 357 days | United States Air Force | |
| 18 | General Curtis Scaparrotti (born 1956) | May 4, 2016 | May 3, 2019 | 2 years, 364 days | United States Army | |
| 19 | General Tod D. Wolters (born 1960) | May 3, 2019 | Incumbent | 1 year, 282 days | United States Air Force |
Deputy
The position of Deputy Supreme Allied Command Europe (DSACEUR) – 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 DSACEURs, one British and one German, but from July 1993 this reverted to a single DSACEUR.
| 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 |  | 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 | .JPG.webp) | 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 | April 2020 |
| 30. | General Tim Radford |  | British Army | April 2020 | Incumbent |
See also
References
- "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.
- "MILITARY COMMAND STRUCTURE". shape.nato.int. NATO. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- Boeke, Sergei (13 January 2020). "Creating a secure and functional rear area : NATO's new JSEC Headquarters". nato.int. NATO. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
JSEC is part of the NATO Force Structure and under the operational command of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).
- List of Former SACEURs
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to NATO Supreme Allied Commanders. |