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 | 3 years, 1 day | 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 | Term began | Term ended | Branch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery |  | April 2, 1951 | September 23, 1958 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} British Army |
| 2. | General Sir Richard Gale |  | September 23, 1958 | September 22, 1960 | British Army |
| 3. | General Sir Hugh Stockwell |  | September 22, 1960 | January 1, 1964 | British Army |
| 4. | Marshal of the RAF Sir Thomas Pike |  | January 1, 1964 | March 1, 1967 |  Royal Air Force |
| 5. | General Sir Robert Bray |  | March 1, 1967 | December 1, 1970 | British Army |
| 6. | General Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick | December 1, 1970 | November 12, 1973 | British Army | |
| 7. | General Sir John Mogg |  | November 12, 1973 | March 12, 1976 | British Army |
| 8. | General Sir Harry Tuzo | March 12, 1976 | November 2, 1978 | British Army | |
| 9. | General Gerd Schmückle | January 3, 1978 | April 1, 1980 |  German Army | |
| 10. | General Sir Jack Harman | November 2, 1978 | April 9, 1981 | British Army | |
| 11. | Admiral Günter Luther |  | April 1, 1980 | April 1, 1982 |  German Navy |
| 12. | Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Terry | April 9, 1981 | July 16, 1984 | Royal Air Force | |
| 13. | General Günter Kießling |  | April 1, 1982 | April 2, 1984 | German Army |
| 14. | General Hans-Joachim Mack | April 2, 1984 | October 1, 1987 | German Army | |
| 15. | General Sir Edward Burgess | July 16, 1984 | June 26, 1987 | British Army | |
| 16. | General Sir John Akehurst | June 26, 1987 | January 17, 1990 | British Army | |
| 17. | General Eberhard Eimler | October 1, 1987 | October 2, 1990 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} German Air Force | |
| 18. | General Sir Brian Kenny | January 17, 1990 | April 5, 1993 | British Army | |
| 19. | General Dieter Clauss | October 2, 1990 | July 1, 1993 | German Army | |
| 20. | General Sir John Waters | April 5, 1993 | December 12, 1994 | British Army | |
| 21. | General Sir Jeremy Mackenzie | December 12, 1994 | November 30, 1998 | British Army | |
| 22. | General Sir Rupert Smith | November 30, 1998 | September 17, 2001 | British Army | |
| 23. | General Dieter Stöckmann |  | September 17, 2001 | September 18, 2002 | German Army |
| 24. | Admiral Rainer Feist | September 18, 2002 | October 1, 2004 | German Navy | |
| 25. | General Sir John Reith | .JPG.webp) | October 1, 2004 | October 22, 2007 | British Army |
| 26. | General Sir John McColl | .jpg.webp) | October 22, 2007 | March 2011 | British Army |
| 27. | General Sir Richard Shirreff |  | March 2011 | March 2014 | British Army |
| 28. | General Sir Adrian Bradshaw |  | March 2014 | March 2017 | British Army |
| 29. | General Sir James Everard |  | March 2017 | April 2020 | British Army |
| 30. | General Sir Tim Radford |  | April 2020 | Incumbent | British Army |
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
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to NATO Supreme Allied Commanders. |