# NATO Military Committee

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s Military Committee (MC) is the body that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are officers of the rank of general and admiral. Like the Council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each nation's armed forces.

## Role

The MC assists and advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC), Defence Planning Committee (DPC), and Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) on military matters including policy and strategy. Its principal role is to provide direction and advice on military policy and strategy. It provides guidance on military matters to the Supreme Allied Commanders of Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation, whose representatives attend its meetings, and is responsible for the overall conduct of the military affairs of the Alliance under the authority of the Council. The executive body of the MC is the International Military Staff (IMS).

## Current NATO Chiefs of Defence

| Member | CHOD | Member | CHOD | Member | CHOD |
| Chief of the General Staff of Albania Member since 1 April 2009 | Major General Arben Kingji [de; nl] of the Albanian Land Force | Chief of Defence of Belgium Member since 24 August 1949 | General Frederik Vansina of the Belgian Air Component | Chief of Defence of Bulgaria Member since 29 March 2004 | Admiral Emil Eftimov [bg; de; he] of the Bulgarian Navy |
| Chief of the Defence Staff of Canada Member since 24 August 1949 | General Jennie Carignan of the Canadian Army | Chief of the General Staff of Croatia Member since 1 April 2009 | Colonel general Tihomir Kundid of the Croatian Army | Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Republic Member since 12 March 1999 | Lieutenant General Karel Řehka of the Czech Special Forces |
| Chief of Defence of Denmark Member since 24 August 1949 | General Michael Hyldgaard [da] of the Royal Danish Army | Commander of the Defence Forces of Estonia Member since 29 March 2004 | Major General Andrus Merilo of the Estonian Land Forces | Chief of Defence of Finland Member since 4 April 2023 | General Janne Jaakkola of the Finnish Army |
| Chief of the Defence Staff of France Member since 24 August 1949 | General Thierry Burkhard of the French Army | Inspector General of the Bundeswehr of Germany Member since 6 May 1955 | General Carsten Breuer of the German Army | Chief of the General Staff of Greece Member since 18 February 1952 | General Dimitrios Choupis [el] of the Hellenic Army |
| Chief of the General Staff of Hungary Member since 12 March 1999 | Colonel General Gábor Böröndi of the Hungarian Ground Forces | Director of the Security and Defence Department of Iceland Member since 24 August 1949 | Jónas G. Allansson | Chief of the Defence Staff of Italy Member since 24 August 1949 | General Luciano Portolano of the Italian Army |
| Commander of the Armed Forces of Latvia Member since 29 March 2004 | Major General Kaspars Pudāns of the Latvian National Guard | Chief of Defence of Lithuania Member since 29 March 2004 | General Raimundas Vaikšnoras of the Lithuanian Land Force | Chief of Defence of Luxembourg Member since 24 August 1949 | General Steve Thull of the Luxembourg Army |
| Chief of the General Staff of Montenegro Member since 5 June 2017 | Brigadier General Zoran Lazarević [de] of the Montenegrin Ground Army | Chief of Defence of the Netherlands Member since 24 August 1949 | General Onno Eichelsheim of the Royal Netherlands Air Force | Chief of the General Staff of North Macedonia Member since 27 March 2020 | Major General Saško Lafčiski of the North Macedonian Special Forces |
| Chief of Defence of Norway Member since 24 August 1949 | General Eirik Kristoffersen of the Norwegian Army | Chief of the General Staff of Poland Member since 12 March 1999 | General Wiesław Kukuła of the Polish Territorial Defence Forces | Chief of the General Staff of Portugal Member since 24 August 1949 | General José Nunes da Fonseca [he; pt] of the Portuguese Army |
| Chief of the General Staff of Romania Member since 29 March 2004 | General Gheorghiță Vlad [he] of the Romanian Land Forces | Chief of the General Staff of Slovakia Member since 29 March 2004 | Lieutenant General Daniel Zmeko of the Slovak Ground Forces | Chief of the General Staff of Slovenia Member since 29 March 2004 | Lieutenant General Robert Glavaš of the Slovenian Ground Force |
| Chief of the Defence Staff of Spain Member since 30 May 1982 | Admiral General Teodoro Esteban López Calderón of the Spanish Navy | Supreme Commander of Sweden Member since 7 March 2024 | General Michael Claesson of the Swedish Army | Chief of the General Staff of Turkey Member since 18 February 1952 | General Metin Gürak of the Turkish Land Forces |
| Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom Member since 24 August 1949 | Admiral Tony Radakin of the Royal Navy | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Member since 24 August 1949 | Admiral Christopher W. Grady of the United States Navy | | |
* ↑ Excluded from the Committee in 1966–2008.
* ↑ As West Germany. East Germany became part of NATO after German reunification on 3 October 1990

## History

Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country's 1966 decision to remove itself from NATO's integrated military structure, which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members. Such was the case in the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Established in 1949 during the first Council session in Washington, the Military Committee is NATO's highest military authority and advises the NAC and NATO's strategic commanders, the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
* Arms of historical NATO commands
* Allied Command Atlantic
* Allied Command Channel
* Allied Command Europe (Supreme Headquarters)