Hervé Bléjean
Hervé Bléjean is a military officer of the French Navy who is currently serving as the Director-General of the European Union Military Staff since 22 May 2019 but took over the office on 1 July 2020, until that, he was serving as the Deputy Commander of NATO Maritime Command. Hervé Bléjean, a vice admiral of the French Armed Forces and the first naval officer to take up this position in the European Union, born 11 December 1963 in Toulon. He enrolled in the French Naval Academy in 1984, he was assigned to the escort ship Victor Schoelcher , before becoming the executive officer of Thetis ship and had participated in the operation promethee of the Iraq-Iran War between 1988 and of the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, he attended a one-year course in CIS and went on to served in the USS Nicholson as assistant operations officer of the French exchange for two year before moving to commands the Leopard training ship and that of Navigation Training Flotilla in 1993, he also commands the Georges Leygues ASW destroyer as a operation officer, he was later moved to the Chief of Naval Staff office as his Aide -de-Camp, he was also later incharge of the French Force d’Action Navale in 1998 as sea rider under training department. He continued with the military education in the Joint Service Defence College Paris in 2000 for a general staff course, he was posted to Ministry of Defence of which he served as the director of human resources and of which he continues as executive assistant of the head of Human Resources Policy of the Navy HQ until 2005, he also commands the frigate FS Vendémiare in 2002 and spent six months in operation Enduring Freedom in the Gulf of  Aden and Gulf of Oman, he was promoted to captain in 2005 followed an appointment as the Head of the Naval Operations Department under the Joint Operations Centre HQ, he commanded the Jeannie d'arc helicopter carrier in 2007 and the French training squadron, that sees him through the Operation Thalatine. He went on to complete a military Advanced Studies in the National Defence Institute before he rose to be the Deputy Chief of the Military Office of the Prime Minister, in there he was the auditor of the Military Centre for Higher Studies of 59th promotion in 2009 and that  of the National Defence Institute for 62nd promotion with that, he was in charge of State Responsibilities at Sea, and of nuclear deterrence, that was in 2010, for three years and later was made Rear Admiral in 2013 and rose up to be the Deputy Commander of the French Maritime Force HQ in Toulon, he became in-commands of Combined Task Force 150 and of the Indian Ocean together with the European Union Naval Force in Atlanta until 2014. He was later in charge of International Relations and Partnerships in 2014 under the Naval Staff. Commands. Bléjean served as the  Commander of European Union Naval Force Atlanta through which he was involved in the Gulf of Aden in the Coast of Somalia during the maritime piracy. He became the first deputy Commander of European Union Naval Force Medical Operations Sophia between 2015 and until March February 2016. he served as the Foreign Affairs Coordinator of the Fench Navy, Paris after handing over the office. Bléjean has been a member of NATO since 2016. He served as a Deputy Chief of Staff Operation of the Joint Force HQ Naples, before he rose to be the deputy Commander Allied Maritime Command Northwood . He conducted operations in Kosovo and that of NATO HQ, Sarajevo who is partner with EU Operations in Althea. He was also in charge of Maritime Component South, Trident Juncture in 2018. Bléjean was promoted to Deputy Commander of NATO Maritime Command before December 2019.