Supreme Allied Commander Europe
| Supreme Allied Commander Europe | |
|---|---|
![]() SHAPE coat of arms | |
![]() Standard | |
| North Atlantic Treaty Organization Allied Command Operations (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) | |
| Abbreviation | SACEUR |
| Reports to | North Atlantic Council, through NATO Military Committee |
| Residence | Chateau Gendebien |
| 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 |
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.
The current SACEUR is General Christopher G. Cavoli of the United States Army.
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:[2]
| No. | Portrait | Supreme Allied Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) | 2 April 1951 | 30 May 1952 | 1 year, 58 days | ||
| 2 | General Matthew Ridgway (1895–1993) | 30 May 1952 | 11 July 1953 | 1 year, 42 days | ||
| 3 | General Alfred Gruenther (1899–1983) | 11 July 1953 | 20 November 1956 | 3 years, 132 days | ||
| 4 | General Lauris Norstad (1907–1988) | 20 November 1956 | 1 January 1963 | 6 years, 42 days | ||
| 5 | General Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988) | 1 January 1963 | 1 July 1969 | 6 years, 181 days | ||
| 6 | General Andrew Goodpaster (1915–2005) | 1 July 1969 | 15 December 1974 | 5 years, 167 days | ||
| 7 | General Alexander M. Haig Jr. (1924–2010) | 15 December 1974 | 1 July 1979 | 4 years, 198 days | ||
| 8 | General Bernard W. Rogers (1921–2008) | 1 July 1979 | 26 June 1987 | 7 years, 360 days | ||
| 9 | General John Galvin (1929–2015) | 26 June 1987 | 23 June 1992 | 4 years, 363 days | ||
| 10 | General John Shalikashvili (1936–2011) | 23 June 1992 | 22 October 1993 | 1 year, 121 days | ||
| 11 | General George Joulwan (born 1939) | 22 October 1993 | 11 July 1997 | 3 years, 262 days | ||
| 12 | General Wesley Clark (born 1944) | 11 July 1997 | 3 May 2000 | 2 years, 297 days | ||
| 13 | General Joseph Ralston (born 1943) | 3 May 2000 | 17 January 2003 | 2 years, 259 days | ||
| 14 | General James L. Jones (born 1943) | 17 January 2003 | 7 December 2006 | 3 years, 324 days | ||
| 15 | General Bantz J. Craddock (born 1949) | 7 December 2006 | 2 July 2009 | 2 years, 207 days | ||
| 16 | Admiral James G. Stavridis (born 1955) | 2 July 2009 | 13 May 2013 | 3 years, 315 days | ||
| 17 | General Philip M. Breedlove (born 1955) | 13 May 2013 | 4 May 2016 | 2 years, 357 days | ||
| 18 | General Curtis Scaparrotti (born 1956) | 4 May 2016 | 3 May 2019 | 2 years, 364 days | ||
| 19 | General Tod D. Wolters (born 1960) | 3 May 2019 | 4 July 2022 | 3 years, 62 days | ||
| 20 | General Christopher G. Cavoli (born c. 1965) | 4 July 2022 | Incumbent | 3 years, 360 days |
Deputy
The position of Deputy Supreme Allied Command Europe (DSACEUR) has been known as Deputy Head of Allied Command Operations since 2003. From January 1978 until June 1993 there were two DSACEURs, one British and one German. From July 1993 this reverted to a single DSACEUR. With a small number of exceptions who were German military officers, DSACEUR is normally a British military officer. The officeholders have been as follows:
Single DSACEUR (April 1951 - January 1978)
| No. | Portrait | Deputy Supreme Allied Commander | Start of term | End of term | Branch | Unit of Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ![]() |
Field Marshal
The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, Template:Post nominals |
2 April 1951 | 23 September 1958 | Royal Warwickshire Regiment | |
| 2. | ![]() |
General
Sir Richard Gale, Template:Post nominals |
23 September 1958 | 22 September 1960 | Worcestershire Regiment | |
| 3. | ![]() |
General
Sir Hugh Stockwell, Template:Post nominals |
22 September 1960 | 1 January 1964 | Royal Welch Fusiliers | |
| 4. | ![]() |
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Sir Thomas Pike, Template:Post nominals |
1 January 1964 | 1 March 1967 | N/A | |
| 5. | ![]() |
General
Sir Robert Bray, Template:Post nominals |
1 March 1967 | 1 December 1970 | Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment | |
| 6. | General
Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick, Template:Post nominals |
1 December 1970 | 12 November 1973 | 1st The Royal Dragoons | ||
| 7. | ![]() |
General
Sir John Mogg, Template:Post nominals |
12 November 1973 | 12 March 1976 | Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry | |
| 8. | General
Sir Harry Tuzo, Template:Post nominals |
12 March 1976 | 3 January 1978
(As solo DSACEUR) |
Royal Artillery |
Two DSACEURs (January 1978 until June 1993)
| British | German | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Portrait | Deputy Supreme Allied Commander | Term | Branch | Unit of Commission | Start of term | End of term | No. | Portrait | Deputy Supreme Allied Commander | Term | Branch | |
| 8. | General
Sir Harry Tuzo, Template:Post nominals |
3 January 1978
- 2 November 1978 (As Co-DSACEUR) |
Royal Artillery | 3 January 1978 | 2 November 1978 | 9. | General
Gerd Schmückle |
3 January 1978
- 1 April 1980 |
- | ||||
| 10. | General
Sir Jack Harman, Template:Post nominals |
2 November 1978
- 9 April 1981 |
2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) | 2 November 1978 | 1 April 1980 | ||||||||
| 1 April 1980 | 9 April 1981 | 11. | ![]() |
Admiral
Günter Luther |
1 April 1980
- 1 April 1982 |
Naval aviation | |||||||
| 12. | Air Chief Marshal
Sir Peter Terry, Template:Post nominals |
9 April 1981
- 16 July 1984 |
Royal Air Force Regiment (anti-aircraft artillery) | 9 April 1981 | 1 April 1982 | ||||||||
| 1 April 1982 | 2 April 1984 | 13. | ![]() |
General
Günter Kießling |
1 April 1982 | ||||||||
| 2 April 1984 | 16 July 1984 | 14. | General
Hans-Joachim Mack |
2 April 1984
- 1 October 1987 |
|||||||||
| 15. | General
Sir Edward Burgess, Template:Post nominals |
16 July 1984 | Royal Artillery | 16 July 1984 | 26 June 1987 | ||||||||
| 16. | ![]() |
General
Sir John Akehurst, Template:Post nominals |
26 June 1987
- 17 January 1990 |
Northamptonshire Regiment | 26 June 1987 | 1 October 1987 | |||||||
| 1 October 1987 | 17 January 1990 | 17. | General
Eberhard Eimler |
1 October 1987
- 2 October 1990 |
N/A | ||||||||
| 18. | General
Sir Brian Kenny, Template:Post nominals |
17 January 1990
- 5 April 1993 |
4th Queen's Own Hussars | 17 January 1990 | 2 October 1990 | ||||||||
| 2 October 1990 | 5 April 1993 | 19. | General
Dieter Clauss |
2 October 1990
- 1 July 1993 |
- | ||||||||
| 20. | General
Sir John Waters, Template:Post nominals |
5 April 1993
- 1 July 1993 (As Co-DSACEUR) |
Gloucestershire Regiment | 5 April 1993 | 1 July 1993 | ||||||||
Single DSACEUR (July 1993 – present)
| No. | Portrait | Deputy Supreme Allied Commander | Start of term | End of term | Branch | Unit of Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20. | General
Sir John Waters, Template:Post nominals |
1 July 1993
(As solo DSACEUR) |
12 December 1994 | Gloucestershire Regiment | ||
| 21. | General
Sir Jeremy Mackenzie, Template:Post nominals |
12 December 1994 | 30 November 1998 | Queen's Own Highlanders | ||
| 22. | General
Sir Rupert Smith, Template:Post nominals |
30 November 1998 | 17 September 2001 | Parachute Regiment | ||
| 23. | General
Dieter Stöckmann |
17 September 2001 | 18 September 2002 | Panzergrenadier | ||
| 24. | Admiral
Rainer Feist |
18 September 2002 | 1 October 2004 | N/A | ||
| 25. | General
Sir John Reith, Template:Post nominals |
1 October 2004 | 22 October 2007 | Parachute Regiment | ||
| 26. | ![]() |
General
Sir John McColl, Template:Post nominals |
22 October 2007 | March 2011 | Royal Anglian Regiment | |
| 27. | ![]() |
General
Sir Richard Shirreff, Template:Post nominals |
March 2011 | March 2014 | 14th/20th King's Hussars | |
| 28. | ![]() |
General
Sir Adrian Bradshaw, Template:Post nominals |
March 2014 | March 2017 | 14th/20th King's Hussars | |
| 29. | ![]() |
General
Sir James Everard, Template:Post nominals |
March 2017 | April 2020 | 17th/21st Lancers | |
| 30. | ![]() |
General
Sir Tim Radford, Template:Post nominals |
April 2020 | July 2023 | The Light Infantry | |
| 31. | ![]() |
Admiral
Sir Keith Blount, Template:Post nominals |
July 2023 | Incumbent | Fleet Air Arm |
References
- ↑ "NATO Secretary General at Allied Command Operations change of command". NATO. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ↑ "List of Former SACEURs". Brussels: NATO. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013.




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