On Tuesday, NATO announced the appointment of U.S. Army General Christopher Cavoli as commander-in-chief of allied forces in Europe amid heightened tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
His appointment has been approved by the North Atlantic Council and he will succeed Gen. Todd D. Walters during a handover ceremony this summer at the large Allied Headquarters in Europe near Mons in Belgium.
Christophe Cavoli, the son of an Italian-American officer, was born during the Cold War in Würzburg, West Germany and raised on military bases due to his father’s commuting.
Fluent in Russian, he has been in the service since 1987 and as of 2020 is in command of US forces in Europe and Africa, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany.
He is married, father of two, and a graduate of Princeton University.
He served during the Gulf War and several times in Afghanistan. He also commanded US forces in Europe from January 2018 to October 2020, after which he assumed joint command in Europe and Africa.
The military commander of NATO must be an American officer, because Europe appoints the Secretary General of NATO, and currently the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, reappointed due to the war in Ukraine.
The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe is one of the two strategic leaders of NATO. His deputy is a European officer.
Former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first to assume this command until 1952. The Supreme Allied Commander Europe is responsible for overall command of NATO military operations and directs military planning for operations.
