General Petr Pavel elected chairman of the NATO Military Commitee

The Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army, General Petr Pavel, will be the new chairman of the NATO Military Committee, according to information obtained by the Czech News Agency. General Pavel was elected to the post at the committee meeting in Vilnius on Saturday. He will replace the present committee head, Danish General Knud Bartels, next year. General Pavel is the first representative of a NATO east European member country to hold the senior post. In the vote, committee members chose the Czech over rival candidates from Italy and Greece. His mandate will last three years and can be prolonged.

The Military Committee chairman is NATO´s highest military authority and chief military adviser to NATO secretary general. In this respect, Pavel will cooperate with Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who will take up the post of secretary general next month. The Military Committee is the supreme military body of NATO. It can submit proposals and recommendations to the North Atlantic Council, the Defence Planning Committee and the Nuclear Planning Group.

Author: Jan Velinger