Michel Hofman

Last updated
Michel Hofman
Chief of Defence for Belgium Admiral Michel Hofman at Arlington National Cemetery on April 5, 2023 (cropped).jpg
Hofman in 2023
Birth nameMichel Hofman
Born (1961-04-28) April 28, 1961 (age 62)
Ostend
AllegianceFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Service/branch Belgian Navy
Years of service1978–present
Rank Generic-Navy-O11.svg Admiral
Commands held Chief of Defence
Vice Chief of Defence
Commander of the Belgian Navy
Operations & Training Department of the Defence Staff
F911 Westdiep
Battles/wars
Alma mater Royal Military Academy

Michel Hofman (28 April 1961), is a Belgian Admiral who serves as the Chief of Defence of the Belgian Armed Forces since 10 July 2020. Prior to his post, he served as the Vice-Chief of Defence.

Contents

Education and Background

Hofman was born in Ostend, but moved to Brussels at a young age. He finished high school at the Royal Cadet School at Brussels, before entering the Royal Military Academy in 1978 as a candidate naval officer, studying social and military sciences (118th All weapons class). He also studied at the Ecole de Guerre-Terre (formerly College Interarmées de Défense) at France in 2000. [1]

He was assigned in several positions on board the ships of the Belgian Navy, ranging from minesweepers, mine hunters and frigates. From 1991 and 1997, he served at the Operations School of the Belgian Navy in Bruges, and later on board the M917 Crocus, where he took part in the operations during the Gulf War, and the F911 Westdiep. He also served at the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (STANAVFORLANT). In autumn 1997, he joined the Chief of Defence staff, Vice Admiral Herteleer. [1]

He commanded the F911 Westdiep in 2000, and took part on the Operation Active Endeavour in response to the September 11 attacks. In 2002, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff to the Belgian-Dutch Task Group, and in January 2004, he became Deputy Operations Assistant to the Commander of the Marine Component and Deputy Chief Operations Officer at the Benelux. [1]

In 2006, he became the Deputy Officer and the Commander of the Operations Division within the Operations & Training Department of the Defence Staff. [1]

In 2010, he served as a Deputy Commander to French Command during the Operation Atalanta, and later served as the Commander of the Belgian Navy and also became the Deputy Admiral Benelux. In May 2015 he served again at the Operations & Training Department of the Defence Staff, first as the Deputy Operations Officer and later as the Head of the Department. He was promoted to Vice Admiral on 26 June 2016. [1] He was appointed as Vice Chief of Defense in July 2017. [2]

On July 10, 2020, he was named as the new Chief of Defence, replacing General Marc Compernol. [3] [4] [5]

Awards

Personal life

Hofman is Bilingual, Dutch-French. He is married, father of 5 children. The family lives in Ostend.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Ritchie</span>

Vice Admiral Christopher Angus Ritchie is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy, who served as Chief of Navy from 2002 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied Command Transformation</span> NATO strategic-level military command

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is a military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Rogers Anderson</span> Canadian diplomat, military officer and civil servant

Admiral John Rogers Anderson, is a retired Canadian Forces officer, former Canadian diplomat and civil servant.

Admiral Rainer Feist was an officer in the German Navy until his retirement in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of Defence (Belgium)</span> Professional head and commander of the Belgian Armed Forces

The Chief of Defence, is the professional head and commander of the Belgian Armed Forces. He is the highest official within the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff. He reports directly to the Minister of Defence and is responsible for advising the Minister, for the implementation of defence policy and for the administration of the department. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Michel Hofman, since July 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giampaolo Di Paola</span> Italian politician

Giampaolo Di Paola is an Italian naval officer who served in the government of Italy as minister of defense from November 2011 to April 2013. He was the Italian military's Chief of Staff from 10 March 2004 to 8 February 2008 and served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2008 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harald Kujat</span> German general

Harald Kujat is a German retired General of the Luftwaffe. He served as Chief of Staff of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, from 2000 to 2002, and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2002 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of Defence (Netherlands)</span>

The chief of defence is the highest-ranking military officer in the armed forces of the Netherlands and is the principal military advisor to the minister of defence. On behalf of the minister of defence, he is responsible for operational policy, strategic planning and for preparing and executing military operations carried out by the armed forces. The chief of defence is in charge of the central staff and is the direct commanding officer of all the commanders of the branches of the armed forces. In this capacity, the chief of defence directs all the activities of the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Navy and Royal Netherlands Air Force. He is also in charge of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, when it is operating under the responsibility of the minister of defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy</span> Chief of the Royal Netherlands Navy

The Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy (CZsk) is the highest-ranking officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The CZsk reports directly to the Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiral Benelux</span>

The Admiral Benelux (ABNL) is the Commanding Officer of the combined military staff of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Naval Component of the Belgian Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthieu Borsboom</span>

Vice admiral Matthieu Borsboom is a retired Royal Netherlands Navy officer who is a former Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy and Admiral Benelux, and has served with the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John N. Christenson</span>

John Nels Christenson is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy who last served as the United States Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee, in Brussels, Belgium. He was the 53rd President of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island from March 2011 to July 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Trojahn</span>

Rear Admiral Frank Trojahn is a Danish naval officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Bauer</span> Dutch 4-star Admiral (born 1962)

Robert Peter Bauer is a lieutenant-admiral in the Royal Netherlands Navy, currently serving as the Chair of the NATO Military Committee since June 2021, after succeeding Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach. Bauer previously served as the Chief of Defence from October 2017 to April 2021, and as the Vice Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 1 September 2015 to 13 July 2017. Bauer was also involved in anti-terrorist and anti-piracy operations in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Horn of Africa.

Wim Robberecht is a Belgian naval officer who holds the rank of divisional admiral and since 2016 has served as the commander of the Belgian Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Force Command Norfolk</span> NATO multinational naval formation/command

Joint Force Command - Norfolk (JFC-NF) is a joint operational level command part of the NATO Military Command Structure under Allied Command Operations. Its headquarters is located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Vandier</span> French naval officer

Pierre Vandier is a French naval officer who served as Chief of Staff of the French Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Compernol</span> Chief of Defence Staff of Belgium Defence Force

Marc Compernol is the Chief of Defence Staff of Belgium Defence Force since July 2016, until his time of retirement in July 2020.

Willy Herteleer is an admiral of the Belgium Defence Force who served as the Chief of the General Staff of Belgium from 1995 until he left the Navy in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hervé Bléjean</span> French Navy officer (born 1963)

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 1 July 2020, having been elected to take up the role on 22 May 2019. He previously served as the Deputy Commander of NATO Maritime Command.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Michel Hofman, Belgian Chief of Defence". NATO. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. ↑ "The Belgian Defence Strategic Plan: A Complex Jigsaw Puzzle". EUROMIL. April 13, 2015.
  3. ↑ NWS, VRT (June 30, 2020). "Michel Hofman (59) wordt de nieuwe stafchef van het Belgische leger". vrtnws.be.
  4. ↑ "Michel Hofman nieuwe stafchef leger". De Tijd. June 30, 2020.
  5. ↑ "New defence chief: Belgium's military faces 'gigantic challenge'". The Brussels Times. November 27, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.