Bjørn Ingemann Bisserup (born 13 April 1960 in Copenhagen) is a
Danish General, who served as acting
Chief of Defence
A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national ...
in 2009 and 2012, before becoming Chief of Defence in 2017. He left the role in December of 2020.
Background
He entered the
Royal Danish Military Academy in 1982 and graduated in 1994, and also attended various courses at the Command and Staff Course I in 1991, and the Command and Staff Course II in 1994-1995 at the Royal Danish Defence College.
He served as a Platoon Commander in 1995-1986, served as an Administration Officer in 1986, and served as commander of the 2IC Company in 1988-1989 in the
Danish Life Regiment. He also served as an Operations and Intelligence Officer of
DANCON
Dancon, an abbreviation of Danish Contingent, is the term that comprises all Danish national forces in a current military mission of the UN, NATO, or national character. Dancon is not a military unit per se, like a brigade, but rather an organis ...
units at the
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
.
In 1990, he served as a Squadron Commander of the 2IC in the Danish Life Regiment and served as a Battalion Operations Officer at the same regiment in 1990-1991. In 1991-1994, he served as the Commanding Squadron Officer of the same regiment, until in 1995-1997, he served as a Staff Officer in the Logistics Branch if the
Danish Defence Command. In 1997-2000, he served as a Staff Officer at the
Danish Ministry of Defence, and in 2000-2002, he served as a Battalion Commander of the
Royal Life Guards
The Life Guards (LG) is the most senior regiment of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry, along with Blues and Royals, The Blues and Royals.
History
The Life Guards grew from the four troops of Horse Guards Regiment, Horse Guar ...
. He became the Head of Division at the Defense Ministry in 2003-2004 until he was appointed as the Deputy Permanent Secretary of State for Defence from 2004-2008.
While serving as Lieutenant General, Bisserup was on, 5 October 2009, appointed acting Chief of Defence in place of Admiral
Tim Sloth Jørgensen
Tim Sloth Jørgensen (born 21 October 1951) is a senior officer in the Royal Danish Navy and former Chief of Defence of the Danish Armed Forces.
Jørgensen resigned as chief of staff on 4 October 2009 due to his involvement in a controversial fak ...
. Sloth Jørgensen stopped as Chief of Defence due to the case of an Arabic translation of
Thomas Rathsack's book
''Jæger - I Krig med Eliten''. Bisserup remained on the post until the Defense Ministry appointed Knud Bartels to the post. The day after Tim Sloth Jørgensen's departure, Bisserup announced he did not want to assume the post permanently as he preferred to continue as the Chief of Operations and Planning Staffs at
Forsvarskommandoen.
Bisserup was replaced as Chief of Defence 16 November 2009 by Lieutenant General
Knud Bartels.
On 1 January 2012 Bisserup was again acting Chief of Defence, as Knud Bartels had to resign, to replace the Italian Admiral
Giampaolo Di Paola
Giampaolo Di Paola (born 15 August 1944) 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 2 ...
as
Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
The Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The CMC is the senior military spokesperson of the 32-nation alliance and pr ...
. Di Paola resigned to be
Defense Minister
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
in the Italian government.
On 20 March 2012 was Bisserup replaced by General
Peter Bartram, who - after an unusual recruitment procedure (going from a Brigadier General to General in an afternoon), took the job as Chief of Defense.
He was announced to replace Bartram as Chief of Defence on 10 November 2016. He took over on 10 January 2017, and was simultaneously made general.
Effective dates of promotion
Awards and decorations
Bisserup has been awarded:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bisserup, Bjorn
1960 births
Living people
Danish generals
20th-century Danish military personnel
21st-century Danish military personnel
Military personnel from Copenhagen