Bjørn Ingemann Bisserup (born 13 April 1960 in Copenhagen) is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

General, who served as acting

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked 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 military position withi ...

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 The Royal Danish Military Academy ( da, Hærens Officersskole) educates and commissions all officers for the Royal Danish Army. The Military Academy function was initiated in 1713 by request of King Frederick IV on inspiration from the Naval Aca ...

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 The Danish Life Regiment ( da, Danske Livregiment) was an infantry regiment of the Royal Danish Army. On 1 January 2001 it was merged with Sjællandske Livregiment, into Gardehusarregimentet. History The Danish Life Regiment trace its history bac ...

. He also served as an Operations and Intelligence Officer of

DANCON Dancon, an abbreviation of Danish Contingent, is the term that comprises all Denmark, 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 ...

units at the

United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a UN peacekeepers, United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following Cypr ...

. 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. 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 20 ...

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 30-nation alliance and ...

. Di Paola resigned to be

Defense Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

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