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 ...

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