Haakon Stephen Bruun-Hanssen (born 8 July 1960, in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

) is a Norwegian officer with the rank of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and Inspector General of the Navy. He was appointed head of the operational headquarters of the Norwegian Armed Forces and

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 ...

from 2013 to 2020. He retired in August 2020, and

Eirik Kristoffersen Eirik Johan Kristoffersen (born April 3, 1969, in Bjerkvik) is a Norwegian Army General who serves as the head of the Norwegian Armed Forces. He is a former Chief of the Norwegian Army and Norwegian Home Guard, and Chief of the Armed Forces' Sp ...

was appointed as his replacement.

Military career

In 1980, Bruun-Hanssen started his military career with an officer course at KNM Harald Haarfarge and in 1981 he graduated as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

after completion of Officer School of the Norwegian Navy. He studied at the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

in Laksevaag 1983. From 1987 to 1995 he served in the Submarine branch. From 1991 he served as

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

on the submarines ''Kobben'' of the ''Kobben'' class and of the ''Ula'' class. He has completed Naval Staff College, 1st Class, Dutch Staff College 2nd class, and all Total Defense courses at the

Defence Academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

. Haakon Bruun-Hanssen has been a staff officer at the Naval staff, and worked at Strategic plan office at the same place. In the years 2003-06 he was chief of the Naval operation centre at the Armed Forces' joint operational headquarters in Jåtta in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

. From 2006 to 2008 Bruun-Hanssen served as Chief of Staff of the Naval Staff, later as the Inspector General of the Navy. In 2011 Haakon Bruun-Hanssen was appointed to the post of Chief of the Armed Forces Joint Headquarters in Bodø. He has never participated in actual combat, but has been in staff management for Norwegian military units in combat. 21 June 2013, he was appointed

. He succeeded

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Harald Sunde in the autumn of 2013, after Sunde retired as chief of defence a few months before the end of his term and retirement. At the announcement of Bruun-Hanssen's appointment, Bruun-Hanssen stated that he would continue the renewal of the defense forces in the same direction as done in the last ten years. Bruun-Hanssen was at the appointment the first Chief of Defence from the Navy since 1994, when Admiral Torolf Rein stepped down as Chief of Defence after five years. In 2013, there were five applicants for the position. He assumed office 19 November 2013.

Awards

Bruun-Hanssen holds The Defence Service Medal with Laurel Branch, Defence Medal with one star and The Royal Norwegian Navy's Prowess Medal with three stars. In 2009 Bruun-Hanssen was appointed Grand Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

. In April 2011 Bruun-Hanssen was awarded the American decoration

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruun-Hanssen, Haakon 1960 births Living people Royal Norwegian Naval Academy alumni Royal Norwegian Navy admirals Chiefs of Defence (Norway) Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic