Hartmut Bagger (born 17 July 1938) is a retired

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

general. He served as Chief of Staff of the German Army from 1994 to 1996 and

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the German armed forces, the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

, from 1996 to 1999.

Biography

Bagger was born in

Braunsberg Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

(today Braniewo,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) and fled the advancing

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

. After passing his Abitur Bagger volunteered the

in 1958 as a

Panzergrenadier ''Panzergrenadier'' (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning '' "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is a German term for mechanized infantry units of armoured forces who specialize in fighting from and in conjunc ...

. In 1960 he was promoted to a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

at the Panzergrenadierbataillon 82 in Lüneburg. Bagger passed his general staff training at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr in 1969 - 1971, promoted to a

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

he served at the Panzerbrigade 18, (

Neumünster Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). History The city was fi ...

) and became a lecturer of Military policy at the Führungsakademie. He completed a course at the Armed Forces Staff College,

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. In 1976 - 1978 Bagger commanded the Panzergrenadierbataillon 51 in Rotenburg an der Fulda and served at the

Bundesministerium der Verteidigung The Federal Ministry of Defence (german: Bundesministerium der Verteidigung, ), abbreviated BMVg, is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at ...

until 1980. From April 1980 till September 1982 Bagger, now an Oberst, was the Chief of staff of the 3. Panzerdivision and afterwards head of the branch "Security policy" at the

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Führungsakademie, from October 1984 till April 1988 he commanded the Panzergrenadierbrigade 7 (Hamburg). Bagger was promoted a Brigadegeneral in 1988 and served as the Chief of Staff at the III. Korps (

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

) until 22 November 1990 and commander of the 12. Panzerdivision ( Veitshöchheim) until March 1992. He became the deputy Inspekteur des Heeres (Chief of Staff of the German Army) on 1 April 1992 and Inspekteur des Heeres on 21 March 1994. After general

Klaus Naumann Klaus Naumann (born 25 May 1939 in Munich) is a retired German General, who served as Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, from 1991 to 1996, and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1996 to 1999, succeeding the ...

became Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Bagger followed him as the Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr on 8 February 1996, a post he held till his retirement on 31 March 1999.Official Biography of the Bundesministerium der Verteidigung
/ref> Bagger lives at Meckenheim (Rheinland), is married and has two sons. One of them is the diplomat

Thomas Bagger Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagger, Hartmut 1938 births Living people People from Braniewo People from East Prussia Bundeswehr generals Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Inspectors General of the Bundeswehr Generals of the German Army