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 ...
Sir Jeremy John George Mackenzie, (born 11 February 1941) is a retired senior
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
officer who served as
Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe
The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...
from 1994 to 1998.
Early life
Mackenzie was born on 11 February 1941 in
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
, Kenya, the son of Lieutenant Colonel John W.E. Mackenzie of the
Seaforth Highlanders
The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...
. He was educated at the
Duke of York School
Lenana School is a secondary school in Nairobi, Kenya. It was formed in 1949 by colonial governor Philip Euen Mitchell, known then as the Duke of York School, named after a British World War II King George V-class battleship (1939), 1939 King G ...
, Nairobi and the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...
.
[
]
Military career
Mackenzie was commissioned into the Queen’s Own Highlanders in July 1961, and posted to the 1st Battalion in Singapore. He took part in putting down the Brunei Rebellion in 1962 and later served in a training capacity with the SAS. He was appointed 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 ...
of the 1st Battalion in 1980.[ After graduating from the ]Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...
, he was made a Company Commander with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
in Northern Ireland and Brigade Major of the 24th Airportable Brigade. He was then second-in-command of the Queen’s Own Highlanders in South Armagh, being obliged to take command when the commanding officer was killed in the Warrenpoint ambush
The Warrenpoint ambush, also known as the Narrow Water ambush, the Warrenpoint massacre or the Narrow Water massacre, was a guerrilla attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 27 August 1979. The IRA's South Armagh Brigade ambus ...
of 1979.[
In 1980/81 he commanded the 1st Battalion Queen's Own Highlanders in Hong Kong and was appointed an ]Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
. He then spent a few years as an instructor at the Army Staff College, Camberley and served on the Staff at the Ministry of Defence as a colonel. In 1984 he was promoted brigadier and made Commander of the 12th Armoured Brigade and, from March 1989, Commandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
of the Staff College, Camberley. He then was made major general and General Officer Commanding 4th Armoured Division in December 1989,[ and on 2 December 1991 appointed the last Commander of 1st (British) Corps with the acting rank of lieutenant general. He was knighted as a ]Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
in December 1991.
In 1992 he formed the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps and became its first Commander.[ In 1994 he was promoted full general in 1994 and given the post of ]Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe
The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...
with special responsibility for the Partnership for Peace Program and the Expansion of NATO, and responsible for coordinating 52,000 troops from 34 nations who moved into Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. He was also given the colonelcy of the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)
The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Prior to 28 March 2006, the Highlanders was an infantry regiment in its own right; The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons ...
from 1994 to 2001.
He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
in 1999, having previously been awarded the US 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 ...
twice in 1997 and 1999, the Czech Republic's Cross of Merit First Class, and the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 1998. He was also an Aide de Camp General Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for General (United Kingdom), generals in the British Army. The recipient is appointed as an aide-de-camp general to the head of state, currently King Charles III. They are entitled to the post-n ...
to the Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
from 1992 to 1996,[ Governor of the ]Royal Hospital Chelsea
The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an in ...
from August 1999 to September 2006, and a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
. He retired from the army in 1999.[
]
Retirement
In retirement Mackenzie became chairman of UK Gear (a footwear manufacturer), and chairman of AC Cars
AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain. As a result of bad financial conditions over the years, the company was re ...
(a car manufacturer). He also became a director of Blue Hackle (a security business).
Private life
He married Elizabeth Lyon (née Wertenbaker) and has a son and a daughter.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Jeremy
1941 births
Academics of the Staff College, Camberley
British Army generals
Deputy Lieutenants of Greater London
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Queen's Own Highlanders officers
Living people
NATO military personnel
Commandants of the Staff College, Camberley
Alumni of Lenana School
Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley