General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir Samuel Cowan (born 9 October 1941) is a former

Quartermaster-General to the Forces The Quartermaster-General to the Forces (QMG) is a senior general in the British Army. The post has become symbolic: the Ministry of Defence organisation charts since 2011 have not used the term "Quartermaster-General to the Forces"; they simply ...

Career

Educated at Lisburn Technology College and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

, Cowan was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals in 1963. In 1980 he became Commanding Officer of the Headquarters & Signals Regiment for 2nd Armoured Division. In 1989 he was selected to be

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

Royal Military College of Science The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exist ...

and then in 1991 he became Assistant Chief of Defence Staff, Operational Requirements (Land Systems). From 1995 he undertook a tour as Inspector General for Doctrine & Training. He was

from 1996 to 1998 when he became

Chief of Defence Logistics The Chief of Defence Logistics was a senior post in the British armed forces. As of 1 April 2007 the Defence Logistics Organisation was merged with the Defence Procurement Agency to form a new organisation called Defence Equipment and Support. This ...

. He retired in 2002. He was an

Aide-de-Camp General Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for 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-nominals "ADC (Gen.)". T ...

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), ...

. He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal Corps of Signals, the Brigade of Gurkhas and of the Army Legal Corps.

Nepal studies

Cowan was associated with

Gurkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recru ...

via various positions in his job role. He first visited

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

in 1966. During his annual visits to Nepal as Colonel Commandant, he had audiences with the reigning monarchs of Nepal, delivered a report on the Brigade of Gurkhas, and trekked numerous times. After his retirement, he published ''Essays on Nepal'', in which he covered Nepal affairs including its frontiers, the Maoist insurgency, human rights, corruption in high places, and the manner of governance. Cowan is a frequent and prolific contributor to ''The Record'' (Nepal), an independent digital publication from

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. He has written over a dozen articles for the publication on a wide range of Nepal-related subjects, including the history of the

Rana regime Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...

, reflections on the British Gurkhas, border issues between

Nepal and India Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, and those between Nepal and China.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Samuel 1941 births British Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Corps of Signals officers Living people Military personnel from Lisburn Nepal Studies