Vice Admiral Sir Nicholas William Hine, (born 4 February 1966) is a retired senior

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer. He served as

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer to currently serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establish ...

from 2019 to 2022.

Early life and education

Hine was born on 4 February 1966 in Carlisle, Cumberland, England. He was educated at

John Taylor High School John Taylor High School is a specialist science and leadership Academy (English school), academy located in the East Staffordshire village of Barton-under-Needwood, near Burton-on-Trent. Founded in 1957, the school was named in the honour of Joh ...

, a state school in Staffordshire. He studied at

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

(

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

, 1989) and King's College London (

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

Defence Studies, 1999).

Naval career

Hine joined the

in 1985. He served as commanding officer of HMS ''Blackwater'' from 1995 to 1997, and as Executive Officer of HMS ''Splendid'' from 1999 to 2000. He became Assistant Director of the Maritime Change Programme in August 2007, Director Iraq Maritime and Training in January 2009 and Team Leader Warfare Officers and Ratings in August 2010. He went on to be Head of Anti-Submarine Warfare and commanding officer of the frigate in June 2011, conducting numerous counter piracy and drug missions in the Gulf and East Africa. Defence Policy Advisor to

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...

in September 2012 and

Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy) The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (A.C.N.S.) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. History The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff was originally directly responsible to the Fir ...

in September 2015. During his time in the role he authored the Maritime Strategy 2035. Hine became

on 26 April 2019, and was promoted to vice admiral. As Second Sea Lord he was responsible for the 'Navy Transformation' programme. He also chaired the Royal Navy Digital and Data Board. On 12 January 2022, Hine was succeeded by Vice Admiral Martin Connell as Second Sea Lord. He retired from the Royal Navy on 5 May 2022. In 2015, Hine was given permission to wear the Bronze Star Medal awarded to him by the President of the United States "in recognition of meritorious, gallant and distinguished services during coalition operations in Iraq". In the

2018 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). Hine was appointed

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 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 o ...

(KCB) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

Personal life

Hine is married and has one daughter. Hine was diagnosed with autism in the 2010s, and has spoken in favour of

neurodiversity Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, for instance in sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions. It was coined in 1998 by sociologist Judy Singer, who helped popularize the concept ...

in the armed forces. The 1999 BBC1 documentary "Splendid Under The Sea" followed Hine as Second in Command.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hine, Nicholas William 1966 births Living people Military personnel from Cumberland Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of King's College London Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Foreign recipients of United States military awards and decorations People from Carlisle, Cumbria Royal Navy vice admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Iraq War People on the autism spectrum