Henri Bentégeat (born 27 May 1946 in

Talence Talence (, ; oc, Talança, ; ca, Talença, ) is a commune in the Gironde department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the south side. It is ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

) is a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

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 ...

who served first as the Chief of the French Defence Staff between 2002 and 2006 and then as the chairman of the

European Union Military Committee The Military Committee of the European Union (EUMC) is the body of the European Union's (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD). These national CHODs are regularly represented in the EUM ...

between 2006 and 2009.

Biography

Bentégeat graduated from the French military academy '' École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr'' in 1967 and opted for the ''

Troupes de marine The (TDM, ) is a corps of the French Army that includes several specialities: infantry, artillery, armoured, airborne, engineering, and transmissions (Signals). Despite its name, it forms part of the Army, not the Navy. Intended for amphibi ...

'' branch. He held various staff and command positions - including several deployments to Senegal, Chad and Central Africa - until he took command of

Régiment d'infanterie-chars de marine The Régiment d'infanterie chars de marine RICM in French, (R.I.C.M, or Marine Infantry Tank Regiment) is a light cavalry regiment of the French Army, successor to the Régiment d'infanterie coloniale du Maroc RICM (R.I.C.M, or Colonial Infantry R ...

(RICM), which already was a professional regiment at a time when most of the French Army was still drafted. From 1990 to 1992, he served as Assistant

Defence Attaché Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and from 1996 to 1998 was commander, French armed forces, West Indies (

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

). He served as Assistant to the Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic from 1993. Bentégeat was promoted to the rank of Brigade General in 1995 and to Divisional General in 1998, when he became assistant to the Director for Strategic Affairs of the French Ministry of Defence. In April 1999, he was made

Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic The Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic (''Chef d'état-major particulier du président de la République'') is a role in the military of France, military and Cabinet of France, government of France, heading the president of ...

, was promoted to ''

Général de corps d'armée An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a General officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ge ...

'' on 1 September 1999 and to '' Général d'armée'' on 4 January 2001. He became ''

Chef d'état-major des armées The Chief of the Defence Staff (french: Chef d'État-Major des Armées 'CEMA'' ) is the military head of the Armed Forces of the French Republic, ensuring the commandment of all military operations (under reserve of the particular dispositions ...

'' (Chief of the Defence Staff) in October 2002. On 6 November 2006, Bentégeat took up the position of Chairman of the European Union Military Committee by appointment of the European Council. His term ended on 6 November 2009, when he was succeeded by

Håkan Syrén General Håkan Erik Gunnar Syrén (born 31 January 1952) is a retired officer of the Swedish Coastal Artillery/ Swedish Amphibious Corps and former Chairman of the European Union Military Committee. He was the Supreme Commander of the Swedish A ...

.Consilium: Press Release, 2914th Council meeting, General Affairs and External Relations, Brussels, 8 December 2008
p. 35 Henri Bentegeat's education includes completion of the Junior Staff Course, Staff College in 1985 and of the Advanced Military Studies Course in 1992. He holds a bachelor's degree in History from La Sorbonne University in Paris and is a 1983 graduate from

Institut d'Etudes Politiques An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

in Paris. In April 2023, he was elected to a seat in the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. He is married and the father of four.

Promotions

Bentégeats promotions: *1968 – Lieutenant *1974 – Captain *1979 – Major (Commandant) *1983 – Lieutenant Colonel *1988 – Colonel *1995 – Brigadier General (''Général de brigade'') *1998 – Major General (''Général de division'') *1999 – Lieutenant General (''Général de corps d'armée'') *2001 – General (''Général d'armée'')

Predecessors and successors

Main awards and decorations

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(Grand Croix in 2016) *

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...

(Officer in 1993) * Bundesverdienstkreuz * Legion of Merit

Publications

book

* ''Aimer l'Armée - Une passion à Partager'', (''To love the Army - a passion to be shared''). Éditions Dumesnil, Paris 2011 -

articles

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bentegeat, Henri 1946 births Living people People from Talence French generals Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite Commanders of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Chairmen of the European Union Military Committee French officials of the European Union