Brigade general Mindaugas Steponavičius (; born 12 August 1974) is a Lithuanian military officer who has been serving as the Chief of the Defence Staff of Lithuania since 25 September 2020.

Education

In 1999, he graduated from the General Jonas Žemaitis Lithuanian Military Academy, and later attended the

Baltic Defence College The Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL) is a multinational military college that was established by the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) in 1999. It serves as a centre of strategic and operational research and provides professi ...

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, followed by the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Career

In 1999, Mindaugas Steponavičius was appointed as the Chief Specialist for Tactical Intelligence in the Intelligence Department of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf. He served as an intelligence officer and later as the head of the department until 2004. From 2004 to 2008, he was the Chief of Staff of the Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion and an officer in the International Operations Department of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Defence Staff J3/J2. Between 2008 and 2014, he commanded the Uhlan Battalion. From 2014 to 2016, he served in the Capability Planning Department of the Ministry of National Defence. Between 2016 and 2019, he was the commander of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf, and from 2019 to 2020, he led the Training and Doctrine Directorate of the

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Li ...

. From 2020 to 2024, he served as the Chief of the Defence Staff. Since 2024, he has been serving at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Lithuania to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Awards

Knight's Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas

Order of the Cross of Vytis The Order of the Cross of Vytis () is a Lithuanian presidential award conferred for heroic defence of Lithuania's freedom and independence. November 23 is a holiday in honour of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. History Interwar period Reje ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steponavičius, Mindaugas Living people 1974 births Lithuanian military leaders