Stéphane Abrial (; born 7 September 1954), is a French general who is the previous commander of

Allied Command Transformation Allied Command Transformation (ACT; French language, French: ''Commandement allié Transformation'') is a military command (military formation), command of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring. ...

based in

Norfolk, VA Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, one of the two

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 ...

strategic commands. His previous posting was as the

Chief of Staff of the French Air Force The Chief of the Air and Space Force Staff (, CEMAAE) is the military head of the French Air and Space Force. The chief directs the air and space force staff and acts as the principal advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff (France), Chief of t ...

French military career

General Stéphane Abrial, who was on exchange to the USAFA (US Air Force Academy) during the fall semester in 1974, graduated the next summer in 1975 from l’École de l'air (‘French Air Force Academy’) at Salon. He completed pilot training, also at Salon, in 1976. From 1977 to 1991, he served as a fighter pilot both in France (in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

) and, from 1981 to 1984, in a West German Luftwaffe unit. In 1988, he assisted the Greek Air Force in converting its first unit equipped with the

Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French ...

. In 1991, he took part in the first

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

as a fighter pilot and commander of the French Air Force's 5th Fighter Squadron. Later that year, he attended the

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University (United States Air Force), Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, ...

, at

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

. From 1992 to 1996, he served in the staff of the French Air Force Chief of Staff and the Chief of Defense Staff. From 1996 to 1999, he served at NATO Headquarters, in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 2000, he became deputy head of the French President's military staff, and in 2002 was appointed head of the French Prime Minister's military staff. In 2005, General Abrial became head of the French Air Defense headquarters, in

Taverny Taverny () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Tabernaciens''. History In 1806 the commune of Taverny merged with the neighboring commune of Saint-Leu, r ...

, and in 2006 Air Force Chief of Staff.

NATO Supreme Allied Commander

Gen. Stéphane Abrial received appointment by the

North Atlantic Council The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the principal political decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), consisting of permanent representatives of its member countries. It was established by wikisource:North Atlantic ...

as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation on 29 July 2009, the first European to be appointed permanently as head of a NATO strategic command. In April 2010, he received a Distinguished Leadership Award from the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

Major military awards

*Grand Officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France) *Officer of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) 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 establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

(France) *

Croix de guerre des TOE Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort de ...

with one silver-gilt star (France) *

Croix du Combattant The Combatant's Cross () is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in combat for France. The Poilus (French combat soldiers) of World War I worked toward recognition by the government, of a special status to t ...

(France) *

Médaille de l'Aéronautique The Aeronautical Medal () is a state decoration of France established by the decree of February 14, 1945. It is awarded to both military personnel and civilians for outstanding accomplishments related to the field of aeronautics. Originally e ...

(France) *

Overseas Medal The Overseas Medal () is a commemorative or campaign medal issued to members of the French Armed Forces and other nations in assistance to French troops for participating in operations outside national territory. It replaced the French Colonial Med ...

with two bars (France) *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, Commander (USA) * Bundeswehr Cross of Honour in Silver (Germany) *

German Sports Badge The German Sports Badge (German: ''Deutsches Sportabzeichen'' (DSA)) is a decoration of the German Olympic Sports Federation DOSB. The German Sports Badge test is carried out primarily in Germany, and in other countries abroad. History The Germ ...

(Military version in Bronze) *

Order of Abdulaziz al Saud The Order of King Abdulaziz (Arabic: وسام الملك عبد العزيز Wisām al-malik ‘Abd al-‘Azīz) is a Saudi Arabian order of merit. The order was named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the modern Saudi state. History In 1971 ...

, First Class (Saudi Arabia) *

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) The Naut Tahrir al-Kuwait () (Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait) was instituted by King Fahd ibn Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia for service during the Liberation of Kuwait campaign. Background The Saudi Arabian version of the Kuwait Liberation Me ...

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) The Kuwait Liberation Medal ( ''Wisām al-Taḥrīr'', , ) is a medal created in 1994 that was issued by the government of Kuwait to both local and foreign military personnel who served in the Gulf War's "Liberation of Kuwait" campaign phase of 1 ...

*Grand Officer of the Order of Aeronautical Merit (Brazil) * Santos-Dumont Medal of Merit, Brazilian Air Force *

Cross of Naval Merit The Cross of Naval Merit () is a Spanish military award for gallantry or merit in war or peace. Awarded to members of the Spanish Naval Forces, Guardia Civil or civilians. History and Attribution Established on 3 August 1866 by Queen Isabell ...

, White Grand Cross (Spain) *

NATO Meritorious Service Medal The NATO Medal is an international military decoration which is awarded to various militaries of the world under the authority of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is manufactured by Eekelers-Centini Intl, of Hemiksem, Belgium. Ba ...

*Commemorative Medal of the Chief of General Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces in gold * Order of the Crown, Grand Cross (Belgium) *

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland () is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...

, Commander's Cross *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

, Commander's Cross (7 September 2015)

Civilian career

Since July 2015, Abrial has been senior executive vice president of international and public affairs of

Safran Safran S.A. () is a French Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace, defence industry, defence and computer security, security corporation headquartered in Paris. It designs, develops and manufactures both commercial and military airc ...

. Since February 2014, Abrial has also been chairman of the board of directors of the Musée de l’air et de l’espace Paris, since April 2013, director of the

, and, since December 2013, member of the advisory board of the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home. Its stated miss ...

France.

Notes

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abrial, Stephane 1954 births Living people People from Condom, Gers French Air Force generals Chiefs of the Staff of the French Air and Space Force Atlantic Council École de l'air alumni French military personnel of the Gulf War Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal Commanders of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of Naval Merit Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)