U.S. Army General Christopher Cavoli has been named Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe (SACEUR), NATO announced on Tuesday as the organization experiences strong tensions brought about by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
His nomination was approved by the North Atlantic Council, and he will follow General Tod D. Wolters, from whom he will receive command at a ceremony to be held this summer at the Allied Headquarters in Europe, SHAPE, in Mons, Belgium.
The son of an Italian-American officer, Christopher Cavoli was born during the Cold War in Würzburg, West Germany, and grew up in the military.
A Russian speaker, he has been in the military since 1987 and has commanded U.S. forces in Europe and Africa since 2020, based out of U.S. headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Married, and father of two, he is a graduate of Princeton University and had missions during the Gulf War and several times in Afghanistan. He also commanded the U.S. military in Europe between January 2018 and October 2020, before taking over the combined Europe-Africa command.
NATO’s military chief is always an American officer, as Europe appoints the Alliance’s secretary general, currently Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, whose term has been extended due to the war in Ukraine.
The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe (SACEUR) is one of NATO’s two strategic commanders. His deputy is a European officer.
Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first to assume this command until 1952. SACEUR is in charge of NATO’s General Command of Military Operations and leads the military planning of operations.
