General Lord Richard Dannatt

General Lord Richard Dannatt

Richard Dannatt was commissioned into The Green Howards regiment in 1971, after graduating from Durham University with a degree in Economic History.  In his early years he served in Northern Ireland, where he was awarded the Military Cross at the age of 22, as well as in Cyprus and Germany. From 1994 to 1996 he was the commander of the 4th Armoured Brigade in Germany and Bosnia and in 1999 took command of the 3rd (United Kingdon) Division, also serving in Kosovo as Commander British Forces. Before taking command of Nato's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps he was the assistant chief of the general staff in the Ministry of Defence from 2001 to 2002. In March 2005 he became Commander in Chief, Land Command, before assuming the appointment of Chief of the General Staff in August 2006.  In November 2011, Richard was named as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords.