Lieutenant General Jan Broeks elected as the next Director General of the International Military Staff
Today, the Chiefs of Defence of the 28 NATO Nations elected Lieutenant General Jan Broeks of The Royal Netherlands Armed Forces as the new Director General of the International Military Staff (DGIMS) at NATO Headquarters. The DGIMS is elected by the NATO Chiefs of Defence to head the Alliance’s International Military Staff for a term of three years. Lieutenant General Broeks will assume his new function in July 2016 when he will succeed the current DGIMS, Air Marshal Sir Christopher Harper, United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force.
The Director General of the International Military Staff is responsible for the coordination between the decision-making bodies of the Alliance, the two Strategic Commanders, national military delegations from NATO and Partner countries working in Brussels, and the civilian International Staff that support the Secretary General and the North Atlantic Committee (NAC), in order to provide the best possible policy advice to the Military Committee.
“I am grateful to have been nominated by my Nation for the post of Director General of the International Staff (DGIMS). But above all, I am honoured that the 28 Allied Chief of Defence have entrusted me with this position. I look forward to serving the Military Committee by leading and working with the International Military Staff (IMS)” stated Lieutenant General Jan Broeks, NATO’s current Military Representative for the Netherlands to NATO after the election.
Congratulating him on his future role, Air Marshal Harper said: “I am delighted that Lieutenant General Jan Broeks has been voted as the next Director General of the International Military Staff. It is an extremely challenging and interesting appointment and I have been honoured to have been in the job for the last 2 years. I am positive that Lieutenant General Jan Broeks will make an excellent Director General: he has the attributes, background and skills required for success in the appointment. Certainly he will have challenges, but he will be supported by the brilliant team of NATO’s International Military Staff. I congratulate him on his election and I wish him every success when he takes over from me in July 2016”.
The IMS is the executive body of the Military Committee (MC), NATO’s senior military authority. It is responsible for preparing the assessments, evaluations and reports on all NATO military matters, which form the basis of discussion and decisions in the MC. The IMS also ensures that decisions and policies on military matters taken by the NAC and the MC are implemented by the appropriate NATO military bodies.