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Gert Van Goethem
Military Representatives
Belgium
01 September 2025 - Present
Belgium
01 September 2025 - Present
Major General Gert Van Goethem is an Army Infantry officer by trade. After completing his academic education in the Royal Military Academy and the Infantry School in 1994, he joined his first infantry unit (1ste Carabiniers-Wielrijders) stationed in Germany. He served as company commander and in a later stage as battalion commander of Bevrijding-5de Linie in Leopoldsburg.
Gert Van Goethem has a mainly operational background, participated in seven missions, in NATO-, EU-, UN- and national frameworks, from the Balkans, Afghanistan, over different regions in Africa, to Lithuania and each time in a command position, from the platoon up to the battalion level. He also commanded the military contingent for the homeland operation Vigilant Guardian in Brussels, on several occasions, in response to the terrorist threat.
Throughout his career, Gert Van Goethem has built up an extensive network and invested heavily (also through exchanges, training and studies) to strengthen his background in operational and tactical doctrine, planning, decision making and command and control, leadership and the education and training for operational readiness.
His staff experience stems from positions in an operational context, including that of Military Advisor to the Force Commander EUBG in 2014, but also relates to the domain of transformation. Gert Van Goethem was the primary responsible for the transformation of the mechanized infantry (in all development lines) into the motorized maneuver units of today. He held positions in the Concepts and Plans, Doctrine and Requirements staff divisions, in parallel with a position in the Belgian Maneuver School to organize Operational Testing and Evaluation and training according to the new tactical doctrine. From 2010-2013, Gert was employed at the synthesis cell of the Land Component, for the implementation of the previously outlined transformation. In 2020-2021, he designed the Land Component Transformation Plan (horizon 2030 and 2040), which was subsequently included in the new strategic plan for Defense (STAR plan).
From 2017, Gert Van Goethem expanded his experience to the field of international relations and the politico-military aspects of the deployment of the military instrument. He first held the position of NATO relationship manager in the Strategy Staff Department, and after participating in the Senior Course at the NATO Defense College in Rome (graduated “with honours”), he headed the Defense Policy Division of the Strategy Staff Department.
In the summer of 2021, Gert Van Goethem joined NATO Headquarters in Brussels as Deputy Military Counselor to the Belgian Permanent Representative. In the challenging period of NATO's withdrawal from Afghanistan and Russia's war in Ukraine, he played an important advisory role in political crisis decision-making and represented Belgium in NATO's Operations Policy Committee and Council's Operations and Exercise Committee.
As Brigadier General, Gert Van Goethem became Deputy Belgian Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee.
With his promotion to Major General, Gert Van Goethem will fulfill the position of Military Representative of Belgium to the Military Committee of NATO and EU.
Gert is married to Michèle and father of Julie.
He enjoys sports and outdoor activities and is a fan of classic sports cars.