Germany’s highest military officer elected to senior NATO post

Germany’s highest-ranking soldier has been elected as the next Chair of NATO’s Military Committee, the alliance’s highest military authority and a key advisory body to its political leadership.

The country's Chief of Defence, General Carsten Breuer was elected on September 19 during the Military Committee Conference in Copenhagen, where the defence chiefs of NATO’s 32 member states met. 

He will succeed Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone and assume the post in summer 2027 for a three-year term.

As the Chair, Breuer will serve as NATO’s senior military adviser and help convey the recommendations of the alliance’s military leadership to its political decision-makers. The Military Committee provides consensus-based military advice to the North Atlantic Council on NATO operations, missions, exercises and capabilities.

Breuer was elected over Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jennie Carignan. According to coverage by Politico, the German military man was widely considered the favourite in the race, given "Berlin's status as Europe’s top defence spender and implicit backing from Washington." In the course of his campaign, Breuer had been vocal about Germany's leading role in defence spending as European allies come under U.S. pressure to take control of their own protection.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius praised Breuer’s appointment, saying he had demonstrated strategic foresight and played a key role in restructuring the Bundeswehr.

“Now he will bring all his strength and experience to NATO, which faces major, historic challenges,” Pistorius said, as cited by German media outlets.

Admiral Cavo Dragone, who has chaired the Military Committee since the beginning of 2025, also congratulated Breuer.

“Your operational judgement, your deep familiarity with this Alliance and your leadership of the German Armed Forces will serve NATO well,” Dragone wrote via X. He previously served as Chief of Italy's Defence Staff, as well as heading the country's navy before that. The Italian has been chairing the NATO committee since the beginning of 2025.

The election came as NATO chiefs discussed the implementation of decisions from the alliance’s recent summit in Ankara, including strengthening collective deterrence and defence, improving readiness and accelerating the development of new military capabilities.

Breuer has served as Inspector General of the Bundeswehr since March 2023. He previously led the Bundeswehr’s Territorial Command, which he established, and gained national prominence while directing the Federal Chancellery’s COVID-19 crisis staff under then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

By Nazrin Sadigova