General

General (United Kingdom)

General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....

 Sir Alexander Richard David Shirreff KCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 CBE (born 1955) is the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

Early and personal life

Educated at Oundle School

Oundle School

Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...

 and Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...

, Richard Shirreff was commissioned into the 14th/20th King's Hussars

14th/20th King's Hussars

The 14th/20th King's Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1922 to 1992.- History :Originally styled the 14th/20th Hussars, the regiment was created in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 14th King's Hussars and the 20th Hussars, as part of the reductions in the Army...

 in 1976.

He is married to Sarah-Jane and has two children.

Military career

Having seen active service during the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

 in 1991, Richard Shirreff was appointed Commanding Officer

Commanding officer

The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...

 of the King's Royal Hussars

King's Royal Hussars

The King's Royal Hussars is a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and was formed on 4 December 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments:...

 in 1994. He deployed his Regiment to Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 in 1995 and then became Colonel - Army Plans at the Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 in 1996. In 1998 he became Commander of 7th Armoured Brigade which was deployed to Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

. In 2003 he became Chief of Staff

Chief of Staff

The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...

 at Land Command and in 2005 he became General Officer Commanding

General Officer Commanding

General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...

 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division which deployed as HQ Multinational Division South East

Multi-National Division (South-East) (Iraq)

Multi-National Division was a British commanded division responsible for security in the south east of Iraq from 2003 to 2009. It was responsible for the large city of Basra and its headquarters were located at Basra Airport. The division was initially responsible for the governorates of Al...

 in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 in July 2006.

In January 2007 he was appointed Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

He was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service

The Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service is a British military award that recognises meritorious service during, or in support of, operations...

 in November 1995 and appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in April 2001 and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2010 New Year Honours.

On January 11, 2010, Shirreff gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry. In March 2011 he became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

He is also currently the honorary colonel of the Oxford University OTC.