Nick Carter

General Sir Nicholas Patrick Carter, (born 11 February 1959) is a retired senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the Defence Staff from June 2018 to November 2021.

Carter was commissioned into the British Army in 1978.

He was commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets as second lieutenant on 8 April 1978, initially holding a short service commission.

Promoted to lieutenant on 8 April 1980, he switched to a full career commission in 1982, and was promoted to captain on 8 October 1984.

As a junior officer he served in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany and Great Britain.

He served as commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in the late 1990s, deploying with his unit to Bosnia in 1998 and Kosovo in 1999.

Promoted to major on 30 September 1991, he attended Staff College, Camberley later that year before becoming a company commander with 3rd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in 1992.

He became Military Assistant to the Assistant Chief of the General Staff in 1994 and, having been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1996 New Year Honours, he joined the directing staff at the Staff College later that year.

Carter was promoted lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1996.

In 1998 he was appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in which role he was deployed to Bosnia in 1998 and Kosovo in 1999.

For his service in Bosnia, he was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service on 7 May 1999.

In Kosovo, Carter commanded a group of peacekeepers on a bridge over the River Ibar at Kosovska Mitrovica where he was tasked with keeping apart thousands of Serbs and Albanians gathered on either side of the bridge.

Carter later described the role as being the "meat in the sandwich".

He was advanced to Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 3 November 2000.

Carter was promoted to colonel on 31 December 2000 (with seniority from 30 June) and advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 29 April 2003, following service in the War in Afghanistan.

He was promoted brigadier on 31 December 2003 (with seniority from 30 June), and in 2004 he was given command of 20th Armoured Brigade, commanding British forces in Basra, at one point stating that British forces could be in Iraq for "as long as a decade".

After service in Afghanistan, he took command of the 20th Armoured Brigade in 2004 and commanded British forces in Basra.

He was subsequently appointed General Officer Commanding 6th Division, which was deployed to Afghanistan with Carter as Commander ISAF Regional Command South, before he became Director-General Land Warfare.

On 7 September 2004 he was awarded a further Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service for his service in Iraq.

Carter became Director of Army Resources and Plans at the Ministry of Defence in 2006 and was given the honorary appointment of Deputy Colonel of The Rifles on 1 February 2007 (the successor regiment to the Royal Green Jackets) – a post he held until 1 November 2009.

Promoted to major general on 23 January 2009, became General Officer Commanding 6th Division which was deployed to Afghanistan with Carter as Commander ISAF Regional Command South.

In September 2009, referring to the efforts of UK and NATO forces, Carter said that "time was not on our side".

After returning to the UK in November 2010, he gave an interview in which he warned that "the insurgency is resilient, and alive and well".

Carter became Director-General Land Warfare early in 2011 and,

having been appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in March 2011, he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Commander Field Army in November 2011 (the role redesignated Deputy Commander Land Forces in January 2012).

He assumed the post of Deputy Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), under the command of American general, John R. Allen, in September 2012 and, having handed over his command at ISAF in July 2013, he became Commander Land Forces in November 2013.

Following a tour as Deputy Commander, International Security Assistance Force, Carter assumed the position of Commander Land Forces in November 2013.

On 1 February 2013, he succeeded Sir Nick Parker as Colonel-Commandant of The Rifles.

In September 2014, he became head of the British Army as Chief of the General Staff, succeeding General Sir Peter Wall.

Carter was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2014 New Year Honours.

On 21 February 2014 it was announced that Carter would assume the post of Chief of the General Staff.

He took up his post and was promoted to full general on 5 September 2014.

As of 2015, Carter was paid a salary of between £170,000 and £174,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.

Carter was awarded the US Legion of Merit on 18 March 2016 for services in Afghanistan.

In June 2018 he succeeded Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach as Chief of the Defence Staff, being himself succeeded by Admiral Sir Tony Radakin in November 2021.

Born in Nairobi, Colony of Kenya, the son of Gerald and Elspeth Carter, Carter was educated at Winchester College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

In January 2018 Carter used a speech in London to enter publicly into the debate over defence spending.

According to Carter failure to keep up with Russia will leave the UK exposed, particularly to unorthodox, hybrid warfare.

After that he became Deputy Commander Land Forces and was the main architect of the Army 2020 concept.

He was the main architect of the Army 2020 concept and reported on his recommendations in April 2012.