Rob Bertholee
Lieutenant general Rob Bertholee | |
---|---|
Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army | |
In office 13 March 2008 – 25 October 2011 | |
Preceded by | Lieutenant general Peter van Uhm |
Succeeded by | Lieutenant general Mart de Kruif |
Personal details | |
Born | War in Afghanistan | 7 August 1955
Robert Antonius Cornelis "Rob" Bertholee is a retired lieutenant general of the Royal Netherlands Army who served the head of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) from 2011 to 2018. He previously was Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army from 2008 to 2011. Born in Haarlem, Bertholee is married and has one daughter.[1]
Military career
Bertholee enrolled in the Koninklijke Militaire Academie at Breda in 1975. Completing the training in 1979 he was posted to his first position with the 44th Field Artillery Group as a lieutenant. He subsequently held a number of different commands in The Netherlands and Germany.
Bertholee continued his military education starting in January 1987, enrolling in the Staff Service and Advanced Military Studies courses. Having completed these by December 1988 he was promoted to the rank of major and posted to the Army Staff. He also attended the United States Command and General Staff Officer Course in 1992, attaining a master's degree in Military Art and Science. Returning to the Netherlands, he was posted to the Instituut Defensie Leergangen in Rijswijk as an instructor. He would later be promoted to head of the Strategy Department.
From 1995 to 1997 Bertholee served as commander of the 41st Field Artillery Group in Seedorf. Part of his responsibility was to deal with organisational changes due to the suspending of the Dutch draft and the transformation of his Group into a professional unit. Having been promoted a full colonel in 1997 Bertholee was assigned to the Fire Support Training Center as commanding officer. One year later, in 1998, he was assigned Head of the Personal Office of the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army.
Bertholee was deployed to
Two weeks after achieving certification Bertholee ceded the First Corps Chief of Staff position to his successor. He was awarded the Gold Cross of Honour of the German Bundeswehr by the German Minister of Defense at that time.
Effective 1 February 2005 Bertholee was promoted
Awards and decorations
- 2004 – Gold Cross of Honour of the German Bundeswehr
- 2011 – Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau with Swords
References
- ^ Curriculum Vitae Commandant Landstrijdkrachten Curriculum Vitae of Lieutenant-General Rob Bertholee as published by the Dutch Ministry of Defence.