Rupert Smith

Infobox Military Person
name= Rupert Smith
lived= 1943-


caption=Crown Copyright
nickname=
placeofbirth=England
placeofdeath=
allegiance=flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
branch=
serviceyears=1962-2002
rank=General
unit=
commands=1st Armoured Division
UN forces in Bosnia
GOC Northern Ireland 1996-99
Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (NATO)
battles=
awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order & Bar
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Queen's Gallantry Medal
relations=
laterwork=Author

General Sir Rupert Smith KCB, DSO & Bar, OBE, QGM (born 1943) was an officer in the British Army until his retirement in 2002. He was educated at the Haileybury and Imperial Service College and later at Sandhurst.

Military career

Smith enlisted in 1962 and was commissioned into the Parachute Regiment in 1964. He has served in East and South Africa, Arabia, the Caribbean, Europe and Malaysia. As a major general, Smith commanded the British 1st Armoured Division during the Gulf War (1990-1991). He became the first Assistant Chief of Defence Operations and Security at the UK Ministry of Defence in 1992. While there he was intimately involved in the UK's development of the strategy in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 1995 he was Commander UNPROFOR in Sarajevo, and was responsible for breaking the siege of the city by creating the UN Rapid Reaction Force, and ultimately thereby bringing the war to an end. 1996-1998 he was General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland. His final assignment was as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1998-2001, covering NATO's Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo war, and the development of the European Security and Defence Identity. He is currently the Honorary Colonel of Exeter UOTC.

Later life

On January 22, 2007, Smith appeared on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart". [ [http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=81104&title=general-rupert-smith-pt.-1 General Rupert Smith Pt. 1, video interview,] at Comedy Central. See also List of The Daily Show guests (2007)]

Works

He is the author of "The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World" (2005, ISBN 0-7139-9836-9), a treatise on modern warfare.

References

External links

* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-1785151,00.html Interview: Jasper Gerard meets General Rupert Smith] for "The Times Online"
* [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article566314.ece "The Utility of Force"] , book review at "The Times Online"
* [http://www.cceia.org/resources/video/data/000025 "The Utility of Force" book launch at the Carnegie Council] General Sir Rupert Smith Wednesday, January 24, 2007