Robert Ranquet

Major General (Armt. Corp) Robert RanquetDeputy Director, Strategic Affairs Directorate

Robert Ranquet was born in 1953.

He was commissioned by DGA as an "Ingénieur de l'Armement" (Lieutenant, Armt. Corp) in 1974. After completing his master’s degrees in Naval Architecture and Nuclear Engineering, he was first assigned as manager of the Nuclear Propulsion Department, DCN Brest, in charge of the maintenance of "Le Redoutable (S 611)" class SSBN propulsion systems. In 1984, he joined DCN Indret, as the head of the Material Research Center. He moved in 1989 from this position to the head of the Nuclear Propulsion Department, in charge of development and design of naval nuclear reactors. In this position, he managed the development of nuclear plants for the "Le Triomphant" class SSBN and the "Charles de Gaulle (R 91)" aircraft carrier. In 1992, he was promoted to Deputy Director, DCN Indret, in charge of overall Research and Development activities. In this position, he initiated numerous international cooperations with British and U.S. firms within the framework of the "Horizon class frigate" frigate European project.

In 1994, he was assigned as a special assistant to the Director for Atlantic/Europe Cooperation, International Affairs Directorate - DGA Paris. He was then selected as an exchange student for the class of 1995 at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair - Washington, D.C., before joining the French Embassy as deputy-Armament Attaché, and then Armament Attaché in October 1996. In this position, he was the representative for the Délégué Général pour l'Armement (Head of the French Defense Acquisition Agency) to the U.S.

Upon his return to France in 1998, Col. Ranquet was assigned for two years to the new Center for Higher Armaments Studies, as the head of the Strategic Research Department, and the Executive Director of the Defense Science Council. In this position, he initiated many new projects, such as the Acquisition Strategy Laboratory.

On September 1, 2000, he joined the Directorate for Test and Evaluation Centers, as the Director of the Centre Technique d’Arcueil. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General (Armt. Corp) on March 1, 2001.

Ranquet was appointed Deputy Director, Strategic Affairs (Policy) on May 1, 2003 and promoted to the Major General rank on 1 January 2005.

Ranquet's military and civilian education includes : École Polytechnique, Paris; École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées, Paris (master's degree in naval architecture); Institut national des sciences et techniques nucléaires, Saclay (master's degree in nuclear engineering); Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington D.C.(master's degree in National Resources Strategy). He was also awarded the American Defense Preparedness Association 1995 award for excellence in research for his work on "Think Tanks and the National Security Strategy Formulation Process."

Ranquet’s awards include the French Légion d'honneur, and the Ordre National du Mérite.

Ranquet and his wife Blandine live with their four children in Paris.