MOSCOW, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - Petr Pavel, the chief of the Czech Army’s General Staff, has been appointed Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, a spokesperson for the Czech Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti Saturday.
“General Pavel was elected on Saturday as the new chairman of the NATO Military Committee. He was supported by several key members of the NATO Military Committee,” the spokesman said. “An additional argument in favor of his appointment was the fact that representatives of Central and Eastern European countries, which have joined NATO in the recent decade and a half, have never been elected to hold key positions within the alliance."
The Military Committee is NATO’s senior military authority. It is the primary source of military counsel to NATO’s civilian decision-making bodies – the North Atlantic Council and the Nuclear Planning Group. The committee is made up of senior military officials from NATO member states.
General Knud Bartels of Denmark is the current chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, having held this position since January 2012. Pavel is set to take over the post at the beginning of next year.
