John McColl (British Army officer) explained

Honorific-Prefix:General Sir
John McColl
Office:Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
Premier:Ian Gorst
Term Start:26 September 2011
Term End:30 November 2016
Predecessor:Sir Andrew Ridgway
Successor:Sir Stephen Dalton
Birth Name:John Chalmers McColl
Birth Date:17 April 1952
Birth Place:London, England
Allegiance:United Kingdom
Branch:British Army
Serviceyears:1973–2011
Rank:General
Commands:Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (2007–11)
Regional Forces (2004–07)
Joint Services Command and Staff College (2003–04)
3rd Mechanised Division (2000–03)
International Security Assistance Force (2001–02)
1st Mechanised Brigade (1997–99)
Battles:The Troubles
Sierra Leone Civil War
Kosovo War
Bosnian War
Iraq War
War in Afghanistan
Mawards:Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Knight of the Order of St John
Mentioned in Despatches
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

General Sir John Chalmers McColl, (born 17 April 1952) is a retired senior British Army officer and a past Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. McColl previously served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 2007 to 2011.

Army career

Educated at Culford School in Suffolk, England,[1] McColl was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Anglian Regiment in 1973 and promoted to lieutenant on 8 September 1974. He was promoted to captain on 8 March 1979 and to major on 30 September 1984. In 1989, he became a squadron commander in the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1990, and to acting colonel shortly after. He was promoted to colonel on 30 June 1995 and to brigadier on 31 December 1996 (seniority 30 June). He held a variety of commands and military posts before commanding 1st Mechanised Brigade in 1997. In 1999, he became Assistant Chief of Staff at Land Command and in 2000, he was given command of 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division. In 2001, he was appointed the first leader of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.[2]

In 2003, he became Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College. He was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq in March 2004 and at the end of that year he became Commander of Regional Forces at Land Command.[3] He became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) in the rank of general in October 2007,[4] and was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2008 New Year Honours.

McColl was the preferred choice of Afghanistan for the role of UN Special Envoy after Paddy Ashdown withdrew.[5] However, on 7 March 2008, Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide was appointed as the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan.[6] McColl retired as DSACEUR in March 2011.[7]

Lieutenant Governor of Jersey

On 26 October 2010 it was announced that he would be appointed to the role of Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.[8] He took office on 26 September 2011.[9] On 5 June 2012, Sir John, and his wife Lady McColl, represented Jersey at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Dedication Service at St Paul's Cathedral.[10] After his fixed term of office, his tenure ended on 30 November 2016 and he was succeeded by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton.[11]

Honours and awards

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) 29 December 2007
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) 13 May 1997
Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) 29 October 2002
Knight of the Order of St John (KStJ) 5 August 2016
Legion of Merit (Officer) 22 May 2007[12]

External links

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Notes and References

  1. http://www.culford.co.uk/default.asp?page=398&news=142 General McColl visits Culford
  2. Web site: John McColl Profile on . BBC News. 2001-12-19 . 2012-10-07.
  3. http://ccw.politics.ox.ac.uk/events/bios/mccoll_j.asp Oxford Leverhulme biography
  4. http://www.army.mod.uk/servingsoldier/senior_appts/announcements.htm Senior Officer appointments
  5. News: Ashdown pulls out of Afghan role . BBC News. 27 January 2008. 30 April 2010.
  6. News: Leithead . Alastair . UN's new Afghan envoy begins work . BBC News. 28 March 2008. 30 April 2010.
  7. http://www.acus.org/natosource/new-deputy-supreme-allied-commander-europe-dsaceur-appointed New Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe Appointed
  8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-11620856 Sir John McColl named as is Jersey Lieutenant Governor
  9. News: Jersey Lieutenant Governor Gen Sir John McColl sworn in. BBC News. 26 September 2011. 27 September 2011.
  10. Web site: Lieutenant Governor represents Jersey at St Paul's . BBC. 2012-06-05 . 2012-10-07.
  11. Web site: The Lieutenant-Governor Designate . 2016-12-20 . Office of the Lieutenant-Governor . 18 March 2017 . 31 January 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170131184313/http://www.governmenthouse.gov.je/news/the-lieutenant-governor-designate/ . dead .
  12. Web site: Award Of The Legion Of Merit. 22 May 2007.