Édouard Guillaud

Édouard Guillaud
Admiral Édouard Guillaud, France 24th Chief of the Defence Staff
Born	10 July 1953
Allegiance	France
Service/branch	French Navy
Years of service	1973 – 2014
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Chief of the Defence Staff Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic Corvette captain on the French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle Ship-of-the-Line Captain on the French aircraft carrier Georges Clemenceau Ship-of-the-line captain of the BATRAL Dumont d'Urville
Battles/wars	Lebanese Civil War Gulf War 2011 Libyan civil war Northern Mali conflict
Awards	Grand Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour Officer of the National Order of Merit Officer of the Order of Maritime Merit Overseas Medal National Defense Medal Bronze level Recognition Medal of the Nation Merit Cross of the Order of Malta Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Admiral Édouard Guillaud (born 10 July 1953)^[1] is a French Navy officer and admiral. He devoted a significant part of his career to the design of the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier, and eventually captained her. He served as Chief of the Defence Staff from 25 February 2010 to 2014.

Biography

Early life

Édouard Guillaud was born to the family of Jean-Louis Guillaud, former president of Agence France-Presse and TF1.^[1]

He studied at the lycée Hector Berlioz in Vincennes and at the Ecole Sainte Geneviève in Versailles. He joined the École navale in 1973.^[2]

Junior officer

Upon graduation, in 1978, he served on the escort Paimpolaise, monitoring the nuclear trials in Mururoa,^[3] and on the SNLE Indomptable and on the Redoutable. In 1979 Guillaud took command of the minesweeper Lobelia, for one year. The next year, he studied for a specialisation in gunnery and missiles.

In the early 1980s, Guillaud was sent in exchange in the United States. He then served on the aviso Amyot d'Inville and the T 47-class destroyers Du Chayla and Kersaint, cruising off Iran and Lebanon in 1983.^[2][3]

From 1984 to 1987, he worked on the nuclear aircraft carrier programme, particularly on expert systems in the computer environment of the ship.^[4] He was promoted to capitaine de corvette in 1985.^[2]

Senior officer

In 1987 he took command of the BATRAL Dumont d'Urville for one year, taking part in the operations related to the Ouvéa cave hostage taking on Ouvéa, New Caledonia.^[3]

Guillaud went on to study at the École supérieure de guerre navale and at the cours supérieur interarmées, rising to capitaine de frégate in 1989.^[2] He specialised in nuclear engineering, obtaining a degree in 1990.^[2]

In 1991, with the start of the Gulf War, Guillaud was sent on the Clemenceau, where he served as a maneuver officer.^[2]

In 1992, he took command of the light escort Enseigne de vaisseau Henry (F749). In 1993, he re-integrated the design team for the nuclear carrier. Guillaud was promoted to capitaine de vaisseau in 1996. The following year, he took the position of second officer on the Charles De Gaulle, which was then being completed in Brest.^[2]

From 1999 to 2001, Guillaud captained the nuclear carrier Charles De Gaulle, supervising her trials and fittings. The next year, he studied at the Centre des hautes études militaires and at the Institut des hautes études de Défense nationale.

Admiral

Guillaud in Brazil for negotiations regarding export of Dassault Rafale aircraft to Brazil, 1 October 2009

From 2002 to 2004, he served as the naval aid to the chief of the personal staff of the President of the Republic.

Between 2004 and 2006, Guillaud was préfet maritime for the English Channel and the North Sea. He was promoted to vice-amiral on 1 April 2006.^[2] The same year, he was called by Jacques Chirac to take on the position of Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic, replacing General Georgelin; Guillaud took the office on 4 October, and was confirmed in this role in May 2007 after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy. In December 2007 he was promoted to admiral.

Guillaud has taken office as Chief of the Defence Staff on 25 February 2010.^[5]

Since 19 March 2011, he has commanded the French forces enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone.^[6]

In 2013 he commanded the French Forces in the Mali Civil War.

In popular culture

In January 2014, a photoshopped screenshot from a French TV show from January 2012 started circulating the internet and quickly went viral where Admiral Édouard Guillaud's name in the onscreen caption had been replaced by Général Arse Biscuités.^[7] "Arse Biscuits" is a phrase made popular in the television show Father Ted.

Honours

• Legion of honour^[2]
• Order of Merit^[2]

Decorations and badges

Ribbons	French decorations
	Great Officer of the Legion of honour,
	Officer of the Order of Merit
	Officer of the Ordre du Mérite Maritime
	Médaille d'Outre-Mer
	Médaille de la Défense nationale échelon bronze
	Médaille de reconnaissance de la Nation
	Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco
	Order of Merit for Defence (Brazil)
	Croix du Mérite de l'ordre de Malte
	Commander of the Order of Naval Merit (Brazil)
	Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit
	Officer of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
	Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
	Commander of the Order of National Merit (Mauritania)
	National Order of Burkina Faso, Commander
	Order of Merit, First Class (Lebanon)
	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom)

Sources and references

1. L'amiral Guillaud devient chef d'état-major, AFP-Le Figaro, 27 January 2010
2. Sauvegarde maritime, bilan de l'action de la marine nationale 2005/2006, French Ministry of Defence
3. L'amiral Guillaud, un marin très "ops", Jean-Dominique Merchet, Libération
4. Défenseur de la mer patrie, Jean-Dominique Merchet, Libération
5. L'amiral Edouard Guillaud, nouveau chef d'état-major des armées, Le Monde
6. Traynor, Ian (25 March 2011). "Nato to decide within days whether to take control of Libya military action". The Guardian.
7. General Arse Biscuites: Real or Fake?