Chris Harper (RAF officer)

For other people named Chris Harper, see Chris Harper (disambiguation)

Air Marshal Sir Christopher Harper KBE
Air Marshal Harper in Kabul
Birth name	Christopher Nigel Harper
Born	25 March 1957
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1976 to present
Rank	Air Marshal
Commands held	41(F) Squadron RAF Coltishall No. 1 Group
Battles/wars	Op DENY FLIGHT
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Mention in Dispatches

Air Marshal Sir Christopher Nigel Harper KBE (born 25 March 1957) is a senior Royal Air Force officer, who previously served as the UK Military Representative to NATO and the European Union, having served before that as Deputy Commander Allied Joint Force Command at Brunssum in the Netherlands, and prior to that as Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in the UK.

Education and personal

Harper was educated at Alleyn's School in Dulwich and King's College London (MA, Defence Studies) and is married with one son. He enjoys flying, shooting, running, riding motorcycles and gastronomy.^[1]

Service career

Harper was commissioned in 1976,^[2] and then regraded to Pilot Officer the following year^[3] after Initial Officer Training, and promoted to Flying Officer in 1978;^[4] being posted in 1979 to 41(F) Squadron for his first tour on the SEPECAT Jaguar.^[1] He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant in 1982^[5] and Squadron Leader in 1986,^[6] serving as a Qualified Weapons Instructor on the Jaguar with 31 and 14 Squadrons before an exchange tour in Canada flying the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet.^[1] Promoted to Wing Commander in 1993,^[7] he returned to command 41(F) Squadron between 1994 and 1997, and was actively involved in operations over Bosnia during this period.^[1] Having been promoted to Group Captain at the end of this tour,^[8] he maintained his connection with the Jaguar force when he returned to RAF Coltishall in 1999 as Station Commander, whilst its aircraft were involved in operations over Iraq, serving until 2001.^[1] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2002 New Year Honours List^[9] and was Mentioned in Despatches for actions in the Gulf.^[10]

Promoted to Air Commodore in 2002,^[11] Harper served as Air Commodore Typhoon at No. 1 Group,^[1] before becoming Head of Joint Commitments at the Ministry of Defence in 2004,^[12] and then, following promotion to Air Vice Marshal in 2005,^[13] Chief of Staff Operations^[14] at what became Air Command. In 2007 he returned to 1 Group as Air Officer Commanding,^[15][16] following which he was promoted to Air Marshal and appointed Deputy Commander, Allied Joint Force Command, Brunssum in March 2009.^[17]

He was appointed UK Military Representative to NATO and the EU in March 2011 ^[18][19] and promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 2011.^[20] He became Director-General of the International Military Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 24 July 2013.^[21] As of 2015, Harper was paid a salary of between £155,000 and £159,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.^[22]

References

1. NATO biography (includes photo) retrieved 07 Apr 2012
2. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47007. p. 12206. 06 Sep 1976. Retrieved 08 Apr 2012.
3. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47294. p. 10287. 08 Aug 1977. Retrieved 08 Apr 2012.
4. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 47616. p. 9822. 14 Aug 1978. Retrieved 08 Apr 2012.
5. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 48964. p. 5666. 26 Apr 1982. Retrieved 28 Apr 2012.
6. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 50583. pp. 8719–8720. 30 Jun 1986. Retrieved 28 Apr 2012.
7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 53164. p. 105. 04 Jan 1993. Retrieved 28 Apr 2012.
8. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 54642. p. 217. 06 Jan 1997. Retrieved 28 Apr 2012.
9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56430. p. 6. 31 Dec 2001. Retrieved 17 Jun 2011.
10. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56541. p. 4813. 19 Apr 2002. Retrieved 17 Jun 2011.
11. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56620. p. 7894. 02 Jul 2002. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
12. gulabin.com Tri-Service Appointments p16 (Mar 2012) retrieved 13 May 2012
13. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 57761. p. 12121. 20 Sep 2005. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
14. gulabin.com RAF Appointments p43 (Mar 2012) retrieved 13 May 2012
15. RAF Air Rank Appointments List 07/06 of 21 Aug 2006 retrieved 17 Jun 2011
16. gulabin.com RAF Appointments p84 (Mar 2012) retrieved 13 May 2012
17. RAF Air Rank Appointments List 09/08 of 19 Dec 2008 retrieved 17 Jun 2011
18. RAF Air Rank Appointments List 07/10 of 17 Sep 2010 retrieved 17 Jun 2011
19. gulabin.com Tri-Service Appointments p28 (Mar 2012) retrieved 13 May 2012
20. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59808. pp. 4–6. 11 Jun 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
21. "NATO News, 24 July 2013". Retrieved 31 July 2013.
22. "Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2016-03-13.