Lieutenant General Sir George Norton KCVO CBE
Biography
Lieutenant General Sir George Norton graduated from St John’s College, Cambridge in 1984, where he read Archaeology and Anthropology and Land Economy on an Army Cadetship. His commission in the Grenadier Guards was confirmed in 1985.
At staff he has served as Military Assistant to the Chief of Staff of NATO’s Rapid Reaction Corps as a major; as a member of the Directing Staff at the Joint Services Command and Staff College as a lieutenant colonel; and in the Ministry of Defence as Secretary to the Chiefs of Staff Committee as a colonel. He attended the German Armed Forces Staff College in Hamburg and subsequently the UK’s Higher Command and Staff Course.
Operationally he deployed to Bosnia for 12 months in 1995/96 as Military Assistant to the Chief of Staff within HQ IFOR in Sarajevo; to Kabul in 2004 as Director Plans and Policy within the Combined Forces Command Afghanistan; and to Helmand, first in 2007 as the Deputy Commander of the UK Task Force, and subsequently in 2010/11 as the Deputy Commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) and Regional Command (South West). He has served four times in Northern Ireland, most recently as the first Commander 38 (Irish) Brigade. He was appointed MBE in 1997 (Bosnia); CBE in 2008 (Afghanistan); was awarded the US Bronze Star Medal (2004), the US Meritorious Honor Award (2011), and a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service (2011) for service in Afghanistan; and was appointed KCVO in 2013.
He was appointed General Officer Commanding London District and the Major General Commanding the Household Division in 2011. During his tenure in London he was responsible for the military ceremonial aspects of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and as Joint Military Commander (London) provided the Army’s support to the 2012 Olympic Games. He served from 2013-2016 as Deputy Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy and concluded his uniformed service with nearly four years in Brussels as the UK Military Representative to NATO and the European Union.
Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies
The Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies develops members from around fifty countries for senior appointments in government, defence and security.