Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt

The Lord Dannatt
Dannatt in September 2007
Birth name	Francis Richard Dannatt
Born	(1950-12-23) 23 December 1950 (age 66) Broomfield, Essex, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1971–2009
Rank	General
Service number	491436
Unit	Green Howards
Commands held	1st Battalion, Green Howards 4th Armoured Brigade 3rd Mechanised Division Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Land Command Chief of the General Staff
Battles/wars	The Troubles Bosnian War Kosovo War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service
Other work	Constable of the Tower (2009–2016)

General Francis Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, GCB, CBE, MC, DL (born 23 December 1950) is a retired senior British Army officer and member of the House of Lords. He was Chief of the General Staff (head of the Army) from 2006 to 2009.

Dannatt was commissioned into the Green Howards in 1971, and his first tour of duty was in Belfast as a platoon commander. During his second tour of duty, also in Northern Ireland, Dannatt was awarded the Military Cross. Following a major stroke in 1977, Dannatt considered leaving the Army, but was encouraged by his commanding officer (CO) to stay. After Staff College, he became a company commander and eventually took command of the Green Howards in 1989. He attended and then commanded the Higher Command and Staff Course, after which he was promoted to brigadier. Dannatt was given command of 4th Armoured Brigade in 1994 and commanded the British component of the Implementation Force (IFOR) the following year.