James G. Stavridis | |
---|---|
Birth name | James George Stavridis |
Nickname(s) | Zorba |
Born |
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
February 15, 1955
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1976–2013 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands held |
Supreme Allied Commander Europe U.S. European Command U.S. Southern Command |
Awards |
Defense Distinguished Service Medal Navy Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit |
James George "Jim" Stavridis (born February 15, 1955) is a retired United States Navy admiral and the current dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a graduate school for international affairs. He is also chairman of the board of the U.S. Naval Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Stavridis graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1976. While in the Navy, Stavridis served as the commander, U.S. Southern Command (2006 to 2009) and commander, U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (2009 to 2013). the first Navy officer to have held these positions. Stavridis earned a Ph.D and Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1984, where he won the Gullion Prize.
Stavridis retired from the Navy in 2013 after thirty-seven years of service and became dean of The Fletcher School in the summer 2013. His book The Accidental Admiral, describing his time in the Navy, was published in October 2014. His book "The Leader's Bookshelf," published in 2017, describing the top 50 books that inspire better leadership was a #1 best seller in Amazon's "Literary Bibliography and Indexes" category. He is an associate fellow of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.