Mark Stanhope

Sir Mark Stanhope
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope (left) with General Walter L. Sharp
Born	(1952-03-26) 26 March 1952 (age 65) Hammersmith, London
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1970–2013
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief Fleet HMS Illustrious HMS London HMS Splendid HMS Orpheus
Battles/wars	Sierra Leone Civil War Libyan Civil War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, GCB, OBE, ADC, DL (born 26 March 1952) is a retired Royal Navy officer. After serving as a submarine commander, he commanded a frigate and then commanded an aircraft carrier on operational patrol off Sierra Leone. He went on to be Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and then Commander-in-Chief Fleet. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff, the professional head of the Royal Navy, from July 2009 to April 2013. In this role he advised the British Government on the deployment of naval forces during operations around Libya. He was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Zambellas in April 2013.

Born the son of Frederick William Stanhope and Shiela Mary Hattemore (née Cutler), Stanhope was educated at the London Nautical School, Worthing High School for Boys (since 1974 first Worthing Sixth-Form College and more recently Worthing College), and then St Peter's College, Oxford, where he gained a Master of Arts in physics.

Stanhope joined the Royal Navy in 1970, was confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1972, and was promoted to full lieutenant on 1 May 1977. Promoted to lieutenant commander on 16 October 1982, he commanded the submarine HMS Orpheus from 1982 to 1984. After receiving promotion to commander on 30 June 1986, he commanded the submarine HMS Splendid from 1987 to 1988. He became a teaching officer on the Submarine Command Course in 1989.