Speaker Information

Opening Session

Ingrid M. Gjerde

  • Chief of Defence Staff, Norwegian Armed Forces (Former Force Commander, UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP))

    Keynote Speech

    Lieutenant General Ingrid M. Gjerde joined the army in 1987. After graduating from the Norwegian Army Military Academy as an infantry officer, she subsequently commanded rifle and mortar platoons in Brigade North, a rifle company in Telemark Battalion, His Majesty the King’s Guard infantry battalion and the Norwegian Army Military Academy.

    Gjerde has attended the US Army Command and General Staff College and the US Army War College in Pennsylvania. From these institutions, she holds master’s degrees in Military Art and Science, and Military Strategy, in addition to a Master’s in Political Science awarded by the University of Oslo.

    On the staff she has held various positions within the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, where she was responsible for strategic planning and strategic communication. She was Chief of Staff and Second in Command of the Norwegian Army and the Chief of Staff/Plans for the Norwegian Armed Forces. In November 2023, she was appointed Chief Defence Staff Norway (Vice Chief of Defence).

    Operationally she has deployed in southern and northern Norway, Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan. This included service as a rifle platoon commander and assistant operations Officer in UNIFIL Lebanon, rifle company commander in Stabilization Force Bosnia and Herzegovina and the national contingent commander within the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. From May 2021-July 2023 she was the Force Commander of United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP.)

    She is married to a former army officer, and they have twins born in 2000. She enjoys a variety of mountain sport and outdoor life, and is passionate about cross-country skiing. Travelling and literature is also of great interest.

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