François Gérard Marie Lecointre (; born 6 February 1962) is a French

army general Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...

who served as Chief of the Defence Staff between 2017 and 2021. As a captain, with

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Bruno Heluin (platoon leader) as the company commanding officer, he led an assault at the Battle of Vrbanja Bridge in 1995 that was the last fixed bayonet

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

of the French Armed Forces.

Biography

François Lecointre was born on 6 February 1962 in Cherbourg into a military family. His father, Yves Urbain Marie Lecointre (5 April 1932 – 1985), was a French naval

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

and submariner who served as the commandant of SNLE ''Le Redoutable''. One of his uncles, Hélie de Roffignac, was a cavalry officer who died in

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at the age of 23.

Military career

Lecointre attended preparatory classes at the Prytanée National Militaire in

La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most po ...

. He subsequently studied at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (Promotion '' Général Monclar'') from 1984 to 1987 and then at the Infantry School from 1987 to 1988. Lecointre joined the

3rd Marine Infantry Regiment The 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment (french: 3e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine, 3e RIMa) is a unit of the French Army in the French Forces. The 3e RIMa is one of the oldest of the troupes de marine. This regiment is one of the "Quatre Grands" of ...

, where he served from 1988 to 1991. Lecointre was promoted from lieutenant to captain in the

marine infantry Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

on 1 July 1991. From 1993 to 1996, he was a combat company commander of the

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

. As a captain, Lecointre was involved in the Opération Turquoise in 1994 in Rwanda. He commanded the 1st company of the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment ( 3^e RIMa) in the ''Groupement Nord Turquoise''. Lecointre was also engaged with French forces under the command of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) during the Bosnian War. Under the orders of General Hervé Gobilliard and Colonel Erik Sandahl, Lecointre and Lieutenant Bruno Heluin led a bayonet

to win the Battle of Vrbanja Bridge on 27 May 1995. According to journalist Jean Guisnel, the episode turned the tide of the war and led to victory in Bosnia. From 1996 to 1999, Lecointre was an instructor at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in

Coëtquidan Camp Coëtquidan (''Camp de Coëtquidan'') is a French military educational facility located in the Morbihan department of Brittany in France. It forms a part of the commune of Guer and covers an area of approximately 64 km². It comprises: ...

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastl ...

where he trained student officers in military tactics. From 1999 to 2001, he was a trainee officer at the Joint Defense College (now

École Militaire École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savo ...

). He then served in the office of the Chief of Staff of the French Army in Paris at the crops bureau of system conception forces. From 2005 to 2007,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Lecointre was the commanding officer of the

in Vannes. From 2007 to 2008, he studied at the Center of High Military Studies (CHEM) and was an auditor at the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) in Paris. He was promoted to brigade general on 1 August 2011, and was in command of the 9th Marine Infantry Brigade in Poitiers until 2013. Lecointre was later appointed as commander of the European Union Training Mission in Mali from January to July 2013. He rejoined the general staff headquarters of the French Army as a ''chargé de mission'', becoming deputy-chief of the defence staff for « performance-synthèse » from 2014 to 2016. Lecointre was promoted to division general on 1 January 2015. Head of the Prime Minister's military cabinet since August 2016, Lecointre was elevated by a decree of President François Hollande from the first section of general officers to the rank of corps general on 1 March 2017. On 20 July 2017, Lecointre was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff by President Emmanuel Macron, following the resignation of General Pierre de Villiers. He took office the day after his appointment and was promoted to the rank of Général d'armée. General Lecointre made his first official visit to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in February 2018. He met with his American counterpart

Joseph Dunford Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. (born December 23, 1955) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2015, until September 30, 2019. He was the 36th command ...

to discuss the ongoing

War against the Islamic State In response to rapid territorial gains made by the so-called Islamic State during the first half of 2014, and its universally condemned executions, reported human rights abuses and the fear of further spillovers of the Syrian Civil War, many s ...

and progress on the G5 Sahel.

Military ranks

Honours and decorations

Publications

* François Lecointre (dir.), ''Le soldat : XXe – XXIe siècle'', Gallimard, coll. « Folio Histoire », 2018. With a foreword by French historian Jean-Pierre Rioux. This book is a collection of articles published in the French review of military studies : ''Inflexions - Civils et militaires : pouvoir dire'', of which general Lecointre was a publishing director in 2015–2017.''Inflexions - Civils et militaires : pouvoir dire''
.

References

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lecointre, François Living people 1962 births People from Cherbourg-Octeville École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French generals Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Commanders of the National Order of Mali Commanders of the Legion of Merit Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Chief of the Defence Staff (France)