Hervé Charpentier is a

Général d'armée is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...

of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. He is the 137th

Military governor of Paris The military governor of Paris is a post within the French Army. He commands the garrison of Paris and represents all the military based in Paris at high state occasions. He is also responsible (subordinate to the President of France) for organiz ...

() from 1 August 2012 until 31 July 2015.

Military career

he was admitted to Saint-Cyr in 1975, promotion « Captain Henri Guilleminot » (). At the end of his scholarity, he chose to serve in the

Marine infantry Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

. Nominated as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1978 at the end of the Infantry Application School, he served first in the

8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment The 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (, 8e RPIMa) is an airborne regiment of the Troupes de Marine. The 8e RPIMa was created on 28 February 1951 and the men wear the red beret. It is part of the 11th Parachute Brigade. The regiment is ga ...

8^e RPIMa until 1981, in quality as a section (platoon) chief () of High Altitude Operational Operator (). He accordingly participated to Operation Barracuda in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

(1979) and Operation Saintonge at

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

(1980). He joined then the 23rd Marine Infantry Battalion () of Dakar as a section (platoon) chief then assistant () officer of the infantry company. He was promoted to a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1982. Assigned in 1983, he returned to the metropolis and joined the

3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment The 3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment () is one of the airborne force regiments of the Troupes de Marine. It is heir to the 3rd Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion created in 1948 and the 3rd Colonial Parachute Regiment . The regiment is ...

3^e RPIMa where he served as an operations officer during Operation Diodon 4 in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

then as commanding officer of the 2nd infantry company from 1984 to 1986. He then joined

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

as a counselor of the commandant of the 312th battalion of the 31st Zairian Parachute Brigade. Promoted to

Chef de bataillon () is the seniormost non-commissioned officer rank in France and other Francophone countries. Unlike most other countries which use the old European rank system, France uses as its lowest ranking senior officer. While the rank functions of '' ...

(

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

) in 1988, he was assigned to the

general staff headquarters The General Staff Headquarters, also known as the General Staff Headquarters in Manchuria of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (), or the General Staff Headquarters in Manchuria, was a militant Korean independence organization u ...

of the

() at Paris before being admitted to the French War School () in 1991. Designated as a lieutenant-colonel, he joined from 1993 to 1995, the

1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment The 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment () or 1er RPIMa is a unit of the French Army Special Forces Command, therefore part of the Special Operations Command. Heirs to the Free French paratroopers of the 3rd and 4th squadrons of the Speci ...

1^er RPIMa as an operations bureau chief. He participated accordingly to Operation Balbuzard in ex-

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and Opération Turquoise in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. In June 1997, he assumed the command of the 6th Marine Infantry Battalion 6^e BIM () and was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

in December. He was admitted as auditor () at the

CHEM Chem may refer to: *Chemistry *Chemical * ''Chem'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press *Post apocalyptic slang for "drugs", medicinal or otherwise in the Fallout video game series. In Ancient Egyptian usage: * ''Khem'' (also ...

() and the Institute of IHEDN () in 2001. This formidable career made him an expert connaisseur of the

African Continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Accordingly, in July 2002, he joined the Military Cabinet of the Minister of Defense () to manage the « Africa and Middle East » department cell. Nominated to Général de brigade on 1 July 2005, he assumed on the same date the commandment of the 9th Light Armoured Marine Brigade 9^e B.L.B.Ma and was engaged at this title, as operations assistant during

Opération Licorne Opération Licorne was a French Armed Forces peacekeeping operation in support of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire. The French forces had been stationed in the country since shortly after the outbreak of the Ivorian Civil War. T ...

in the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. Two years later, he assumed command of the Infantry Application School then was nominated to

Général de division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

in 2008. He was elevated to the rank designation of

Général de corps d'armée An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a general officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the General officer#French Revolutionary system, French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. Nor ...

on 1 July 2010 and assumed command of the

Commandement des Forces Terrestres The ''Commandement de la Force et des Opérations Terrestres (CFOT)'' is the new appellation (since January 2024) of the Commandement des Forces Terrestres, previously Commandement de la Force d'action Terrestre (“Command of the land combat fo ...

. He was nominated on 1 August 2012 as officer General of the Defense and Security Zone of Paris, Military governor of Paris and Commandant of the zone terre Île-de-France. Général Charpentier is the President of the Administrative Council of the

Musée de l'Armée The Musée de l'Armée (; "Army Museum") is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is served by Paris Métro stations Invalides (Paris Métro and RER), Invalides, Varenne (Paris Métro ...

and member of the Administration Council of the Saint-Cyrienne. On 1 July 2015 he was elevated to the rank designation of

. He replaced Général de corps d'armée Bruno Le Ray () on the following 31 July.
Décret du 9 juillet 2015 portant maintien dans la 1^resection et dans l'emploi, affectations et élévations, élévations, promotions et affectations, promotions dans la 2^esection, promotion au titre du congé du personnel navigant, nominations et affectations, nominations dans la 1^resection et la 2^esection, affectations d'officiers généraux]

Recognitions and Honors

* French HALO Operator Badge (Chuteur Opérationnel) * Légion d'honneur, Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur * Grand Officer de l'ordre national du Mérite *

Croix de la Valeur militaire Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

(2 étoiles en argent et 1 en bronze) *

Croix du combattant The Combatant's Cross () is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in combat for France. The Poilus (French combat soldiers) of World War I worked toward recognition by the government, of a special status to t ...

Médaille d'Outre-Mer The Overseas Medal () is a commemorative or campaign medal issued to members of the French Armed Forces and other nations in assistance to French troops for participating in operations outside national territory. It replaced the French Colonial Med ...

Médaille de la Défense nationale The National Defence Medal () is a French military decoration. It was created by Charles Hernu, Minister of Defence and established by decree on 21 April 1982. It rewards particularly honourable service rendered by military personnel for their par ...

(silver medal) * Médaille de reconnaissance de la Nation *

Médaille commémorative française The French commemorative medal () is a French decoration intended to recognize civilians and soldiers who took part in specific missions ordered by the French government carried out outside of French national territory after 1 March 1991. It wa ...

* Officier de l'ordre de Léopold (

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) * Chevalier de l' Order of the Equatorial Star (

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

) * Officier de l'ordre de mérite de Centrafrique * Médaille MISAB * Médaille de la gendarmerie du Gabon * Croix d'honneur de la Bundeswehr (gold) * Grand Croix de l'ordre du mérite militaire espagnol (white ribbon) * About twelve other awards and decorations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charpentier, Herve 1955 births Living people French generals Military governors of Paris École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Commanders of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour

Military career

Recognitions and Honors

See also

References