Vigleik Eide (4 December 1933 – 30 October 2011) was a Norwegian diplomat and military officer, a General in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

who served two years as Chief of Defence of Norway, and four years as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.

Personal life

Eide was born in

Fana Fana or fanaa most commonly refers to: * Fana, Bergen, a borough of the city of Bergen, Norway * Fana (Sufism), the Sufi term for "annihilation of the self" People * Fanã (born 1960), Portuguese football manager * Saint Fana (c. 354–395), Eg ...

as the son of Ivar Vigleiksson Eide and Serina B. Oma. He married Aase Nyhuus in 1962. He died in October 2011.

Career

Eide graduated from the

Norwegian Military Academy The Norwegian Military Academy (), in Oslo, educates officers of the Norwegian Army and serves as the King's Royal Guard. The academy was established in 1750, and is the oldest institution for higher education in Norway. History The Commander- ...

in 1957, and later education included studies at the

Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College (, ''FüAkBw'') is the General Staff College (''Senior Military Academy'') of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, established in 1957 as the successor of the Prussian Military Academy, founded in 181 ...

and the

NATO Defense College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, t ...

. He was a colonel in the Norwegian Army from 1980 to 1985. He was Major General and District Commander of

Vestlandet Western Norway (; ) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative function. The region has a population of ...

from 1985 to 1986, and Lieutenant General and Head of Command of Northern Norway from 1986 to 1987. He served as

Chief of Defence of Norway The Chief of Defence (''Forsvarssjefen'') is the highest-ranking officer of the Norwegian Armed Forces, second only to the King of Norway. Even though he holds the same rank as the King of Norway, according to the Norwegian Constitution the Kin ...

from 1987 to 1989. He served as

Chairman of the NATO Military Committee The Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) is the head of the NATO Military Committee, which advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The CMC is the senior military spokesperson of the 32-nation alliance and pr ...

from 1989 to 1993. During this period a closer cooperation between NATO and members of the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

was initiated. From 1993 he had various international assignments, and participated in the peace negotiations in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

in 1994, and in the former

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 ...

from 1995 to 1996 (the

Dayton Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Dejtonski mirovni sporazum, Дејтонски мировни споразум), and colloquially kn ...

). He was the Norwegian Ambassador to

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 ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

from 1998 to 2001. Eide was decorated Commander with Star of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

in 1987. He also became a Grand Officer of the French National Order of Merit in 1989.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eide, Vigleik 1933 births 2011 deaths Norwegian Military Academy alumni NATO Defense College alumni Ambassadors of Norway to Lebanon Ambassadors of Norway to Syria Grand Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite NATO military personnel Norwegian Army generals Diplomats from Bergen Chiefs of Defence (Norway) Norwegian expatriates in Germany Military personnel from Bergen