Wim Robberecht (born 1962,

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...

) is a Belgian naval officer who holds the rank of

divisional admiral Divisional admiral is a commissioned officer rank used in the navies of Belgium and Italy. It is rated OF-7 within the NATO ranking system and is equivalent to rear admiral in the Royal Navy and rear admiral (upper half) in the United States N ...

and since 2016 has served as the commander of the

Belgian Navy The Belgian Navy, officially the Belgian Naval Component ( nl, Marinecomponent; french: Composante marine; german: Marinekomponente ) of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the naval service of Belgium. History Early history The Belgian Navy wa ...

(Marine Component).

Biography

Robberecht was born in 1962 in the city of

, joining the Royal Military Academy in 1980. During his time there, he was awarded the Sword of His Majesty the King, a decoration for outstanding students. He finished in 1985 and served on minesweeping/hunting vessels before assuming command of the M484 ''Dinant''. He then attended the Dutch-Belgian joint Operational School in

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

from 1988 to 1990, when he was appointed flag lieutenant to the chief of naval staff. Robberecht then served as the head of the operational section aboard the frigate ''Wandelaar'', taking part in the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

blockade of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. In 1996 he commanded the minehunter ''

Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

'' and later the '' Narcis''. Following a course at a NATO school in Oberammergau,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, he held various staff positions in the Belgian armed forces. Robberecht completed the Maritime Warfare Course in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and then went on to command the frigates '' Westdiep'' and '' Wielingen'', before attending the Royal Defense College in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 2002. After his graduation from there, he served on the human resources department of the Joint Staff and as director of naval education, becoming chief of staff to the

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position withi ...

in 2005. He served as the first commander of the frigate '' Leopold I'', which Belgium acquired from the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

in 2007, and commanded it during a UN mission near

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. In 2010 he completed additional studies at the Royal Defense College and the Management Training Center in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

of the French Ministry of Defense. Robberecht was appointed Director Maritime Operations within the Marine Component in 2011 and also served on the operations staff of Admiral Benelux (the commanding officer of the integrated Dutch and Belgian naval commands). In September 2016, Divisional Admiral Robberecht was appointed as the Commander of the Marine Component, succeeding Georges Heeren.Admiral Wim Robberecht is the new Chief of the Belgian Navy
Navyrecognition.com. Published 19 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2017.

Personal life

Robberecht is married and has three children.

Awards

Robberecht is the recipient of the following awards:Rear Admiral (upper half) ROBBERECHT Wim
Chens.eu. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
Royal Military Academy official website. Retrieved 12 September 2017.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robberecht, Wim 1962 births Belgian admirals Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Living people 20th-century Belgian military personnel 21st-century Belgian military personnel