Rupert Smith

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Rupert Smith
1943-
Crown Copyright
Place of birth	England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1962-2002
Rank	General
Commands held	1st Armoured Division UN forces in Bosnia GOC Northern Ireland 1996-99 Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (NATO)
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar Officer of the Order of the British Empire Queen's Gallantry Medal
Other work	Author

General Sir Rupert Smith KCB, DSO & Bar, OBE, QGM (born 1943) was an officer in the British Army until his retirement in 2002. He was educated at the Haileybury and Imperial Service College and later at Sandhurst.

Smith enlisted in 1962 and was commissioned into the Parachute Regiment in 1964. He has served in East and South Africa, Arabia, the Caribbean, Europe and Malaysia. As a major general, Smith commanded the British 1st Armoured Division during the Gulf War (1990-1991). He became the first Assistant Chief of Defence Operations and Security at the UK Ministry of Defence in 1992. While there he was intimately involved in the UK's development of the strategy in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 1995 he was Commander UNPROFOR in Sarajevo, and was responsible for breaking the siege of the city by creating the UN Rapid Reaction Force, and ultimately thereby bringing the war to an end. 1996-1998 he was General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland. His final assignment was as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1998-2001, covering NATO's Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo war, and the development of the European Security and Defence Identity. He is currently the Honorary Colonel of Exeter UOTC.