General Patrick De Rousiers is an Associate Fellow within the Global Fellowship Initiative of the GCSP.
General Patrick de Rousiers was born on the 11th of May 1955 in Dijon (France).
He joined the French Air Force Academy in September 1975, was awarded his fighter pilot wings in 1979. He joined Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron 01.033 stationed at Strasbourg AFB, flying Mirage III R and then Mirage F1 CR. After a detachment in Chad, he took command in 1988 of the squadron La Fayette”, operating Mirage III E/AN52 and being in charge of its conversion to Mirage 2000 N/ASMP.
After having attended in 1989 the Command and Staff Course of the Canadian Forces in Toronto, he joined the 33rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in Strasbourg, and in 1990, commanded the first Mirage F1 CR detachment deployed to Saudi Arabia, during “Desert Shield” operation. In 1991 he participated to “Provide Comfort” operation, and was the commanding officer of the Mirage F1 CR detachment operating above Iraq from Incirlik AFB (Turkey). After the Command Post in 1992 of the 33rd Reco Wing, he attended the National War College in Paris in 1993- 1994.
Posted to the Air Force Staff, General Plans, “Planning” office, he was appointed head of this office in 1996 and in 1999, was temporarily posted to Vicenza CAOC during the Kosovo war. End of 1999, he took command of Nancy AFB and in 2001, during the war in Afghanistan, he participated in the first French operational detachment to US Central Command in Tampa (Florida) as “AF adviser/targeting”.
Promoted to Brigadier General in 2002, he joined MOD/General Staff in Paris as Assistant to the Vice-Chief of Defense Staff and Head, Studies and General Military Strategy office. In September 2004, he was Head, Euro-Atlantic Division in the Defense Staff in Paris and in 2005 was promoted to the rank of Major General. From 2006 to 2008 he was appointed Air Defense and Air operations Commander in chief, at Taverny, Paris and Lyon, France and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General on August 1, 2006.
In 2008 he was posted to Brussels as French military representative to the European Union Military Committee and in 2009, was “dual-hatted” as French military representative to both the European Union and NATO Military Committees in Brussels. In September 2010, he worked as General inspector of the armed forces and was promoted to the rank of General.
From 2012-2015, he was the permanent Chairman of the European Union of military Committee (CEUMC).
General Patrick de Rousiers logs a total of 3,094 flying hours, among which 2,600 on jet-engined fighter aircraft. He participated in 76 war missions. He was awarded a Commander in the Legion of Honor, a Commander in the National Order of Merit, the French Medal of Aeronautics and the German Ehrenkreuz der Bundeswehr in gold.