John Kiszely

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Sir John Kiszely
Birth name John Panton Kiszely
Born (1948-04-02) 2 April 1948 (age 76)
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  British Army
Years of service 1969–2008
Rank Lieutenant General
Service number 486680[1]
Commands held 1st Bn Scots Guards
7th Armoured Brigade
1st (UK) Armoured Division
Regional Forces
Battles/wars Falklands War
Bosnian war
Iraq War
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Military Cross
Mention in Dispatches
Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service
Legion of Merit (United States)

Lieutenant General Sir John Panton Kiszely, KCB, MC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (born 2 April 1948) is a retired senior British Army officer who was Director General of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. He is a former National President of The Royal British Legion, having resigned because he had said to undercover journalists that he was able to lobby government defence ministers.

Military career

Born the son of Dr John Kiszely, Kiszely was educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst before being commissioned into the Scots Guards as a second lieutenant on 20 December 1968. He served with the regiment as a platoon commander, company commander and commanding officer in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands.[2]

Kiszely became commanding officer of 1st Battalion the Scots Guards in 1986 and, following various other military appointments, took command of 7th Armoured Brigade in early 1993. In 1996 he was appointed General Officer Commanding 1st (UK) Armoured Division and served as Commander of the Multi-National Division (South-West) in Bosnia.[3]

In September 1998 Kiszely was appointed Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Resource and Plans) at the Ministry of Defence.[4] In 2002 he was appointed Commander of Regional Forces at Land Command[2] and in 2004 he was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq.[2] In 2005 he took up his post as Director General of the Defence Academy.[2] He retired from this post on 30 May 2008.[5]

Later life

In December 2008 Kiszely was appointed as the new National President of The Royal British Legion. He took over the role from Air Marshal Ian Macfadyen CB OBE FRAeS who recommended him for the post.[6] He resigned this post on 15 October 2012 as a result of allegations that he had said to undercover journalists that he was able to lobby government defence ministers.[7]

On 14 December 2009, Kiszely gave evidence to The Iraq Inquiry in which he claimed that American officials had refused to admit that they were dealing with an insurgency in Iraq.[8]

Honours and decorations

Kiszely was awarded the Military Cross for an action during the Battle of Mount Tumbledown during the Falklands War. He led a single-handed charge into the Argentine position, shooting two enemy soldiers and killing a third with his bayonet. The Argentines were promptly routed and surrendered.[9]

Family

Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely is married with three children.[10]

References

  1. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 44774. p. 1000. 24 January 1969. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Oxford Leverhulme Biography
  3. SFOR
  4. NATO/SFOR Informer
  5. Lieutenant General Andrew Graham takes over from Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszley
  6. Royal British Legion appoints new National President Royal British Legion, 15 December 2008
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49134. p. 12846. 8 October 1982. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  10. The peerage.com
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding the 1st (UK) Armoured Division
1996–1998
Succeeded by
Redmond Watt
Preceded by Commander Multi-National Division (South-West), Bosnia
June 1996–December 1996
Succeeded by
Evelyn Webb-Carter
New title Commander Regional Forces
2002–2004
Succeeded by
Sir John McColl
Preceded by Senior British Military Representative
and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq

2004–2005
Succeeded by
Robin Brims
Preceded by Director General of the Defence Academy
2005–2008
Succeeded by
Andrew Graham
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by President of the Royal British Legion
2009–2012
Succeeded by
Peter Wilkinson