Mark Stanhope

Sir Mark Stanhope
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope in 2013
Born	(1952-03-26) 26 March 1952 (age 72) Hammersmith, London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1970–2013
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	First Sea Lord Commander-in-Chief Fleet HMS Illustrious HMS London HMS Splendid HMS Orpheus
Battles/wars	Sierra Leone Civil War Libyan Civil War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officer of the Order of the British Empire Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, GCB, OBE, DL (born 26 March 1952) is a retired Royal Navy officer. After serving as a submarine commander, he commanded a frigate and then commanded an aircraft carrier on operational patrol off Sierra Leone. He went on to be Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and then Commander-in-Chief Fleet. He served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval staff, the professional head of the Royal Navy, from July 2009 to April 2013. In this role he advised the British Government on the deployment of naval forces during operations around Libya. He was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Zambellas in April 2013.