BRUSSELS (EJP)—The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Benjamin (Benny) Gantz participated Wednesday in the annual NATO chiefs of defense meeting in Brussels.
During his stay in the Belgian capital, he will be meeting with fellow Chiefs of Staff from around the world, as well as NATO officials, and will take part in a Mediterranean dialogue meeting.
NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue was initiated in 1994 by the North Atlantic Council. It currently involves seven non-NATO countries of the Mediterranean region: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
In his meetings, Gantz was due to present current security challenges faced by Israel and the IDF, with an emphasis on Middle East challenges and overcoming the threat of global terror.
He is accompanied by Col. Adam Susman, Head of the International Military Cooperation Department.
Benny Gantz was born in 1959 and recruited to the IDF in 1977 when he joined the Paratroopers Brigade. In 1979, he graduated from the IDF officer school and was positioned as company commander and later Platoon commander in the Paratrooper Brigade.
In 1989 he was appointed commander of the Shaldag Unit in the Israel Air force. In 1994 he was appointed commander of the Judea Brigade in the Judea and Samaria Division.
In 1997 Gantz left for an academic break in the United States. In 1999 he was appointed as commander of the Liaison Unit with Lebanon. In 2000 he was appointed as commander of the Judea and Samaria division.
In 2002 he was appointed as commander of the IDF Northern Command. In 2005 he was appointed as commander of the IDF Ground Forces Command. From 2007- 2009 he served as the IDF Military Attaché in the United States.
In 2009 he was asked by the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General staff to serve as the Deputy IDF Chief of General Staff, a position he filled until November 2010. During this period, Lt. Gen. Gantz implemented the Tefen multi-year plan in addition to leading other processes in the reserve forces, human resources, the IDF budget and numerous others.
Lt. Gen. Gantz is a graduate of the Command and Staff College and the National Security College, has a Bachelors degree in history from the Tel Aviv University, a masters degree in Political Science from the Haifa University and another Masters Degree in management of national resources from the NDU university in the United States.
In February 2011 Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz was appointed to serve as the 20th Chief of the General Staff of the IDF.