Frederik Vansina (born 3 July 1964) is an aviator in the Belgian Air Component and Chief of Defence of the Belgian Armed Forces.
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Career
editVansina was born in Bern, Switzerland, to a diplomatic family and travelled a lot as a child.[1] He graduated from the Royal Military Academy in 1987 and became a fighter pilot in the 350th Squadron.[1] He served as chief of operations for the Belgian-Dutch contingent in Operation Allied Force.
In 2009 he was appointed commander of Kleine Brogel Air Base and oversaw the deployment of F-16s to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan as well as in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. He was named head of the Belgian Air Component in 2013, and took office in 2014,[2] overseeing Belgian involvement in the multinational campaign against Islamic State.[3]
Vansina became Vice-Chief of Defence in 2023.[1] On 4 July 2024 he succeeded Admiral Michel Hofman as Chief of Defence.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Frederik Vansina: Général aviateur, nouveau Chef de la Défense belge". La Libre. 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Florennes: un nouveau chef à la Composante Air". La Libre. 6 November 2014.
- ^ "Mission belge contre l'État islamique: 107 cibles touchées, un "succès"". RTBF. 24 April 2015.
- ^ "Défense: le lieutenant-général aviateur Frederik Vansina succède à l'amiral Hofman à la tête de l'armée belge". RTBF. 4 July 2024.