Tom Middendorp

{{Short description|Dutch general (born 1960)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[Four-star rank|General]] | name = Tom Middendorp | image = Tom Middendorp 2015 (1).jpg | image_size = 250px | alt = | caption = Middendorp in 2015 | nickname = | office = [[Chief of Defence (Netherlands)|Chief of Defence]] | term_start = 28 June 2012 | term_end = 3 October 2017 | predecessor = General [[Peter van Uhm]] | successor = Lieutenant admiral [[Rob Bauer]] | birth_name = Thomas Antonius Middendorp | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|09|06|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Rheden]], Netherlands | death_date =  | death_place = | allegiance = {{flag|Netherlands}} | branch = {{army|Netherlands}} | service_years = 1979–2017 | rank = [[File:Netherlands-Army-OF-9.svg|20px]] [[Full General|General]] | commands = [[Chief of Defence (Netherlands)|Chief of Defence]] <br/> [[Task Force Uruzgan]] <br/> [[13th Light Brigade (Netherlands)|13th Light Brigade]] | battles = {{tree list}} * [[Cold War]] * [[Bosnian War]] ** [[Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Stabilisation Force (SFOR)]] * [[War on terror]] ** [[Iraq War]] ** [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]] ** [[Northern Mali conflict]] {{tree list/end}} | awards = [[Officer of the Order of Australia]]<br>Adjutant to the King | signature = }}

'''Thomas Antonius Middendorp''' (born 6 September 1960) is a retired [[Four-star rank|general]] of the [[Royal Netherlands Army]]. He served as [[Chief of Defence (Netherlands)|Chief of Defence]] of the [[Armed forces of the Netherlands]] from 28 June 2012 until 3 October 2017.<ref name="defmin resignation">{{Cite web|url=https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nieuws/2017/10/03/commandant-der-strijdkrachten-legt-functie-neer |title= Commandant der Strijdkrachten legt functie neer |trans-title= Commander of the Armed Forces puts down function |date=3 October 2017 |publisher = Netherlands Ministry of Defence|language=nl}}</ref> He previously served as the commander of [[Task Force Uruzgan]] part of the [[International Security Assistance Force]] from 2 February 2009 until 3 August 2009.<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://nos.nl/artikel/276776-middendorp-opvolger-van-uhm.html Middendorp opvolger Van Uhm], NOS, 28 September 2012</ref>

== Early life == Middendorp was born on 6 September 1960 in [[Rheden]] in the [[Provinces of the Netherlands|Province]] of [[Gelderland]].

== Military career == Middendorp joined the Dutch Army in 1979, attending officers training at the [[Koninklijke Militaire Academie]] in [[Breda]]. Opting to join the [[Military engineering|Engineering Corps]], he followed up his academy training with an additional one-year course at the Engineering Training Centre in [[Vught]].

Having completed his training, Middendorp was posted to [[Ermelo, Netherlands|Ermelo]] in 1984 where he was given command of an armored engineering unit. He held this command for two years, after which (in 1986) he was transferred to [[Breda]]. He was posted to the Defence Real Estate Management Agency regional directorate as head of the project management agency. In 1989 he was transferred to the Dutch Army base in [[Seedorf, Lower Saxony|Seedorf]], where he assumed the command of the B [[Company (military unit)|company]], 41st Engineering [[Battalion]].

From 1992 to 1994 Middendorp attended Command School {{in lang|nl}}: ''Hogere Militaire Vorming''. Following this training he was posted to the Army staff and put in charge of developing and implementing new real estate management policy in light of the deactivation of the Dutch [[Conscription|draft]]. Completing this posting Middendorp attended the [[United States Army Command and General Staff College]] starting in 1996.

In 1997 Middendorp was assigned the post of military assistant to the [[Chief of Defence (Netherlands)|Deputy Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff]]. Following this posting he was reassigned to [[Münster]] in 1999, as chief of the National Planning Bureau for the [[I. German/Dutch Corps]]. He held this post until 2001, when he was given command of the 101 Engineering [[Battalion]] in [[Wezep]]. As first commander of this battalion he was responsible for setting up the battalion and during the next {{frac|2|1|2}} years commanded it through missions in [[SFOR|Bosnia-Hercegovina]], the [[Republic of Macedonia]] and [[Iraq War|Iraq]].

Following this command, Middendorp was promoted to [[colonel]] and posted to the [[Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)|Ministry of Defence]] as policy coordinator for the chief director of general affairs. In this posting he advised the minister of defence on national deployment of the [[Armed forces of the Netherlands|armed forces]] and established several cooperation agreements between the [[Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)|Ministry of Defence]] and other ministries.

Towards the end of 2006, Middendorp was posted overseas for his first tour in [[Afghanistan]], as Senior Political Advisor and Deputy NATO Senior Civil Representative (SCR). Mid-2007 he did a short stint with the Dutch Army Command as head of the Command Support Department; he was given command of the 13th Mechanised Brigade in [[Oirschot]] on 11 January 2008.

He was posted back to [[Afghanistan]] in February 2009 as commanding officer of the multinational [[Task Force Uruzgan]] (TFU6, specifically). Returning to the [[Netherlands]] he was promoted to major-general in August 2009, and was appointed director of operations of the Royal Netherlands Defence Staff on 24 December.

[[File:Koning en strijdkrachten-1.jpg|thumb|left|Middendorp (right) and King Willem-Alexander (centre), 2014]] The minister of defence announced Middendorp's selection as next [[Chief of Defence (Netherlands)|chief of defence]] on 28 September 2011. In preparation for his new role, Middendorp was promoted [[lieutenant general]] on 1 January 2012 and placed in charge of projects and operations at the Defence Staff. He was promoted [[Four-star rank|Four-star general]] on 28 June 2012, the date on which general [[Peter van Uhm]] transferred command of the Netherlands Defence Staff to him.

In 2014 he carried the [[sword of state]] during the [[inauguration of Willem-Alexander]] in his capacity as Chief of Defense.

On 28 February 2017 Middendorp was appointed an honorary [[Officer of the Order of Australia]] (AO). He was invested by the [[Governor General of Australia]] [[Peter Cosgrove|Sir Peter Cosgrove]].

On 11 January 2018 King [[Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands]] appointed Middendorp as adjutant in extraordinary service of the King.<ref>{{cite web| title=Koning benoemt Middendorp tot adjudant | date=11 January 2018 | language=nl | publisher=Netherlands Ministry of Defence | url=https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nieuws/2018/01/11/koning-benoemt-middendorp-tot-adjudant | accessdate=23 June 2018 }}</ref>

==Resignation== Middendorp resigned on 3 October 2017 following the publication of a critical report into the death of two Dutch soldiers in a training accident in Mali<ref name="nyt">[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/world/africa/mali-2-peacekeepers-die-in-crash.html Mali: 2 Peacekeepers Die in Crash], ''The Associated Press'' via ''The New York Times'', March 17, 2015</ref> and the resignation of [[Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)|Minister of Defence]] [[Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert]].<ref name="defmin resignation" /><ref name="Reuters2017-10-03">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-mali/dutch-defense-minister-resigns-over-peacekeepers-deaths-in-mali-idUSKCN1C82GW |publisher=Reuters |date=3 October 2017| title= Dutch defense minister resigns over peacekeepers' deaths in Mali}}</ref> [[Lieutenant admiral]] [[Rob Bauer]] took on as Chief of Defence.

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} ;Official

* {{in lang|en}} {{cite web|url=https://www.defensie.nl/english/organisation/central-staff/contents/netherlands-chief-of-defence |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815211714/https://www.defensie.nl/english/organisation/central-staff/contents/netherlands-chief-of-defence |archive-date=2016-08-15 |title=Chief of Defence |publisher=Netherlands Ministry of Defence}}

{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=[[Leen Noordzij]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Commander of the [[13th Light Brigade (Netherlands)|13th Light Brigade]]|years=2008–2009}} {{s-aft|after=[[Michiel van der Laan]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Kees Matthijssen]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Commander of [[Task Force Uruzgan]]|years=2009}} {{s-aft|after=[[Marc van Uhm]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Peter van Uhm]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Chief of Defence (Netherlands)|Chief of Defence]] of the [[Armed forces of the Netherlands]]|years=2012–2017}} {{s-aft|after=[[Rob Bauer]]}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middendorp, Tom}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Chiefs of Defence (Netherlands)]] [[Category:Dutch expatriates in Germany]] [[Category:Dutch expatriates in the United States]] [[Category:Dutch military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]] [[Category:Graduates of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie]] [[Category:Royal Netherlands Army generals]] [[Category:Royal Netherlands Army officers]] [[Category:People from Rheden]] [[Category:Honorary officers of the Order of Australia]]