Peter van Uhm | |
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![]() Peter van Uhm in 2008
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Born |
Nijmegen, Netherlands |
15 June 1955
Allegiance |
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Service/branch | Royal Netherlands Army |
Years of service | 1976–present |
Rank |
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Commands held |
Chief of Defence Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army 11th Airmobile Brigade |
Battles/wars |
Petrus Johannes Mathias "Peter" van Uhm (born 15 June 1955) is a Royal Netherlands Army general. He served as Chief of Defence of the Armed forces of the Netherlands from 17 April 2008 until 28 June 2012. He previously served as the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army from 5 September 2005 until 13 March 2008.
Van Uhm was born in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, the son of a baker. He is the elder brother of Marc van Uhm, who is also a general in the Royal Netherlands Army. He was first attracted to a career in the army in high school, where he heard stories about the liberation of Nijmegen in 1944. He enrolled at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie in Breda in 1972, attending the Infantry officer training course. He completed his training within the required four years and was posted to the 48th Mechanised Infantry Battalion in 's-Hertogenbosch in 1976. He served there until 1982, with a short break in 1978 during which he served as a platoon commander at the Royal Military School in Weert. In 1982 Van Uhm was reassigned to the 43rd Mechanised Infantry Battalion as a Company Commander for Company A; he was deployed to Lebanon in this role in 1983 as part of the UNIFIL mission. Returning to The Netherlands a captain, he was posted the 48th Armoured Infantry Battalion for a short stint.
From 1984 to 1986 Van Uhm attended the Staff Service and Advanced Military Studies courses at the Royal Netherlands Army Staff College at The Hague. Following this (and a promotion to major) he was assigned to the First Division staff as deputy Head of Operations. He then held the position of Head of the Training Policy Office at the Royal Netherlands Army Staff and (following promotion to lieutenant-colonel), Head of the Training Section.