José Nunes da Fonseca

José Nunes da Fonseca (born 19 March 1961) is a Portuguese general who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces between March 1, 2023 and March 1, 2026. Fonseca served previously as the Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Army from 1 October 2018 to 1 March 2023, and as commander of the Coastal Control Unit of the National Republican Guard from 2013 to 2017.

Early life and education Fonseca was born on 1961 at Mafra and later entered the Military Academy in 1979. He eventually entered the military engineering sciences course in the Academy and later graduated as the top student of his class in 1983 and later completed his master's degree in military engineering. Aside from military engineering courses, Fonseca also serves as a member of the Order of Engineers since 1986 and also completed a variety of courses, such as the NBC Defense and Irregular Operations courses, the Routes of Communication Course at the Academia de Ingenieros at Spain in 1991, the General Staff Course and the Joint Staff Internship, the Peace Support Operations Course, the SIACCON Command and Control System Course at Italy in 1997, the Civil Emergency Planning Course and the NATO Senior Officers Policy Course at the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany in 2012. During his stint as Chief of Staff of the Army, Fonseca initiated modernization and reform initiatives in soldier development by investing in the procurement of modern weapons, optics, camouflages, and additional assets.

On 1 March 2023, Fonseca was appointed as the new Chief of the General Staff and replaced Admiral António da Silva Ribeiro. During his stint as the Chief of the General Staff, Fonseca made efforts to push the armed forces' modernization as a modern, mobile, and networked rapid-deployed force that is equipped against modern threats under the Military Programming Law 2023–2034. The program aims to improve the armed forces' armored assets, artillery units, strike units, air defense systems, command and control systems, protection systems, intelligence and reconnaissance systems, support systems, and additional ammunition, while giving priorities to cyber defense, electronic warfare, defense simulation, unmanned aerial systems, and ground systems integration. Fonseca also made strides in enhancing the armed forces' readiness while enhancing cooperation with NATO allies and other allied countries.

Awards from Military Service

5 Silver Grade, Military Medals for Distinguished Service 1 Gold Medal for Distinguished Public Security Services 1st Class, 2nd Class and 3rd Class, Military Medal of Military Merit D. Afonso Henriques Medal Gold Grade, Military Medal for Exemplary Conduct 5 Commemorative Medals for Special Service Commissions for “Italy 1995-96”, “Italy 1996-99”, “Bosnia 1998-99”, “Kosovo 2011” and “Spain 2010-2013” Silver Cross of the Order of Civil Guard Merit (Spain, 2016) Marshal Hermes Medal (Brazil, 2004)

Commemorative Cross for the Military Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo (Italy, 2011)

Personal life Fonseca is married and he has two daughters.