Mihail Popescu

Mihail-Eugeniu Popescu (April 1, 1948 – June 20, 2013) was a Romanian Land Forces general and politician, who served as Chief of the Romanian General Staff from 2000 to 2004.

Early life and education

Mihail-Eugeniu Popescu was born on April 1, 1948, in the village of Cârlogani in Olt County. He graduated from the Dimitrie Cantemir Military High School in Breaza (1966) and the Higher Military School for Active Officers of Artillery and Missiles in Sibiu (1969). He also graduated in 1973 from the Military Academy in Bucharest. He later attended the Post-Academic Higher General Staff Course (1984), the National Defense College (1993), the Intensive English Language Course (1997), the NATO Defense College in Rome (1997). He obtained the scientific title of Doctor of Military Sciences in 1995.

Military career

Early career After graduating from the Officers' School, he served as an artillery officer in the Army of the Socialist Republic of Romania, fulfilling command positions such as: platoon commander at the 17th Artillery Brigade and at the Artillery Training Center (1969–1971), howitzer-gun division commander and deputy commander of the 8th Artillery Brigade (1973–1981), commander of the 315th Artillery Regiment from Șimleul Silvaniei (1981–1982), deputy commander and chief of artillery of the 81st Mechanized Division (1982–1984), deputy commander and chief of artillery of the 4th Army, with the garrison in Cluj (1984–1992), inspector general of artillery at the General Staff Inspectorate (1993–1997).

General officer In 1997, Popescu was appointed as the head of the Doctrine and Instruction Directorate of the General Staff. On 1 December 1997, he was promoted to the rank of division general, being appointed, by order of the Minister of Defense, as the Chief of the Land Forces Staff (1997–2000). During this period, he was promoted to the rank of army corps general effective December 1, 1999.

Chief of the General Staff On October 31, 2000, Popescu was promoted to the rank of Army General and appointed Chief of the Romanian General Staff. During his tenure as Chief of the General Staff, on 21 November 2002, on the occasion of the 2002 Prague NATO summit, Secretary General of NATO George Robertson, announced the invitation of Romania and six other states to join the Alliance. The NATO accession protocols of the seven states invited to the summit were signed at the Extraordinary Meeting of the North Atlantic Council on 26 March 2003.

In 2004, Popescu became a member of the NATO Military Committee. On 2 April 2004, together with the Minister of National Defence, Ioan Mircea Pașcu, he inaugurated the videoconference system through which the leadership of the ministry can systematically communicate with the Romanian military detachments on mission in the theatres of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans.