General Eirik Kristoffersen began his tenure as Chief of Defence on August 17th 2020. As Chief of Defence, general Kristoffersen holds full command over the Norwegian Armed Forces and is the principal military advisor to the Norwegian Government.
General Kristoffersen joined the Norwegian Army in 1988 as a Non-Commissioned Officer candidate. Following a year of training, he assumed his first position as a squad leader in the Engineer Battalion. He was later admitted to the Norwegian Military Academy, graduating in 1995, before continuing his career as an officer within the Norwegian Army.
In 2000, General Kristoffersen joined the Special Forces, where he served in different positions ranging from patrol member to operations officer, and finally Deputy Commander of the Norwegian Special Operations Command from 2014 to 2017. General Kristoffersen has since served as J 5/7/9 at the Norwegian Joint Headquarters (brigadier general), Chief of the Home Guard (major general) and Chief of the Army (major general).
In addition to the aforementioned schools, General Kristoffersen’s military education includes the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College (2008-2009) and the United States Army War College (2014-2015).
General Kristoffersen’s career furthermore includes service in the United Nations Interim Forces Lebanon (UNIFIL) as well as several tours in Afghanistan, where he took part in Operation Anaconda and later played a key role in establishing the Norwegian mentorship of Afghan Crisis Response Unit 222. For his efforts in Afghanistan, General Kristoffersen was awarded the War Cross with Sword, Norway’s highest-ranking military medal.
General Kristoffersen is married to Linn Therece, and has four children.