Admiral Tony Radakin
15 March 2021
Tony Radakin was appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in June 2019.
He was born in Oldham and made in the Royal Navy. Commissioned in 1990, his operational service has involved the Iran/Iraq Tanker War, security duties in the Falklands, NATO embargo operations in the Adriatic, countering smuggling in Hong Kong and the Caribbean, and three command tours in Iraq – both ashore and at sea. He has commanded from Lieutenant to Rear Admiral of ashore, afloat and international forces. This includes HMS BLAZER and Southampton URNU, HMS NORFOLK, the Naval Training Team in Iraq, the Iraqi Maritime Task Force, Portsmouth Naval Base, and Commander of UK Maritime Forces and NATO’s High Readiness Maritime Component Commander.
His staff appointments have predominantly been in either Joint or Defence roles, including: operational planning at PJHQ, two tours as a Military Assistant, and two tours involving financial, capability and strategic force development. More recently, he was Chief of Staff of the Joint Forces Command (2016 – 2018) and Second Sea Lord (2018 – 2019).
His education includes: reading law at Southampton University, qualifying as a barrister, an MA in International Relations and Defence Studies, the Higher Command and Staff Course, and the London Business School’s Senior Executive Programme. He has also graduated from several US courses including the US Combined Forces Maritime Component Course, CAPSTONE and the inaugural UK/US Future Leaders’ Course.
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