United States | Dean, Fletcher School, Tufts University,
Former Commander, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Admiral James Stavridis is a retired US Navy admiral and was the dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. A Florida native, Stavridis attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, and spent over thirty years in the Navy, rising to the rank of 4-star Admiral. Among his many commands were four years as the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, where he oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, and piracy off the coast of Africa.
He also commanded US Southern Command in Miami, charged with military operations through Latin America for nearly three years. In the course of his career in the Navy, he served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. He led the Navy’s premier operational think tank for innovation, Deep Blue, immediately after the 9/11 attacks. He also commanded a Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Strike Group, both in combat.
He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, as well as academic honors from the National and Naval War Colleges. He speaks Spanish and French. Jim has published eight books on leadership, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. Admiral Stavridis is an operating executive with the Carlyle Group, chair of the Board of Counselors with McLarty Associates, and chair of the Board of the US Naval Institute, the professional association of the Nation’s sea services: Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine.
Stavridis joined the Dialogue as a Member in 2017.
Admiral James Stavridis has published a new book titled ‘Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character’. The book is a meditation on leadership and character refracted through the lives of ten of the most illustrious naval commanders in history.
