John Shalikashvili
John Malchase David Shalikashvili (Georgian: ჯონ მალხაზ დავით შალიკაშვილი, romanized: jon malkhaz davit shalik'ashvili, IPA: [ʃalikʼaʃʷili]; June 27, 1936 – July 23, 2011) was a United States Army general who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 1992 to 1993 and the 13th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, in the family of émigré Georgian officer Dimitri Shalikashvili and his Polish wife Maria Rüdiger-Belyaeva. In 1996, he was the first recipient of the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award.
John Shalikashvili | |
|---|---|
Shalikashvili in August 1993 | |
| Nickname(s) | "General Shali" |
| Born | June 27, 1936 Warsaw, Poland |
| Died | July 23, 2011 (aged 75) Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, U.S. |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1958–1997 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Supreme Allied Commander Europe Operation Provide Comfort 9th Infantry Division 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War Operation Provide Comfort Iraqi no-fly zones Third Taiwan Strait Crisis |
| Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4) Army Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (3) Bronze Star Medal (V) Meritorious Service Medal (4) Air Medal Joint Service Commendation Medal Army Commendation Medal Presidential Medal of Freedom |
| Alma mater | George Washington University |
| Spouse(s) | Gunhild Bartsch
(m. 1963; died 1965)Joan Zimpelman (m. 1966) |
| Children | 2 |
| Other work | Visiting professor, Stanford University Director, Frank Russell Trust Company Director, L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. Director, Plug Power Inc. Director, United Defense Industries, Inc. |
Shalikashvili was the first, and as of 2023 only, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff not born in the United States. He served in every level of unit command from platoon to division. Shalikashvili died of a stroke in 2011 at the age of 75.