Eirik Kristoffersen

Eirik Johan Kristoffersen (b. 1969) is a general who took over as Norway’s Chief of Defence in August 2020. As a young man, he served in the UN force in Lebanon and in the Long Range Reconnaissance and Patrol (LRRP) Squadron. Most of his career has been in the Norwegian Armed Forces’ Special Command (FSK), where he began his specialist training in 1999 and ended as its Commander in 2014. Kristoffersen has also been Chief of the Norwegian Home Guard and Chief of the Norwegian Army.

He was awarded the War Cross with Sword for his leadership during operations in Afghanistan. In 2014 Eirik Kristoffersen was presented with the Defence Gender Equality Award, partly in recognition of his work in establishing an all-female force within FSK.