Dick BerlijnSenior Advisor FGS Global

General (retd.) Dick Berlijn (Amsterdam, 1950) is the former Commander of the Dutch Armed Forces, the highest-ranking military officer in the Netherlands, and a leading expert in geopolitics, defence, international relations, and cybersecurity.

Born into a military family, Berlijn began his career in 1969 at the Royal Military Academy in Breda, training as a pilot, including on the F-16 fighter jet. He rose through the ranks, serving in several operational capacities, becoming Chief of the Royal Air Force in 2000. In the 1990s, he also commanded an F-16 squadron in the multinational NATO mission in the former Yugoslavia.

Promoted to general in 2004, Berlijn served as Chief of Defence from 2004 to 2008, commanding all Dutch military forces. His distinguished career earned him numerous honours, including a NATO medal, the Legion d’ Honeur, Legion of Merit, the Order of Orange-Nassau with Swords and several others 

Post-military career

After leaving the military in 2008, Berlijn completed a cycling pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela before entering the corporate world. As a Senior Board Advisor at Deloitte, he specialized in cybersecurity and crisis management. He has held advisory and board roles at Thales, Royal Ten Cate, Photonis, HAL24K, and currently advises TeledyneFlir on Defence matters and MMOX on cyber defence and security innovation. He is also a senior advisor with FGS Global.