Charles Guthrie

Field Marshal Sir Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, GCB, LVO, OBE, DL

(a.k.a. Field Marshal Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank)

Educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

He began his Army carrer in 1959 as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Welsh Guards. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in 1961, Captain in 1965, Major in 1970, Lieutenant Colonel in 1975, Colonel in 1979, Brigadier in 1981, Major General in 1986, Lieutenant Genral in 1989, General in 1992, and honourary Field Marshal in 2012. He was appointed Chief of the General Staff in 1994 and, lastly, served as Chief of the Defence Staff from 1997 until his retirement in 2001. During his career, he saw active service in Northern Ireland, the Bosnian War, and Kosovo War.

His honourary appointments include Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps (1986-1995), Colonel of the Life Guards and Gold Stick-in-Waiting to Her Majesty the Queen (1999-), and Colonel Commandant of the SAS Regiment (2000-2009).

He was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in 1977, an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1980, a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1990, elevated to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 1994, and in 2001 he was elevated to a life peerage as Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank. The United States decorated him with the Legion of Merit in 2001.

A convert to Catholicism, he became a Knight of Malta in 1999 and was invested a Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great (KCSG) by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

He supports a number of charitable organisations and has sought to educate members of the government, the military, and the public about the ethics of what does, and does not, constitute a morally justified war.