A Florida native, Jim Stavridis attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, and spent 37 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 counter 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. He was the longest serving Combatant Commander in recent US history. Following his military career, he served for five years as the 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

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. Admiral Stavridis was promoted directly from 1-star rank to 3-star rank in 2004.

He won the Battenberg Cup for commanding the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet and the Navy League John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational leadership, along with more than 50 US and international medals and decorations, including 28 from foreign nations. He also commanded a Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Strike Group, both in combat.

In 2016, he was vetted for Vice President by Secretary Hillary Clinton, and subsequently invited to Trump Tower to discuss a cabinet position with President Donald Trump.

He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning the Gullion prize as outstanding student in his class in 1983, as well as academic honors from the National and Naval War Colleges as a distinguished student.  In December 2022 the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association recognized him as one of Annapolis’ distinguished graduates. He speaks Spanish and French.

Admiral Stavridis has published thirteen books on leadership, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. While a Navy commander in 1995 he was named “U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings Author of the Year.”  In 2010 he was named U.S. Naval Institute Press Author of the Year.”  In July 2022 he was proud to be a “writer-in-residence” at the Hemingway House in Ketchum, Idaho.

His books have sold over 500,000 copies worldwide and have been published in more than twenty different languages. An active user of social networks, he has tens of thousands of connections on the social networks. His TED talk on 21st century security in 2012 has had over one million views. He tweeted the end of combat operations in the Libyan NATO intervention. His memoir of the NATO years, “The Accidental Admiral,” was released in October 2014, and he had two books out in 2017: “The Leader’s Bookshelf: 50 Books That Make Us Better Leaders” in March and “Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the Oceans” in June. His tenth book, and first novel, “2034: A Novel of the Next World War” (co-written with Elliot Ackerman) was published on March 9, 2021 and debuted as #6 on the New York Times fiction bestseller list. “The Sailor’s Bookshelf: Fifty Books to Know the Sea” was published in November 2021. “To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision” was published in May 2022. His second novel, “2054, ” written with Elliot Ackerman was published in March 2024.

He is currently Partner and Vice Chairman, Global Affairs of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm and is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation.

Admiral Stavridis is Chair Emeritus 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. He is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and Chief International Security Analyst for NBC News.

He is proud to have been sanctioned by the Kremlin on November 11, 2022 — in recognition of his enormous contempt for Vladimir Putin’s regime.

He is happily married to Laura, and they have two daughters – one working at Google and the other a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and former naval officer, both married to physicians.  Wondering how to pronounce “Stavridis”? The Admiral gives a brief tutorial here.

U.S. Military Decorations

Defense Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster

Navy Distinguished Service Medal

Defense Superior Service Medal

Legion of Merit with four gold award stars

Meritorious Service Medal with two gold award stars

Joint Service Commendation Medal

Navy Commendation Medal with three gold award stars

Navy Achievement Medal

Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster

Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation with 2 bronze service stars

Navy “E” Ribbon w/ Wreathed Battle E device

Navy Expeditionary Medal

National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one bronze service stars

Southwest Asia Service Medal with one bronze service star

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Armed Forces Service Medal with two bronze service stars

Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with one silver and two bronze service stars

Navy & Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze service star

Navy Expert Rifleman Medal

Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal

International Decorations

Commander’s degree, National Order of the Legion of Honour of France

Grand Cross Order of the Crown (Belgium)

Grand Cross Order of the Phoenix (Greece)

Commendation Ministry of Defense: “Cross of Merit and Honour First Class” (Greece)

Estonian Order of the Cross of the Eagle First Class

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Knight Grand Cross of the Republic

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knight Commander’s Cross with Star

Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

The Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary

Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit (Poland)

Order of Duke Trpimir (Croatia)

Cross of Commander of the Order for Merits to Lithuania[69]

Investiture Medal of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.[

Order of Naval Merit (Argentina)

Order of Naval Merit in the degree of Grand Officer (Brazil)

Cruz de la Victoria (Chile)

Order of Naval Merit Admiral Padilla (Colombia)

Order of the Peruvian Cross of Naval Merit in the rank of Grand Cross along with a White Ribbon (Peru)

The Emblem of Honor of the General Staff of Romania

Medal of Honorary Recognition of Latvia

Military Merit Grand Cross Medal of the Portuguese Republic

Order of Vakhtang Gorgasali – I Rank (Georgia)

Albanian Medal of Gratitude

Slovenian Medal for multinational cooperation 1st grade

Navy National Defense Cross (Guatemala)

Grand Cross (Dominican Republic)

NATO Meritorious Service Medal

NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

The Distinguished Graduate Leadership Awardof the Naval War College, given annually to a graduate of the college who has “attained positions of prominence in the field of national security” (2003).

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum‘s Intrepid Freedom Award, “presented to a national or international leader who has distinguished himself in promoting and defending the values of freedom and democracy” (2011).

The AFCEA‘s David Sarnoff Award, the group’s highest honor, given “to recognize individuals who have made lasting and significant contributions to global peace” (2011).

The Archons of the Ecumenical PatriarchateOrder of St. Andrew the Apostle’s Athenagoras Human Rights Award, accepted on behalf of the U.S. armed forces (2011).

The Navy League of the United States‘s Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement(2011).

The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs(JINSA) Henry M. Jackson Distinguished Service Award, given “in recognition of his service to the defense of the United States and our European allies, and for strengthening security cooperation with Israel” (2011).

The Atlantic Council‘s Distinguished Military Leadership Award (2011).

The Business Executives for National Security‘s Eisenhower Award (2012).

The Chian Federation’s 33rd Annual Homeric Award (2012).

The first recipient of the Distinguished Ally of the Israel Defense Forces Award presented by IDF Chief of Staff General Benny Gantz April 11, (2013).

Stimson CenterPragmatist + Idealist Award, for work “to strengthen international security by helping countries in the developing world improve the lives of their people” (2013).

The Alpha Omega Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award, given to a distinguished Greek American citizen (2015).

The Naval Order of the United States‘s Distinguished Sea Service Award, for “professional leadership and support to the Sea Services of the United States of America” (2015).

The Truce Foundation of the USA awarded him their inaugural “Building Bridges Award” at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The Washington Institute 2016 Scholar-Statesman Award.

Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award, (2017).

Ellis Island Medal of Honor Recipient (2017).

The American Veterans Center (2017) Andrew Goodpaster Prize.

Society for International Development Award for Leadership in Development, December 8, (2017).

Leadership 100 Conference “Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence,” February 3, (2018).