Teodoro Esteban López Calderón

Teodoro Esteban López Calderón (born 3 May 1954, Cartagena, Spain) is a Spanish Navy Admiral General who serves as the 12th and current Chief of the Defence Staff of the Spanish Armed Forces since January 27, 2021. Previously, he served as Admiral Chief of Staff of the Navy from 2017 and 2021.

Teodoro Esteban López Calderón
Chief of the Defence Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 January 2021
Monarch	Felipe VI
Prime Minister	Pedro Sánchez
Preceded by	Miguel Ángel Villarroya
Admiral Chief of Staff of the Navy
In office 1 April 2017 – 27 January 2021
Monarch	Felipe VI
Prime Minister	Mariano Rajoy (2017–2018) Pedro Sánchez (2018–present)
Preceded by	Jaime Muñoz-Delgado
Succeeded by	Fausto Escrigas Rodríguez (Acting)
Personal details
Born	Teodoro Esteban López Calderón May 3, 1954 Cartagena, Francoist Spain
Nationality	Spanish
Alma mater	Escuela Naval Militar
Military service
Allegiance	Spain
Branch/service	Spanish Navy
Years of service	1973—present
Rank	Admiral General
Commands	Villaamil (P-04) Cataluña (F73) 2nd Minesweeper Squadron 41st Escort Squadron Naval Action Group 2 Admiral Chief of Staff of the Navy Chief of the Defence Staff
Battles/wars	Operation Active Endeavor

Biography

López Calderón was born in 1954 in the city of Cartagena and joined the Spanish Navy after graduating at the Escuela Naval Militar in 1973. He is a specialist in electronics, tactics and weapons systems. He also completed various courses locally and abroad, such as the Senior Course at the NATO Defense College, the Navy General Staff Course, Electronics Expert courses, and the Tactical Action Office course. [1]

Throughout his naval career, he held the command of the Villaamil (P-04) patrol vessel, the 2nd Minesweeper Squadron , the frigate Cataluña (F73), the 41st Escort Squadron (Frigates), and the Naval Action Group 2. During the latter, López Calderón took part in Operation Active Endeavor, as the 2nd Group included the Spanish surface ships that were assigned to the mission.[2] He also served on various ships of the Spanish Navy, such as the Descubierta (F31), the Asturias (F74), the Extremadura (F75), and the Numancia (F83).

He also served as the Chief of Staff of the 21st Escort Squadron and as a Staff member of the "Delta" Group, a task group in charge of monitoring the maritime borders of the Basque Country to prevent weapons smuggling and against the clandestine trafficking of terrorist related operations.[1] He also served at the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command on 1997, and the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, and as the Chief of the General Staff for Operations and Deputy Chief of the General Staff at the Operations Command. He also served as the President of the Spanish Section of the Hispano-North American Standing Committee, and also served at the Headquarters of the Strategic Plans Section of the Plans Division of the Navy General Staff and Operations of the Naval Operational Command Staff. From 1987 to 1996 he served as an elective member of the Electronic Warfare Doctrine Board of the Navy.[3]

He also served a technical adviser to the Minister of Defense and head of the Navy General Staff's strategic planning section. López Calderón also served as the Chief of the General Staff for Operations and Deputy Chief of the General Staff at the Operations Command on the Defence Staff.[4]

He was appointed by the Council of Ministers as the replacement of Admiral General Jaime Muńoz-Delgado on 31 March 2017 as the new Chief of Staff of the Navy.[2][4] In January 2021, after the resignation of JEMAD Miguel Ángel Villarroya, he was appointed as the 12th Chief of Staff of the Spanish Armed Forces.[5]

Awards and decorations

 Spain

• Grand Cross of Naval Merit
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Civil Guard
• Grand Cross of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegildo
• Commander with Star of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegildo
• Commander of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegildo
• Cross of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegildo
• Cross of Military Merit
• Cross of Naval Merit
• Cross of the Order Guard Merit of the Civil Guard
• Cross of the Order Police Merit

 United States

• Meritorious Service Medal

 France

• Chevalier of the Order of National Merit of the French Republic

 NATO

• NATO Meritorious Service Medal
• Article 5 Medal for Operation Active Endeavor

Personal life

He is married with five children and also has two grandchildren. He can speak fluent English along with his native Spanish.[4]

References

1. "CHIEF OF DEFENSE (CHOD) - EMAD". emad.defensa.gob.es. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
2. http://www.galiciaartabradigital.com/archivos/154501 El almirante general Teodoro López Calderón nombrado nuevo AJEMA (in Spanish). GaliciaArtabra. Published 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
3. "Teodoro Esteban López Calderón". Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre (in Spanish). 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
4. El cartagenero Teodoro López, nuevo almirante jefe de Estado Mayor de la Armada (in Spanish). Laverdad. Published 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
5. Roscoe, Matthew (2021-01-26). "Spain's Defence Minister Margarita Robles appoints new JEMAD". Euro Weekly News Spain. Retrieved 2021-01-27.