Richard Nugee


Richard Edward Nugee, CB, CVO, CBE is a British Army officer. He has served in several senior roles including Defence Services Secretary and Chief of Defence People. He has been leading a review into climate change policy in the Military of Defence since March 2020.

Early life and education

Nugee was born on 3 June 1963 in Hampstead, England. He is the son of Edward Nugee, a notable barrister, and his wife Rachel, a Bletchley codebreaker and active lay Anglican. He was educated at Radley College, an all-boys public school near Radley, Oxfordshire. He studied at anthropology at Durham University, where he was a member of Grey College, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985. He later studied military affairs at King's College London, and completed a Master of Arts degree in 1995.

Military career

Nugee was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1985. He became commanding officer of 40th Regiment Royal Artillery in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq in that role. Promoted to brigadier, he was deployed with Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps to Afghanistan in 2006.
He went on to be Director of Manning in March 2009, Director General of Army Personnel in June 2012 and Chief of Staff in October 2013: in the latter role he was deployed as Chief of Staff, Combined Force Command, Afghanistan in November 2013. He was appointed Defence Services Secretary and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff in March 2015. Nugee was awarded the US Legion of Merit on 18 March 2016 for services in Afghanistan. Nugee was promoted to lieutenant general on 29 April 2016. On 12 May 2016, it was announced that Nugee would become the next Chief of the Defence People. Nugee handed over to then Major-General James Swift in February 2020. Since March 2020, he has led a review into climate change policy and sustainability in the Ministry of Defence.
Nugee was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 New Year Honours, a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 25 October 2016 and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2020 New Year Honours.