Leo Beulen
Leo Beulen (born 1960) is a retired Dutch lieutenant-general who served as the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army from March 24, 2016, to August 28, 2019.
Beulen began his military career in 1978 at the Royal Military Academy, Breda, graduating in 1982 and becoming a second lieutenant in the armored anti-aircraft artillery. He started as a platoon commander with the 12 Armoured Anti-aircraft Artillery battery in Nunspeet. After studying at the Netherlands Defence College for Advanced Military Studies, he was promoted to major in 1993 and led the Operations Office (G3) for the Dutch Corps. In 1995 he served as the chief assistant to the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.
He then attended the Command and General Staff College in Kansas and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1998, teaching at the Netherlands Defence College. In 1999 he chaired Allied Joint Operations NATO and commanded the 25 Section Armoured Anti-aircraft Artillery, including service in Bosnia. He worked in the General Policy Division of the Army Staff in 2002 and was promoted to colonel in 2003.
From 2005 he commanded the Air Defence Artillery Command, later becoming a brigadier general. In 2009 he was director of the Joint Coordination Centre NATO in Heidelberg and head of the J3 at ISAF HQ in Afghanistan. Returning to the Netherlands, he became Operations Director in the Defence Staff HQ as a major general in 2012. In 2014 he was deputy commander of 1 Division Germany/Netherlands Corps in Münster.
Beulen was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Commander of the Netherlands Army on March 24, 2016, a position he held until his retirement in 2019. He is married to Annemiek Beulen and they have three children.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:44 (CET).