The chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, participated on Friday, 12 June, in the change of command ceremony of the HQ MND-SE by Brigadier General Cristian Dan. Brigadier General Cristian Dan took over the command from the Bulgarian Brigadier General Plamen Yordanov, who was commander of the division since March 2020.

Brigadier General Cristian Dan had been commander of the Multinational Brigade South East since August 2017. On 1 December 2018, he was promoted to brigadier general, when, as commander of the Multinational Brigade South East, coordinated the Multinational Exercise SCORPIONS FURY 2018, in order to certify the NATO command.

He is a veteran of the theater of operations, having executed missions in Iraq (2004) and Afghanistan (2010 and 2013 commander of 2 Maneuver Battalion).

In 2015, he got his Master's Degree in Strategic Studies after having graduated the US Army War College Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

For special merits, Brigadier general Dan was awarded the National order Virtutea Militara in the rank of officer and the NATO-Non article 5 Medal for ISAF Operation .

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HQ Multinational Division South East (HQ MND-SE) is a NATO structure activated by the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and is under the operational command (OPCOM) of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

Following the NAC's decision, HQ MND-SE enjoys the status of a NATO international military command in accordance with the Paris Protocol and the additional agreements among the NATO countries and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE).

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