Rear Admiral Tanguy Botman

Chief of Navy Belgian Navy

Tanguy Botman joined the Royal Military Academy in 1986 where he graduated in nautical and military sciences. From 1991 to 1997, he served on several mine hunters, frigates and subsequently served on board of the French Ship Jeanne D'Arc (1997-2000). In 2004 he took Command of the minehunter "M921 Lobelia", participating to Mine Counter Measures Operations in the Baltic Sea. In 2005, he became Second in Command of the Belgian frigate "Wandelaar" to conduct the handover to Bulgaria. After his graduation at the Royal Defence College – Brussels, he joined the bi-national Staff of Admiral BENELUX in Den Helder, where he assumed the function of Staff Operations Officer for three years. In 2010, he served, also for three years, in the NATO Maritime Force Headquarter (HRF-M) in Toulon as a warfare staff officer, participating to several staff deployments in Mediterranean Sea (Libya), Indian Ocean (CTF 150) and of the French Carrier Strike Group. In 2013 Commander Botman was designated Commanding Officer of the Belgian Navy's frigate F930 LEOPOLD I, with which he took part to the EU counter piracy operation ATALANTA off the Horn of Africa and in the Indian Ocean, and to the Maritime Capability Building in West-Africa. In April 2015, Captain Tanguy Botman was appointed to the Defence Staff, inside the Governance and Policy Support cell where he covered all Navy, Medical and Competence Development related issues for the implementation of the MOD Strategic Plan. In August 2017, after six months in the NATO Defence College, he joined Den Helder again, where he was Director Operations of the Belgian Navy until 2019. In 2019, he worked as Director of the Navy Policy Staff in Brussels, responsible for the long-term development of the Navy. In 2020, he became the Chief of Staff of the Belgian Navy Component. From the 1st of March until the 6th of July, he temporarily promoted as Flotilla Admiral to assume the Force Command of the Operation AGENOR of the European-led mission EMASOH. Since the 7th of July 2022, he returned to his function of Chief of Staff of the Belgian Navy. From the 28th of June 2023, he assumed the Command of the Belgian Navy as the Chief of Navy.