James George Stavridis, PhD (born 15 February 1955) is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the 15th Commander, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and NATO's 16th Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). Stavridis is the first Navy officer to have held these positions. Previously, he served as Commander, U.S. Southern Command from 19 October 2006, to 25 June 2009. He served as COMEUCOM and SACEUR from 30 June 2009 (USEUCOM) and 2 July 2009 (SACEUR) respectively, to 10 May 2013 and 13 May 2013, respectively. On 6 May 2013, ADM Stavridis was named as the 12th Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a position he took up on July 1, 2013. In addition, he became Chairman of the Board of the U.S. Naval Institute in July 2013.