Lt Gen Sir John Gordon Lorimer, KCB, DSO, MBE

Sir John Lorimer joined the British Army in 1981 and was commissioned into The Parachute Regiment a year later. He served in all three regular Parachute Regiment battalions and commanded 3 PARA from 2000 to 2003. His service saw operational deployments in Northern Ireland, Iraq, the broader Middle East and Afghanistan.

At higher command, Sir John commanded 12th Mechanized Brigade in Iraq and Afghanistan and 3rd (United Kingdom) Division. He also completed a year-long tour in Kabul as Deputy Commander of the NATO force. He was Chief of Joint Operations for 3 years, commanding all of the UK Armed Forces global operations. His final military appointment was as Defence Senior Adviser Middle East and North Africa, a role he held for three years. He was Colonel Commandant of The Parachute Regiment for 7 years from 2014 – 2021. He left the Army in August 2021.

Sir John is currently the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. He is married to Philippa and they have three grown-up sons. His outside interests include shooting, deer stalking, most sports, especially rugby, skiing, walking and history.