Stavridis is also a bestselling author.[18] His bookThe Accidental Admiral, describing his time in the Navy, was published in October 2014.The Leader's Bookshelf, published in 2017, describes the top 50 books that, according to Stavridis, inspire better leadership. A second book published in 2017 calledSea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans[19] opened at No. 9 onThe Washington Post's non-fiction bestseller list.[20] His bookSailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character was published byPenguin Random House on October 15, 2019. His novel2034: A Novel of the Next World War, co-written withElliot Ackerman and published in March 2021,[21] debuted at No. 6 onThe New York Times Best Seller list. His book "The Sailor's Bookshelf: Fifty Books to Know the Sea" was published in November 2021 and "To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision" was published in May 2022.[22] The sequel to2034,2054: A Novel, co-written with Elliot Ackerman, was published in March 2024.[23] His novelThe Restless Wave: A Novel of the United States Navy was published by Penguin Random House in October 2025.[24] His bookThe Admiral's Bookshelf was published in March 2025.[25] His books have been published in twenty different languages.[26]
In his 2008 book,Destroyer Captain: Lessons of a First Command, Stavridis wrote:
In the early 1920s, my grandfather, a short, stocky Greek schoolteacher named Dimitrios Stavridis, was expelled from Turkey as part of 'ethnic cleansing' (readpogrom) directedagainst Greeks living in the remains of theOttoman Empire. He barely escaped with his life in a small boat crossing theAegean Sea toAthens and thence toEllis Island. His brother was not so lucky and was killed by theTurks as part of the violence directed at the Greek minority.
A NATO exercise off the coast of modern Turkey was the "most amazing historical irony [he] could imagine," and prompted Stavridis to write of his grandfather: "His grandson, who speaks barely a few words of Greek, returns in command of a billion-dollar destroyer to the very city—Smyrna, now calledİzmir—from which he sailed in a refugee craft all those years ago."[36]
ADM James G. Stavridis, former Commander, EUCOM, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, in 2014
Stavridis is a 1976 distinguished graduate of theUnited States Naval Academy. He is a careersurface warfare officer and served at sea inaircraft carriers,cruisers, anddestroyers. After serving with distinction as Operations Officer on the newly commissionedUSS Valley Forge, Stavridis served as Executive Officer on USS Antietam CG-54. Stavridis commanded destroyerUSS Barry from 1993 to 1995, completing deployments toHaiti,Bosnia, and thePersian Gulf.Barry won theBattenberg Cup as the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet under his command. In 1996–1997, he attended MIT Seminar XXI.[37] In 1998, he commanded Destroyer Squadron 21 and deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1998, winning the Navy League's John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership.
From 2002 to 2004, Stavridis commanded Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, conducting combat operations in the Persian Gulf in support of bothOperation Iraqi Freedom andOperation Enduring Freedom. Afterwards, as a vice admiral, Stavridis served as senior military assistant to the United States Secretary of Defense. On October 19, 2006, he became the first Navy officer to command theUnited States Southern Command inMiami,Florida. In July 2009, he became the 16thSupreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).[38] He retired as SACEUR in 2013.
Stavridis has long advocated the use of "smart power," which he defines as the balance of hard and soft power taken together. In numerous articles[40] and speeches, he has advocated creating security in the 21st century by building bridges, not walls. Stavridis has stressed the need to connect international, inter-agency, and public-private actors to build security, lining all of them with effective strategic communications. His message was articulated in his book"Partnership for the Americas", which was published by the NDU Press and was based on his time as Commander of the U.S. Southern Command from 2006–2009. The book was summarized in his2012 Ted Global talk in Scotland, which has been viewed more than 700,000 times online.
Based on an anonymous complaint, in early 2011 theDepartment of Defense Inspector General began investigating allegations that Stavridis "engaged in misconduct relating to official and unofficial travel and other matters." He was subsequently the subject of a May 3, 2012, report by the Inspector General,[41] and was later absolved of wrongdoing by theSecretary of the Navy on September 11, 2012. In a Memorandum for the Record,[42] Secretary of the NavyRay Mabus wrote that Stavridis "has consistently demonstrated himself to be a model naval officer and a devoted public servant whose motivation is to do that which is necessary and appropriate to advance the interests of the United States." Mabus concluded that "I have determined that ADM Stavridis never attempted to use his public office for private gain nor did he commit personal misconduct."[43]
Stavridis earned a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy in 1983, and a PhD in International Relations in 1984, fromThe Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy atTufts University, where he won the Gullion Prize as outstanding student. Stavridis is also 1992 distinguished graduate of the United StatesNational War College.
As dean, Stavridis initiated a strategic planning process, invited several high level speakers to the campus, and is focusing thematically on the Arctic, the role of women in international relations, synthetic biology and its impact on foreign affairs, cyber, and the role of online media and social networks in public diplomacy.[44]
Admiral Stavridis in the remote studio at The Fletcher School in 2016
Since leaving active duty, Stavridis has frequently appeared on major broadcast and cable television networks to comment on national security and foreign policy matters. He has frequently appeared on news networks like CNN,[45] Fox News,[46] BBC[47] and Bloomberg,[48] and was chief international diplomacy and national security analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.[49] He is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist[50] and senior military analyst for CNN[51] and has written hundreds of articles in many diverse publications including Time,[52] Nikkei Asian Review,[53] Foreign Policy,[54] Huffington World Post, and Proceedings, the magazine of the U.S. Naval Institute. Many of his media appearances and writings are linked from the news page of his personal website.[1]
Tufts University had a remote television studio installed[55] on the campus of The Fletcher School so that Stavridis and other faculty and administrators could easily make themselves available to the international media. In August 2016 NBC News named Stavridis as their "chief international security and diplomacy analyst."[56] Also in August 2016, according to Stavridis' official Twitter account,[57] he began a monthly column for Time.com.[58] The first column was about a "grand bargain" with Russia.[59]
Stavridis has also been a public speaker – among his many appearances are multiple appearances at the World Economic Forum[60] in Davos, Switzerland, the Munich Security Conference[61] in 2013, and lectures at Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, The University of Texas at Arlington, and many other universities. He has delivered the "Forrestal Lecture,"[62] a major address to the brigade of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy on four occasions.[63]
In July 2022 he was writer-in-residence at Hemingway House in Ketchum, Idaho[64] and was a featured speaker at the Sun Valley Writer's Conference in 2022[65] and 2021.[66] Stavridis gave the 2024 convocation speech at Virginia Military Institute.[67]
In January 2025, during renewedcalls for the United States to acquire Greenland by president-electDonald Trump, Stavridis made headlines for supporting Trump's proposal.[69][70] Commenting on the hypothetical acquisition, Stavridis added "It's not a crazy idea," continuing thatGreenland is "a strategic goldmine for the United States."[69][70]
Stavridis is on the board of several corporations and charitable organizations. In May 2021 he was named[7] Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation on which he had served since 2017.[71] He also serves on the Ankura,[72] Aon,[73] and Fortinet[74] Boards. Stavridis is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations[75] and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Stavridis has given several commencement and graduation addresses around the country at universities, including the U.S. Naval, War College in 2007,[76]U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 2008,[77][78] theUniversity of Miami in 2011,[79]Dickinson College in 2017,[80] and California State Maritime[81] Norwich University[82] in 2018, Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2019,[2] and Sewanee, The University of the South, in 2021,[83] The Citadel in 2022,[84] and Adelphi University in 2025.[85] He received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Tufts University in 2022.[86]
On December 8, 2016, Stavridis went to Trump Tower in New York City to meet with president-electDonald Trump. Following the meeting, Stavridis told reporters that they had discussed world events, cybersecurity and other matters.[92] Press accounts suggested he was under consideration for secretary of state or director of national intelligence.[93] On December 14, 2016, however, in an interview onMSNBC'sMorning Joe, Stavridis said that he would not be taking a position in the Trump administration.[94]
U.S. Army GeneralDavid H. Petraeus, right, with the U.S. Navy Admiral James G. Stavridis, commander of European Command and NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe inBrussels in 2011U.S. Navy AdmiralMike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army GeneralJohn Craddock and U.S. Navy Admiral James G. Stavridis, incoming commander, salute during the national anthem at the U.S. European Command change of command ceremony at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart in June 2009
The Naval Institute Press Author of the Year (2010).
TheIntrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's Intrepid Freedom Award, "presented to a national or international leader who has distinguished himself in promoting and defending the values of freedom and democracy" (2011).[107]
TheAFCEA's David Sarnoff Award, the group's highest honor, given "to recognize individuals who have made lasting and significant contributions to global peace" (2011).[108]
TheJewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) Henry M. Jackson Distinguished Service Award, given "in recognition of his service to the defense of the United States and our European allies, and for strengthening security cooperation with Israel" (2011).[111]
The Chian Federation's 33rd Annual Homeric Award (2012)[114]
The first recipient of the Distinguished Ally of the Israel Defense Forces Award presented by IDF Chief of Staff GeneralBenny Gantz April 11, 2013.[115]
Gold medal, Trinity, college historical Society, 2013[116]
Stimson Center Pragmatist + Idealist Award, for work "to strengthen international security by helping countries in the developing world improve the lives of their people" (2013).[117]
The Alpha Omega Council's Lifetime Achievement Award, given to a distinguishedGreek American citizen (2015)[118]
Selected as a 2023 United States Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate by the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation[129]
Mystic Seaport Museum "America and the Sea Award" October 4, 2023[130]
National Committee on American Foreign Policy Hans Morganthau Award, 2023, November 14, 2023[131]
In March 2024, he was selected as a Winston Churchill Fellow by the International Churchill Society, and gave the annual Churchill lecture at Westminster College[132]
Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame Class of 2024 inductee, February 7, 2025[134]
2025 Lone Sailor Award, "given to Sea Service veterans who have excelled with distinction in their respective careers during or after their service," September 9, 2025.[3]
In 2020, character traits developed by Stavridis were used as the basis for a business fable by Amy S. Hamilton, called the Consummate Communicator: Character Traits of True Professionals, which provides a guide for how to interact in the workplace. In it, Jay Admiral, a character based on Stavridis, shares fundamental behaviors that improve working environments. Stavridis wrote the foreword for the book.[135] In October 2023. Stavridis posted on X a brief clip from the Showtime drama "Billions" in which the character played by Damian Lewis asks another character, played by Corey Stoll, if he has been "reading your Stavridis."[4] Stavridis is the subject of a 2024 biography by Dr. Stanley Carpenter published by the US Naval Institute titled: "Admiral James Stavridis: Sailor, Scholar, Leader"[136]
^Carpenter, Stanley D. M. (April 4, 2024).Admiral James Stavridis: Sailor, Scholar, Leader (First ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-1-68247-520-1.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the United States Navy
