Ewan Jamieson


Sir David Ewan Jamieson, was a senior commander in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1979 to 1983, and Chief of the Defence Staff from 1983 to 1986.

Air force career

Jamieson joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1949, served on an exchange posting to Germany in 1954, and held command posts by the end of the 1950s. Achieving air officer rank in 1974, his senior appointments were from 1974 to 1978 Air Officer Commanding RNZAF Operations Group. Thereafter he was Deputy Chief of Defence Staff. This was followed by a period as the professional head of the RNZAF, the Chief of the Air Staff from 1979 to 1983 and a period as New Zealand's most senior military appointment, the Chief of the Defence Staff until his retirement in 1986. During his time as CDS, Jamieson tried to avoid a controversy with the United States over the then Labour government's decision to ban nuclear vessels from visiting New Zealand and preserve the ANZUS defence treaty. In the end Jamieson's compromise solution of accepting a non-nuclear US Navy vessel into New Zealand's waters was not accepted by the government.

Honours

In 1977, Jamieson was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. In the 1981 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1967 Queen’s Birthday Honours, and promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1986 New Year Honours.