Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark
About Hans Jesper Helsø
- Hans Jesper Helsø (born July 9, 1948), is a former Danish Chief of Defence.Helsø served his conscription in 1968 and initially became sergeant and officer of the reserve.
- In 1974 he becomes lieutenant and served the following four years at King's Artillery Regiment.
- In 1982-83 he is - as a captain - at the General Staff Course in the United States.
- In 1990 he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel and come back to the artillery as Head of Department for a few years.
- After a short staff service at the Army Operational Command, he became Head of the King's Artillery Regiment between 1994 and 1996.
- In 2000-02, he is Chief of the Army Operational Command, and then Chief of Operations and Planning Staffs until his appointment as Chief of Defence.
- In August 2008 Helsø reached the army's age-limit and was replaced by Tim Sloth Jørgensen.His service has been supplemented with a few international missions; first in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1979 and then UNPROFOR in the Balkans in 1995.In 2002 - a few months before planned - Helsø had to step in as Chief of Defence as a result of Christian Hvidt's early resignation.
- His period as Chief of Defence is marked by the Defence moving from being a mobilization defense to be a conscription based professional defense, in which overseas missions form a significant part of the effort.
- The planning of this change occurred in the Defence's own management and is described in the episode K-notatet in the TV series Magtens Billeder. After his time as Chief of Defense Helsø engaged in organizations related to the military, including as a member of Soldier Scholarship Award Committee and on the board of the YMCA Soldiers Mission. Helsø is married and has four children.
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