General
Dick Lodewijk Berlijn (born March 18, 1950 in
Amsterdam) is a retired
Royal Netherlands Air Force four-star
general, who served as
Chief of Defence of the
Netherlands (
Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff) from 2004, when he succeeded Lt. Adm.
Luuk Kroon, until 2008, when he was succeeded by Gen.
Peter van Uhm. In 2005, the post was renamed from
Chef-Defensiestaf to
Commandant der Strijdkrachten ("Commander of the Armed Forces") following a reorganisation, but the term "Chief of Defence Staff" is still the one usually used in English translations. His office saw Dutch military presence in
Uruzgan with
ISAF, as well as naval contributions to the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, among other interventions. He has been awarded with the
Légion d'honneur and the
Legion of merit, and the
Order of Orange-Nassau, all in the degree of commander, and the Order of Orange-Nassau with swords. Berlijn graduated from the
Koninklijke Militaire Academie in 1973.