David Arthur Granger (born 15 July 1945) is a Guyanese politician and retired military officer who served for a time as Commander of the Guyana Defence Force. He is the current President of the Republic of Guyana

David Granger retired from military service with the rank of a Brigadier in 1994 after serving as National Security Adviser to the President (1990-94), and as Commander of the Guyana Defence Force (1979-90).

Early life and education

After leaving Queen’s College, where he was a member of the Queen’s College Cadet Corps, Brigadier Granger joined the GDF as an officer cadet in 1965, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1966. He received his professional military training at the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria; the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil; and the School of Infantry and the Mons Officer Cadet School, respectively, in the United Kingdom.

Career

During Brigadier Granger's military service, he held a variety of appointments, including Planning Officer for the establishment of the Guyana National Service (1973-74), and the Guyana People’s Militia (1976-77). Brigadier Granger also led military delegations to Brazil, Cuba, Germany, Guinea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Somalia and the former Yugoslavia.

Brigadier Granger graduated with a Master of Social Science degree in Political Science, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, from the University of Guyana, and the post-graduate diploma in International Relations from the University of the West Indies. He was also an International Fellow on the Defense Planning and Resource Management Seminar at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies of the National Defense University, and attended the Counterterrorism Educators’ Workshop at the Joint Special Operations University, Florida, USA.

Brigadier Granger has presented several papers on defense and security topics to international and national academic conferences including: “Civil Violence, Domestic Terrorism and Internal Security in Guyana, 1953-2003”; “Convention and Convenience: A Preliminary Study of Women Soldiers in the Anglophone Caribbean with Special Reference to the Women’s Army Corps of the Guyana Defence Force, 1967-2002”; and, "Defence and Diplomacy in the Subordinate System: The Experience of Guyana.”

David Granger is a former member of the Disciplined Forces Commission; co-Chairman of the Border and National Security Committee; member of the National Security Strategy Planning Committee; Chairman of the Central Intelligence Committee; member of the National Drug Law Enforcement Committee; and member of the Guyana Defence Board.

Honours and awards

Brigadier Granger received the Military Service Star, Military Service Medal, Efficiency Medal, Border Defence Medal, and other service awards.