Lieutenant General Jean-Louis PY was born on December 29, 1948 in Saint-Mandé (Seine-et-Marne), France.
He joined the Military Academy of Saint-Cyr in 1968 and was commissioned three years later as a Mechanized Infantry Officer. His military education includes completion of the Staff College course (1983), after obtaining a Masters Degree in Physics and Chemistry at the University of Grenoble, and the Advanced Studies course for Armaments (1990). He has assumed various operational responsibilities in Germany, Italy and France, as well as Staff appointments, in particular as the head of the military equipment export office at the General Secretariat for National Defence.
As a junior officer, he served from 1971 to 1977 at the 8th Mechanized Infantry Battalion stationed in Germany, the Infantry school and the 8th Infantry Battalion where he became a company commander. As a field grade officer, he was sent to the Army Staff as an NBC specialist before becoming the officer in charge of operations and training of the 8th Mechanized Infantry Battalion at Wittlich, Germany. In 1989, he came back to the Army Staff at the head of the NBC Office of the General Studies Department, before taking the Advanced Studies course for Armaments. The following year, he was sent to the Office of the Defence Minister as an expert in forces re-restructuring. In July 1992, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 16th Mechanized Infantry Battalion at Saarburg, Germany.
In 1994, he was assigned to the General Secretariat for National Defence (Scientific and Sensitive Technology Transfers Department) and served as the head of the military equipment export office. From December 1995 to June 1996, he was head of the Planning cell of IFOR HQ in Bosnia. In September 1996, he became assistant to the executive officer of the chief of the Army Staff.
On promotion to Brigadier General in 1998, he was sent to HQ EUROFOR in Florence, Italy, where he served as the Chief of Staff. He was promoted to Major General in August 2001 and he has assumed the responsibilities of Chief of Staff of the French Land Forces Command at Lille.
On September 01, 2003 he was promoted Lieutenant General.
Since September 04, 2003 he has been the sixth Commanding General of the Eurocorps.
Lieutenant General PY's awards include the Legion of Honour (Officer) and the National Order of Merit (Knight).
He is married and the father of four.