Esmeralda BERGHEN
Senior Captain
Director of the departement Productions, Public Relations and Support
Biography
Senior Captain Esmeralda Berghen was born in Leuven on 22 October 1975. After completing her secondary studies at the Royal Atheneum of Aarschot (Flemish Brabant), she combined her studies of marketing and photography with her job in the private sector, in the field of marketing and sales.
After twelve years of working in the private sector, she started her military career in 2006 and graduated from the Royal Military Academy with the 146th Promotion Social and Military Sciences in 2011. After her training at the CIS school in Peutie, she was assigned to the 6th Group Communication and Information Systems (6 Gp CIS) in Peutie, where she successively served as platoon commander, second-in-command of the company and HR officer.
From 2016 to 2020, she was director of the Productions, Public Relations and Support (PRS) Department of the Royal Higher Institute for Defence (RHID) as well as HR officer. In that same period, she obtained her master “Spécialisation en gestion des risques et bien-être au travail (aspects psychosociaux du travail)” (Specialisation in risk management and well-being in the workplace (psychosociological aspects of working)) at the University of Liège (ULiège), after which she accepted the challenge of being prevention advisor (psychological aspects) within the Belgian Defence.
After four years, in 2024, Esmeralda came back to the RHID to take office as Director of the PRS Department and HR officer.
Esmeralda Berghen lives in Aarschot and is a great animal lover. She shares her home with her Chow Chow, three Shiba Inus and two cats. She spends her free time between her activities as an event organiser, DJ and photographer.