He served as Chief of Staff of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, from 2000 to 2002, and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2002 to 2005.

Kujat was born in Mielke, Reichsgau Wartheland (today Poland) to a farmer who died as a soldier in World War II.

Since July 2016, Kujat is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Berlin-based Research Institute Dialogue of Civilizations[4] (DOC), allegedly financed by Vladimir Yakunin.

[9] In 2024 he signed a "joint declaration" with Michael von der Schulenburg in support of China's peace plan, arguing that Ukraine "can no longer win the war, even with more weapons.

"[10] While former high ranking officers of the Bundeswehr are meant to refrain from political comments, Harald Kujat made several public statements in context with the Russian invasion of Ukraine of 2022 and the role of western nations in it.