General Sir Samuel Cowan KCB CBE (born 9 October 1941) is a former Quartermaster-General to the Forces.

Educated at Lisburn Technology College and the Open University, Cowan was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals in 1963.

[1] In 1989 he was selected to be Commandant of the Royal Military College of Science[2] and then in 1991 he became Assistant Chief of Defence Staff, Operational Requirements (Land Systems).

[12][13] Cowan is a frequent and prolific contributor to The Record (Nepal), an independent digital publication from Kathmandu.

[14] He has written over a dozen articles for the publication on a wide range of Nepal-related subjects, including the history of the Rana regime,[15][16][17] reflections on the British Gurkhas,[18] border issues between Nepal and India,[19] and those between Nepal and China.