UN first as woman appointed UNFICYP commander

THE United Nation’s first ever female commander of a UN peacekeeping force is to be appointed in Cyprus.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday announced the appointment of Major General Kristin Lund of Norway, as the force commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

Major General Lund will replace the outgoing force commander, Major General Chao Liu of China on August 13.

According to a press release, the secretary-general paid tribute to Major General Liu´s service with UNFICYP, “where his dedication, professionalism and leadership greatly contributed to the United Nations efforts in Cyprus”.

Born in 1958, Major General Lund has had a long military career, with over 34 years of military command and staff experience at national and international levels. As brigadier general, she served as deputy commander of the Norwegian army forces command from 2007 to 2009.

In 2009, she was the first female army officer to be promoted to the rank of Major General and was appointed chief of staff of the Norwegian Home Guard.

Her previous experience with the United Nations includes service with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR).

Major General Lund has extensive experience in multinational operations, including deployment to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Headquarters in Afghanistan.

Major General Lund graduated from the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College, the Norwegian Defence University College, and the US Army War College where she obtained a Master of Strategic Studies.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.