NEW YORK: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 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 13 August 2014. The Secretary-General pays tribute to Major General Liu´s service with UNFICYP, where his dedication, professionalism and leadership greatly contributed to the United Nations efforts in Cyprus.
“I congratulate Major-General Kristin Lund on her appointment as the new Force Commander of our peacekeeping operation in Cyprus. Today, she makes history at the United Nations,” Ban Ki-moon in his message said.
“In our six and a half decades of UN peacekeeping operations, we have had scores of male force commanders – but she is our first woman in that position.
“Today we shatter another glass ceiling – and we do it with commanding force!
“Our operation in Cyprus today becomes the first in the world to have dual female leadership. It is just one of five peacekeeping operations led by women – the highest proportion in our history.
“Force Commander Lund deserves this assignment. She has a long history of dedicating herself to UN peacekeeping going back to 1986 when she was deployed with the UN in Lebanon.
“I have found time and again that the best person for the job is often a woman.
“I am confident that today’s breakthrough is just the beginning – and we will not have to wait another 66 years for our next female Force Commander.
“To Major-General Lund, I say: Thank you, congratulations and good luck to you.”
Major General Lund has had a distinguished 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. She was appointed in 2014 to the Norwegian Defense Staff as head of the Veteran Affairs. 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 Defense Command and Staff College, the Norwegian Defense University College, and the US Army War College where she obtained a Master of Strategic Studies.
Born in 1958, Major General Kristin Lund is the first woman ever to serve as Force Commander in a United Nations peacekeeping operation.