New Force Commander of Unficyp named
UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Major General Ingrid Gjerde of Norway as the new Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (Unficyp).
A statement on Wednesday from the UN’s headquarters in New York said: “Major General Gjerde succeeds Major General Cheryl Pearce of Australia,
to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedication and leadership during her two years of service.
“Major General Gjerde has had a distinguished career in the Norwegian Defence Force, currently serving as Head of Strategic Plans.
“She was previously Chief of Public Affairs for the Norwegian Defence (2018-2019) as well as Chief of Staff and second in command of the Norwegian army (2016-2018).
“She headed the Army Military Academy (2013-2016) and led her country’s contingent deployed to Afghanistan (2011-2012).
“Among other postings, she commanded the Norwegian King’s Battalion (2006-2009) and was deployed within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) commanding a Norwegian platoon (19941995).
“She is a graduate of the Norwegian Military academy as well as from the US Army command and staff college and from the US Army War college. She holds a master’s degree (Cand. Polit.) from Oslo University.” p THE TRNC and Turkish foreign ministries have issued statements condemning the appointment of Major General Gjerde, saying the Turkish Cypriot side was not consulted.