Biographical Note

Secretary-General Names India’s Lieutenant General Chander Prakash Force Commander

 

for UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Chander Prakash (India), as Force Commander for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).

He will succeed Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye (Senegal), whom the Secretary-General would like to thank for his long service with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) during a critical period.  His effective leadership of the Mission’s military component has allowed MONUC/MONUSCO to make important progress towards the return of peace and security in the country.

Currently in charge of United Nations peacekeeping operations at India’s Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant General Prakash has served his country in a distinguished military career spanning some 37 years.  He trained at India’s National Defence and Military Academies prior to being commissioned into the artillery branch of the Indian Armed Forces in 1973.  He subsequently held a series of increasingly senior military positions, including Defence Attaché in Paris for three years, and Senior Sector Operations Officer with the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG).

Born in 1953, he is married and has two daughters.

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For information media • not an official record