Biographical Note

Secretary-General Appoints Major General Juha Kilpia of Finland

 

to Head United Nations Truce Supervision Organization

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Major General Juha Kilpia of Finland as Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).

Major General Kilpia will succeed Major General Robert Mood of Norway, who completed his assignment in February.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Major General Mood’s dedicated service and dynamic leadership of UNTSO over the past two years.

Major General Kilpia brings to his new position extensive command experience and knowledge of peacekeeping and crisis management attained through service at the national and international levels, including in United Nations peacekeeping operations.  Major General Kilpia was Chief of Staff of the Army Command Finland since 2009 and earlier served as the Military Representative of Finland to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels.

Major General Kilpia also served as Chief of Operations in United Nations peacekeeping operations, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 1991 and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in 1993, during which he worked closely with UNTSO Military Observers in the respective Missions.

Commissioned in the Army Command Finland in 1977, Major General Kilpia attended the Finnish War College from 1985-1987, the United Nations Staff Officer Course and several other international military training programmes, including the NATO School in Germany and the NATO Defense College in Italy.

Born in Finland in 1953, Major General Kilpia is married with one daughter.

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For information media • not an official record