Secretary-General Appoints Major General José Eladio Alcaín of Uruguay Head, Chief Military Observer for United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan

United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Major General José Eladio Alcaín of Uruguay as Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).

Major General Alcaín will succeed Major General Per Gustaf Lodin of Sweden, who will complete his two‑year assignment in July 2018.  The Secretary‑General is grateful to Major General Lodin for his contribution to United Nations peacekeeping efforts.

Major General Alcaín has had a distinguished career with the Uruguayan Army since 1977.  Most recently, he held the position of Director of the National Health Service of the Armed Forces (2015‑2018).  Prior to this, he served as Third Mechanized Cavalry Brigade Commander and as Director of the Architecture and Engineering Section of the National Health Service of the Armed Forces (2012‑2013).  He also worked as an instructor at the Uruguayan Peacekeeping Training Centre (2000‑2017) and the Uruguayan War College (2003‑2018).

Major General Alcaín has extensive peacekeeping experience, having served in five peacekeeping operations, including the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) (1994‑1995); United Nations Angola Verification Mission III (UNAVEM) (1996-1997); United Nations Iraq‑Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) (1999-2000); United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) (2003‑2004); and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) (2006‑2007 and 2011‑2012).

He graduated from the Uruguayan War College and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in political science from the Uruguayan National University.  He has also attended the United Nations Senior Mission Leaders course in 2017.

Born in Uruguay in 1961, he is married and has two children.