Secretary-General Appoints Patrick Gauchat of Switzerland Head of Mission, Chief of Staff, United Nations Truce Supervision Organization

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Patrick Gauchat of Switzerland as Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).  He succeeds Kristin Lund of Norway to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service.  The Secretary-General also thanks Alan Doyle for serving as Acting Head of Mission of UNTSO.

Mr. Gauchat, who holds the rank of Major General, brings 27 years of experience working at the national and international levels, including a military career serving his Government and the United Nations in leadership positions.  Notably, he served as Senior Military Liaison Officer at United Nations Headquarters in New York (2014-2016) and Deputy Chief of Staff of UNTSO (2011-2013), as well as UNTSO Military Observer in the Observer Group Golan and Liaison Officer in the UNTSO Liaison Office in Egypt (2000).

Mr. Gauchat most recently headed Switzerland’s delegation to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in Panmunjom, on the Korean Peninsula (2017-2021), and served as Deputy Commander of the First Territorial Division, Swiss Army (2016-2017).  He also served as Commander of the Northern Sector for the Kosovo multinational security force (KFOR), Joint Regional Detachment North (2013-2014); Deputy Commander Tenth Mountain Infantry Brigade (2014-2015), Swiss Army; and Battalion Commander in the Swiss Army’s mountain infantry, including several positions as Chief of Operations.

Mr. Gauchat holds a Master of Science degree in engineering from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.  He is fluent in English, French, German and Spanish.