United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday announced the appointment of Lt Gen Mohan Subramanian of India as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). He succeeds Lt Gen Shailesh Tinaikar also from India.
“Lt Gen Subramanian succeeds Lt Gen Shailesh Tinaikar of India to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his tireless dedication, invaluable service and effective leadership as UNMISS Force Commander,” a statement from the Secretary General’s office said. He is presently serving as the Commandant of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington from February 01, 2022, onwards.
Lt Gen Subramanian has a distinguished military career with the Indian Army spanning over 36 years. Most recently, he served as the General Officer Commanding, Military Region (Operational and Logistic Readiness Zone) in central India, contributing to the Army’s operational and logistic preparedness, the statement noted.
In addition to various command and Staff appointments in the Army, Lt Gen Subramanian also served as India’s Defence Attaché to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (2008-2012) and as a Staff Officer with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone in 2000. He holds two Master of Philosophy Degrees in Defence and Management Studies as well as Social Sciences.
Indian Army continues to play a lead role in UN Peacekeeping with presence in eight out of 14 UN missions worldwide and currently has over 5,400 military personnel deployed in challenging circumstances under the UN flag, the Army said.
Indian Army has a large presence in United Nations Missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, South Sudan, Golan Heights, Syria, Western Sahara, Abyei and Cyprus. India is also deploying an infantry Battalion Group in UNISFA (Abyei), a statement on the Army website stated.
India has so far provided 15 Force Commanders, two Military Advisors, one Deputy Military Advisor to the Secretary-General of United Nations, two Divisions Commanders and eight Deputy Force Commanders in various UN Missions.
