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UN Secretary-General appoints Maj. Gen. Jai Shanker Menon of India as Force Commander of UN Disengagement Observer Force - UNDOF

 

 

 

 SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS MAJOR GENERAL JAI SHANKER MENON OF INDIA TO HEAD UNITED NATIONS DISENGAGEMENT OBSERVER FORCE

 

 
 
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Major General Jai Shanker Menon of India as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). 
 
Major General Menon succeeds Lieutenant General Purna Chandra Thapa of Nepal, who will complete his assignment on 7 February 2016. The Secretary-General is grateful to Lieutenant General Thapa for his dedicated leadership during a particularly difficult period in the Mission's history. 
 
Major General Menon brings to his new position extensive command experience and knowledge of peacekeeping affairs at the national and international levels. At the time of his appointment, Major General Menon was Additional Director General Equipment Management in the Indian Army. From 2012 to 2013, Major General Menon was General Officer, Commanding an Infantry Division. He held a number of command positions in the Indian Army, including Commandant of Regimental Training Centre, Brigade Commander and Battalion Commander. Major General Menon also served at the international level, including in the United Nations as a Military Observer in the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) in 1993 and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from 2007 to 2009. 
 
Major General Menon holds a Master of Management Studies degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, a Master of Defence Studies degree from Madras University, in Chennai, India and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Jawahar Lal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. He also graduated from the National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla, India, Army War College in Mhow, India, Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, India and the College of Defence Management in Secunderabad, India. 
 
Born in 1959, he is married and has two daughters.
New York, 2 February 2016