Biographical Note

MAJOR-GENERAL HERBERT JOAQUIN FIGOLI ALMANDOS OF URUGUAY APPOINTED

FORCE COMMANDER OF CYPRUS PEACEKEEPING FORCE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced today the appointment of Major-General Herbert Joaquin Figoli Almandos of Uruguay as Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) to succeed Lieutenant General Jin Ha Hwang, who relinquished his post on 25 December 2003.

Major-General Figoli enlisted as a cadet in the Army of Uruguay in 1965.  He is a graduate of the Uruguay Military Academy, Army Staff College and the National Superior Studies Centre.  He has held various military appointments in his country, including command of an infantry battalion and at a higher level, commander of the Army Administrative Support Command.

In 1984, he joined the United Nations Observation Mission in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) as a military observer.  In 1993, he served as Chief of Military Personnel Office in the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), and in October of the same year, he was assigned to the United Nations Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) as a commanding officer of the demilitarized zone (DMZ).  From 1997 to 1998, he was assigned to the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) as a Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff.  He is at present serving as the Director of the National Superior Studies Centre and President of the Uruguayan Antarctic Institute.

Born in Montevideo on 29 July 1948, Major-General Figoli is married to Nélida Ethel Scarone Di Leone, and they have a son.

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