Biographical Note

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS MAJOR GENERAL PABAN JUNG THAPA

 

OF NEPAL AS FORCE COMMANDER OF UNMIS

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Major General Paban Jung Thapa of Nepal as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS).  General Thapa is expected to arrive in the Sudan in late May.

General Thapa has enjoyed a long and distinguished career with the Royal Nepalese Army, including assignments as the commander of an infantry division in the Eastern Sector of Nepal during the recent Constituent Assembly elections, an infantry brigade in Kathmandu and as Military Secretary of the Army.  He has also previously served on several United Nations peacekeeping operations, including a tour as a battalion commander in the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNPROFOR) in the former-Yugoslavia and as a platoon commander and staff officer with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Lebanon.

General Thapa holds a Masters in strategic studies from the United States Army War College and a Masters in defence studies from the Defence Services Staff College, India.  Born in 1953, he is married with two children.

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For information media • not an official record