Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), announced today, Friday, the appointment of Major General Luiz Eduardo Ramos as Force Commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah).

He will replace the Major General Luiz Guilherme Paul Cruz, whose the mandate as commander of the Minustah will finishes the 31 of this month.

Major General Ramos joined the Brazilian Army in January 1976. He graduated as an Infantry officer in January 1979 and subsequently has had a distinguished military career, holding a number of senior command and staff positions. As a Colonel, he was assigned as Deputy Commander of the Airborne Brigade in Rio de Janeiro, from 2007 to 2009. After being promoted to the rank of Major General, he commanded the Eighth Light Infantry Brigade in Rio Grande Do Sul (southern state of Brazil), from 2010 to 2011. He has had wide-ranging command and staff experience including as staff officer in the Army General Staff and as instructor at the Military Academy of Brazil. From October 1992 to October 1993, he was a United Nations Military Observer with United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNPROFOR) in the former Yugoslavia. From June 2005 to June 2007, he served as Military Attaché of the Brazilian Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The UN mission in Haiti, the Minustah, has a effective of 8.742 soldiers [in date of January 1, 2011], whose 2.187 Brazilians. The Brazil command the troops of the Minustah since 2004, year of the departure into exile of the President Aristide, returned on March 18.

HL/ HaitiLibre