Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian, UNMISS new force commander.

The United Nations Secretary-General has appointed General Mohan Subramanian of India as the new force commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan.

António Guterres announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Mohan Tuesday.

He succeeds Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar of India to whom the Secretary-General said he is grateful for his tireless dedication, invaluable service and effective leadership as UNMISS Force Commander.

The new commander, Mohan has a distinguished military career with the Indian Army spanning over 36 years.

According to the UN, Mohan 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.

Previously, he served as the Additional Director General for Procurement and Equipment Management at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence from 2019 to 2021, General Officer Commanding a Strike Infantry Division from 2018 to 2019.

Mohan also served as the Deputy General Officer Commanding of Infantry Division from 2015 to 2016 and Commander of a Mountain Brigade from 2013 to 2014.

He also held positions of India’s Defence Attaché to Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia from 2008 to 2012 and Staff Officer with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone in 2000.

Lieutenant General Mohan holds two Masters of Philosophy degrees in defense and management studies as well as Social Sciences.

As of 2019, India was the second highest troop contributing country to UNMISS with 2,337 Indian peacekeepers, second to Rwanda with 2,750.

Reports indicate that India is the fourth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping missions, and currently contributes thousands of military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, other parts of South Sudan, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, the Middle East, and the Western Sahara.

In March this year, the United Nations Security Council extended and strengthened its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan for another year.

The UNMISS mandate was renewed after 13 of the 15 Security Council members voted in its favor with China and Russia abstaining.