Divisional general Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz (born 1 June 1952) is a Brazilian military officer who previously held the post of Force Commander of the United Nations' peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (known by its acronym, MONUSCO). He was appointed to this position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 17 May 2013[1] and replaced by Derrick Mbuyiselo Mgwebi on 29 December 2015.[2] He was Minister-Secretary of Government of Brazil, nominated by President Jair Bolsonaro, from 1 January 2019 to 13 June 2019.[3]
General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz | |
|---|---|
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| Minister-Secretary of Government of Brazil | |
| In office 1 January 2019 – 13 June 2019 | |
| President | Jair Bolsonaro |
| Preceded by | Carlos Marun |
| Succeeded by | Luiz Eduardo Ramos |
| Force Commander of MONUSCO | |
| In office April 2013 – December 2015 | |
| Head | Martin Kobler |
| Preceded by | Chander Prakash |
| Succeeded by | Derrick Mgwebi |
| Force Commander of MINUSTAH | |
| In office January 2007 – April 2009 | |
| Head | Edmond Mulet Hédi Annabi |
| Preceded by | José Elito Carvalho Siqueira |
| Succeeded by | Floriano Peixoto Vieira Neto |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz 1 June 1952 Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
| Political party | PODE (2021–present) |
| Spouse | Dora Regina Gondim |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service |  Brazilian Army |
| Years of service | 1968–2019 |
| Rank |  Divisional General |
| Commands |
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| Awards |          |
Biography
editHis grandfather emigrated from Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal in 1921 at the age of 22. He is of Quadroon stock on his grandmother's side. His mother is of Portuguese Nobility origin from Bahia. A graduate of the Military Academy of Agulhas Negras 1974 Promotion (Resende, Rio de Janeiro) and the Catholic University of Campinas, Santos Cruz has more than 40 years of national and international military experience. He served as Deputy Commander for Land Operations of the Brazilian Army from April 2011 and March 2013. He also served as Special Adviser to the Minister for the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs within the Presidency of Brazil.[4]
Santos Cruz served as Force Commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) between January 2007 and April 2009. In April 2013, he received command of United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Santos Cruz commanded MONUSCO during the M23 rebellion and was praised for providing "strong backing" to the UN forces engaged alongside Congolese government forces.[5]
In August 2022, Santos Cruz was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to lead the United Nations fact-finding mission regarding the Olenivka prison massacre, together with Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir and Issoufou Yacouba.[6]
Awards and decorations
editGeneral da Cruz has been awarded:
Order of Military Merit (Grand Officer - Grande-Oficial) (Brazil)
Order of Naval Merit (Commander) [a] (Brazil)
Order of Aeronautical Merit (Grand Officer) [b] (Brazil)
Order of Labor Merit of Getúlio Vargas (Class III: Commander) [c] (Brazil)
Peacemaker Medal [d] (Brazil)
Military Medal (4 Stars: Gold - 40 Years) [e] (Brazil)
Order of Defence Merit (Grand Officer) [f] (Brazil)
United Nations Medal (MINUSTAH - Haiti) (United Nations)
United Nations Medal (MONUSCO - DRC (Numeral 4)) (United Nations)- 18 May 1811 Medal
Notes
edit- ^ Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito Naval- Comendador
- ^ Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito Aeronáutico - Grande-Oficial
- ^ Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito do Trabalho Getúlio Vargas – Comendador
- ^ Portuguese: Medalha do Pacificador
- ^ Portuguese: Medalha Militar – Medalha de Ouro com Passador de Platina
- ^ Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito da Defesa - Grande-Oficial
References
edit- ^ "Brazil's Santos Cruz to head UN's DR Congo mission". BBC. 17 May 2013.
- ^ "Secretary-General Appoints Lieutenant General Derrick Mbuyiselo Mgwebi of South Africa Commander, UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo". Press Release. United Nations. 29 December 2015.
- ^ Arbex, Thais; Carvalho, Daniel (13 June 2019). "Bolsonaro demite general Santos Cruz, e outro militar assume Secretaria de Governo" [Bolsonaro Fires General Santos Cruz, And Another Military Assumes Secretariat of Government] (in Portuguese). Folha de S. Paulo. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- ^ "Secretary-general appoints Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz of Brazil Force Commander for UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo". Article. www.un.org/News/Press. 17 May 2013.
- ^ Olivier, Darren. "How M23 was rolled back". African Defence Review. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
- ^ "Members of Fact-finding Mission regarding Incident at Olenivka, Ukraine, on 29 July 2022". United Nationsdate=22 August 2022.