Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz is a Spanish military officer who has served as the incumbent Head of Mission and Commander of the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 425 and Unit ...

(UNIFIL) since 2022.

Life

Son and grandson of Spanish soldiers, Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz was born in 1962 in

Sidi Ifni Sidi Ifni (Berber: ''Ifni'', ⵉⴼⵏⵉ, ) is a city located on the west coast of Morocco, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, with a population of 20,051 people. The economic base of the city is fishing. It is located in Guelmim-Oued Noun regio ...

, which at that moment was under Spanish control as the capital of the

Ifni The Territory of Ifni () was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands. It had a total area of , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing. The present-day Mor ...

province. After attending school, Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz completed his training as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

at the General Military Academy ''(Academia General Militar)'' in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. He was also a graduate of the Army General Staff Academy ''(Academia Central de la Defensa)'' and completed his academic training in the fields of diplomacy, peace and security. During his military career as an officer in the army ''( Ejército de Tierra)'' he was a staff officer in a regiment of the "Guzmán el Bueno" X brigade in Cerro Muriano in the Córdoba province. He served as an officer in the headquarters of the European forces EUFOR ''(European Union Force)'' and in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

with the Rapid Deployable Corps Spain ''(Rapid Deployable Corps Spain)'', which is part of the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied NATO forces in Europe SHAPE ''(

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

)''. He was also liaison officer in Naqura within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNIFIL ''(

)'' as well as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the force's Eastern Sector. He also completed three deployments in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

under the command of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) and the European Union Rapid Operational Force (European Union Rapid Operational Force). Lázaro Sáenz, who speaks Spanish, English, French and Italian, was an advisor to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

for cross-sectoral defense and security issues, commander of a regiment of the X Guzmán el Bueno Brigade and commander of the UNFIL East Sector. As Brigadier General he was commander of the "Guzmán el Bueno" X Brigade. On 4 February 2022, the

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

, appointed Major General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz as head of the mission and commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNIFIL ''(United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon)'', succeeding Major General Stefano Del Col from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

References

External links

* {{cite web, date=2022-02-04 , title=Secretary-General Appoints Major General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz of Spain Mission Head, Force Commander, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon , url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/sga2096.doc.htm , work=

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

1962 births Living people 21st-century Spanish military personnel Lieutenant generals United Nations military personnel Spanish officials of the United Nations Spanish military officers