Divisional general
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...
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
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
' peacekeeping force in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(known by its acronym,
MONUSCO
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...
). He was appointed to this position by
United Nations Secretary-General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary- ...
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Ministe ...
on 17 May 2013 and replaced by
Derrick Mbuyiselo Mgwebi on 29 December 2015. He was Minister-Secretary of Government of Brazil, nominated by President
Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...
, from 1 January 2019 to 13 June 2019.
Biography
His grandfather emigrated from
Vila Nova de Cerveira
Vila Nova de Cerveira (, ) is a municipality in the district of Viana do Castelo in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 9,253,[Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...]
in 1921 at the age of 22. He is of
Quadroon
In the colonial societies of the Americas and Australia, a quadroon or quarteron was a person with one quarter African/ Aboriginal and three quarters European ancestry.
Similar classifications were octoroon for one-eighth black (Latin root ''oc ...
stock on his grandmother's side. His mother is of
Portuguese Nobility
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
origin from
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-larges ...
. A graduate of the
Military Academy of Agulhas Negras 1974 Promotion (
Resende, Rio de Janeiro
Resende () is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The population is 132,312 (2020 est.) in an area of 1094 km2. Resendense refers to people or things that come from or inhabit Resende. It is the oldest town in this region ...
) 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.
Santos Cruz served as Force Commander of the
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (french: Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haïti), also known as MINUSTAH, an acronym of the French name, was a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti that was in operation from 2004 ...
(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
The M23 rebellion was an armed conflict in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), that occurred between the March 23 Movement and government forces. The rebellion was part of continued fighting in the region after the formal end of ...
and was praised for providing "strong backing" to the UN forces engaged alongside Congolese government forces.
In August 2022, Santos Cruz was appointed by
United Nations Secretary-General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary- ...
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...
to lead the
United Nations fact-finding mission regarding the
Olenivka prison massacre
On 29 July 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a building housing Ukrainian prisoners of war in a Russian-operated prison in Molodizhne near Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, was destroyed, killing 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and le ...
, together with
Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir and
Issoufou Yacouba.
Members_of_Fact-finding_Mission_regarding_Incident_at_Olenivka,_Ukraine,_on_29_July_2022__United_Nations
,_press_release_of_22_August_2022.
__Awards_and_decorations_
General_da_Cruz_has_been_awarded:
*_
*_
*_
*_Order_of_Labor_Merit_(Commander)
*_Peacekeeper_Medal
*_Gold_Military_Medal_(40_years_of_service)
*_
*_
*_
__References_
__Further_reading_
*_
*_
.html" ;"title="United Nations">Members of Fact-finding Mission regarding Incident at Olenivka, Ukraine, on 29 July 2022 -
.html" ;"title="United Nations
, press release of 22 August 2022.
Awards and decorations
General da Cruz has been awarded:
*
*
*
* Order of Labor Merit (Commander)
* Peacekeeper Medal
* Gold Military Medal (40 years of service)
*
*
*
References
Further reading
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Santos
Brazilian generals
People from Rio Grande (Rio Grande do Sul)">1952 births
Brazilian generals
People from Rio Grande (Rio Grande do Sul)
Government ministers of Brazil
Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil)
Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Brazil)
Living people
United Nations military personnel
United Nations operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
People of the M23 rebellion
Brazilian officials of the United Nations
Podemos (Brazil) politicians