Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

Shailesh Tinaikar, SM, VSM (born 1962), is a retired

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

officer who served as the Force Commander of the

United Nations Mission in South Sudan The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission for South Sudan, which became independent on 9 July 2011. UNMISS was established on 8 July 2011 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1996 (201 ...

(UNMISS), the second biggest peacekeeping operation. He served from 24 May 2019 to January 2022. He was appointed by

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 harmoniz ...

Secretary-General António Guterres to succeed Lieutenant General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi of Rwanda. Prior to that, he served as the Commandant of the Indian Army Infantry School. He is the recipient of the

Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...

and the

Vishisht Seva Medal The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces. From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize exc ...

for distinguished service.

Early life and education

Tinaikar graduated from the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

and

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

in 1983. He received an MPhil in

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

and strategic studies from The

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigious universities in India, incorporated by an a ...

Career

Tinaikar was commissioned into the elite 10 PARA (SF). He appointed the Commandant of the

Infantry School A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

in July 2018. he held the position of Additional Director General of Military Operations at the Army Headquarters from 2017 to 2018. He commanded a division, a recruit training centre and a brigade from 2012 to 2017. Tinaikar served in the

United Nations Angola Verification Mission III The United Nations Angola Verification Mission III was a peacekeeping mission that began operating in Angola in February 1995 during the civil war.Meisler, Stanley. ''United Nations: The First Fifty Years'', 1997. Page 369. It was established by t ...

from 1996 to 1997 and, from 2008 to 2009, he served in the

United Nations Mission in Sudan The United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) was established by the UN Security Council under Resolution 1590 of 24 March 2005, in response to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of the Sudan and the Sudan ...

. On 24 May 2019, Tinaikar was appointed as the Force Commander of the

(UNMISS) by

Secretary-General António Guterres.

Honours and decorations

References

Indian officials of the United Nations Living people Recipients of the Sena Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Indian Military Academy alumni University of Madras alumni Para Commandos Indian Army officers 1962 births {{UN-bio-stub