Santos Cruz

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]

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is dos Santos and the second or paternal family name is Cruz.
General
Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz
Minister-Secretary of Government of Brazil
In office
1 January 2019 – 13 June 2019
PresidentJair Bolsonaro
Preceded byCarlos Marun
Succeeded byLuiz Eduardo Ramos
Force Commander of MONUSCO
In office
April 2013 – December 2015
HeadMartin Kobler
Preceded byChander Prakash
Succeeded byDerrick Mgwebi
Force Commander of MINUSTAH
In office
January 2007 – April 2009
HeadEdmond Mulet
Hédi Annabi
Preceded byJosé Elito Carvalho Siqueira
Succeeded byFloriano Peixoto Vieira Neto
Personal details
Born
Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz

(1952-06-01) 1 June 1952
Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Political partyPODE (2021–present)
SpouseDora Regina Gondim
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service Brazilian Army
Years of service1968–2019
Rank Divisional General
Commands
AwardsOrder of Military Merit ' Order of Naval Merit ' Order of Aeronautical Merit ' Order of Labor Merit of Getúlio Vargas ' Peacemaker Medal ' Military Medal ' Order of Defence Merit ' United Nations Medal ' United Nations Medal '

Biography

His 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

General da Cruz has been awarded:

Notes
  1. Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito Naval- Comendador
  2. Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito Aeronáutico - Grande-Oficial
  3. Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito do Trabalho Getúlio Vargas – Comendador
  4. Portuguese: Medalha do Pacificador
  5. Portuguese: Medalha Militar – Medalha de Ouro com Passador de Platina
  6. Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito da Defesa - Grande-Oficial

References
  1. "Brazil's Santos Cruz to head UN's DR Congo mission". BBC. 17 May 2013.
  2. "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.
  3. 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.
  4. "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.
  5. Olivier, Darren. "How M23 was rolled back". African Defence Review. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
  6. "Members of Fact-finding Mission regarding Incident at Olenivka, Ukraine, on 29 July 2022". United Nationsdate=22 August 2022.

Further reading
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