Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced today the appointment of Major-
General David Stapleton as Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement
Observer Force (UNDOF) with effect 1 June. Major-General Stapleton succeeds
Major-General Johannes C. Kosters of the Netherlands, who has served as
Commander from January 1995 and will leave his post on 31 May. The Secretary-
General takes this opportunity to pay a warm tribute to Major-General Kosters
for his distinguished service in UNDOF.
The UNDOF is stationed on the Syrian Golan Heights to supervise the
observance of the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Israeli and Syrian
forces.
Major-General Stapleton has extensive United Nations experience in
command and staff appointment in United Nations peace-keeping missions. He
served with the United Nations Operation in Congo (ONUC), the United Nations
Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), twice with the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and with the United Nations Transition Assistance
Group (UNTAG). He has also held important positions in the Irish army.
Major-General Stapleton has been Quartermaster General, Defences Forces
Headquarters since 1995. He is also the deputy to the Chief of Staff of the
Defence Forces.
Major-General Stapleton has attended Staff Colleges both in Ireland and
the United Kingdom. He served as an Instructor in the Command and Staff
School, Military College for five years.
Major-General Stapleton was born in 1937. He is married and has four
children.
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